Wedding Fun

So I've changed the blog look again. I'm not totally happy with it, but it'll do for now. I just don't want to mess with it anymore.

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This past weekend, Brad and I went to our friends' Danny and Michelle's wedding. It was held at Childress Vineyards, which is absolutely beautiful. According to my grandmother, it's the best one around. You see, she's in charge of the Senior outings at her church, so she takes all of her little old lady friends to these wine vineyards. They taste the wine, and then they each end up buying a bottle. For some reason, I found this to be hysterical. My grandmother (my mom's mom) is a tad bit of a rebel. Not to the point of being vulgar... just fun. :) When she goes to the beach with her 4 sisters, they stay out late dancing with all of the college boys, in their cowgirl boots.

Anyways, I'm getting off track...
(bear with me... I didn't get much sleep this weekend)

The vineyards were gorgeous. We got there around 6pm. The sun was starting to set, but it would be another hour at least before it was totally gone. Brad and I walked around and took a few pictures before it started. They were taking pictures of the guests as they arrived, and they had a table set up for friends and family to sign individual cards and leave sweet notes. I'm assuming they'll match up the notes with the photos later on as keepsakes. It seemed like a really cute idea to me!

I heard Shauna (Michelle's mom) saying that Childress apparently didn't reserve the spot they originally requested, for some reason. They were supposed to be getting married in the gazebo overlooking the lake. Instead, they were placed at the foot of the steps, which really was still very pretty. Unfortunately, though, the crowd was facing directly into the bright sun. It made it a little tricky for pictures, but they turned out okay I think.

(JB friend Jan and her husband Steve)

Michelle looked absolutely stunning. Her dress was beautiful, and her hair looked amazing, especially with the flower accessory.
Their family is pretty notorious for having drama in their lives. It just follows them. So it wasn't too surprising to find out that they had their share on her wedding day as well.
Four days prior, the singer's wife had their baby. He was still planning on coming, but then the night before, she was back in the hospital due to some complications. They were pretty certain he wasn't going to be able to make it to the ceremony. As they were getting their nails done, Shauna asked the ladies there if they knew of anyone that could sing. Just like good 'ol small town folk do, they immediately started offering up their relatives to stand in, just in case. As the time got closer, their photographer and friend (also another friend of ours) volunteered to hand the camera over to an assistant and sing for them. That morning, he was practicing the songs when they got a phone call that the singer was coming after all. Phew!

Also on the morning of the wedding, Michelle's grandfather went to the ER with pneumonia. He was fine the night before, which is why it's so weird. Poor man had to miss the wedding. :(

The ceremony went beautifully. They exchanged their vows, smiled at eachother, and looked very much in love. Things were going off without a hitch.

And then came the words, "I now pronounce you husband and wife..." and Danny started getting wobbly. He bent down, and all of us were concerned he might be getting sick. We waited a few minutes, and they brought him a chair. Michelle looked concerned and started trying to loosen his collar. I think she was afraid he wasn't breathing, because we could hear her saying, "Cough, Danny. Cough." He sat for a moment, and Michelle started frantically fanning him with her hands, while the preacher fanned him with the Bible. I think most everyone was worried; Brad, however, was trying to hold in the laughter. He tried to get a good shot of what was happening, but the only way he'd get it is if he stood up. I quickly vetoed that idea. After a few minutes, Danny stood back up and turned towards Michelle. I'm serious... ALL color was gone. He was green and didn't look like he was ready to continue. I could see his mind working, thinking to himself, "Pull it together, man!" He sat back down, the staff brought him some lemonade, and he eventually got back up.

(sorry it's blurry. I had to steal it from another FB friend.)

(Michelle's sisters, Kelly and Jennifer. One looking very worried, the other more like, "What the heck??")

The preacher quickly got through the rest of the ceremony, and even as they exited, Danny hadn't gotten his color back.

I was trying to come up with all kinds of possible reasons as to why this happened... maybe he buckled his knees? didn't eat enough that day? possibly got too hot??

Nope. None of them.
According to Shauna, she talked to his mom afterwards who informed her that this isn't the first time this has happened. At almost every major milestone in his life, the anticipation just builds for him. When it finally happens, he just melts down.
She told us that he and Michelle were downstairs in their little holding room. Michelle was bouncing up and down, all excited and giddy, saying, "We're married!! We're married! Honey, isn't that great?!?" Danny was still sitting down and would occasionally give her a pitiful smile.

By the time they went to take pictures, I think he'd pulled himself together and was much better.

After the ceremony, they had a cocktail hour on the terrace. They served some yummy fruit, cheese, and crackers. Brad picked up some green cheese to try. I wasn't as brave. He said it tasted like quiche. We figured it must've been mixed with some spinach or something. He's still alive, so it must've been ok. We sat with my former JB coworkers, which was fun. I got to catch up a little with them. Brad went looking for some non-alcoholic drinks for us. He came back with Sangria...

Apparently, he went to a table that was separate from the other wine and poured us (what he thought was) grape juice. Why he trusted anything that even resembled grape juice at a winery I don't know. We both took a sip and agreed it tasted like Easter egg dye.

He eventually found us some lemonade. :)

Barbara and Janet pretending they're married...

The reception area was goooorgeous. Seriously, if you're ever in the area, so see this place. It's so pretty. Michelle is an interior designer, so a lot of the decor was her doing. They had twinkly lights strewn across the ceiling. Hude hydrangea blooms (love those!) adorned the tables. There were also engraved wine glasses for each guest to take home.

When they entered, Danny had regained complete composure and must've somehow conceded to the idea that he would now and forever be Mr. Michelle. I'm sure his firehouse buddies are going to be giving him a very hard time when he comes back to work. They already were at the wedding... I can only imagine what they'll say when Michelle's not around! lol.

(the departure dress)

They danced, we ate (the food was amazing), and everyone toasted the happy couple. It was a wonderful wedding, and I'm SO excited for them. It's hard to believe I met Michelle when she was still in high school, and now she's married. She and Danny are perfect for each other, and it's going to be fun to see what their future holds.

The End. :)

ps. In case you were wondering, we didn't take Noah. My parents came to our house, and he was fast asleep when we came home. They put him to bed a little too early that night, and I'm definitely paying for it now. Oh well. It was worth it.