casting my cares: Congratulations!!

Congratulations to Shannon & Michael!!!

One of my Best Friends got married on November 6! Click here to read more about our life-long friendship, since our early days of VVBC Youth Group!

I was asked to be the Maid of Honor, and truly, couldn't have been more honored to do so!

Here's my recap of the days events:

I started the day by getting my hair did. Here I am with a head full of pin curls.

After the curls cooled and were good and set....the hairdresser teased the middle portion until I sufficiently resembled "Cindy Lou Who".

She sure knew what she was doing though, because once she started updo-ing it - it turned out great!

Here's the back:

Then it was off to the church for make-up and dressing....

Doesn't The Bride look BEAUTIFUL? And she's not even in her wedding dress yet!!

Lots and lots of primping....

Here it is: THE DRESS!!

And look at those shoes!!! Yes - the Bride was wearing Hot Pink/Purple Heels! Love it!! They are 4.5" tall too, as her Groom is more than a foot taller than she is!

Little Miss C, the Flower Girl - Isn't she precious?

Don't let her fool you though - she's got a wild side too!

Once Shannon was in her dress, I presented her with the traditional "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Blue" items. Here, I'm pinning the "Borrowed" item under one of the layers of her dress.

Then it was time for a quick snack. I was a good little Maid of Honor and made sure to shove food in Shannon's face all morning so she wouldn't pass out on the altar or anything!

Then she finished up a quick note to be delivered to her Groom.....

....and then it was picture time!
Can you believe how stunning she is? I'm getting tears in my eyes still as I write this.

The Bride and her Attendants

And now a seated shot

BFF's

Little Miss C, taking a break

Myself and Tiffany (she was in Youth Group with us too!)

Then my "Personal Photographer" got a shot of just me....

Who was my "Personal Photographer" you might ask? This Dapper looking fellow below....my Sweet Boyfriend Brandon. Not only was he a great photographer that day, but he was my chauffeur, flower holder, & trash taker too!. He also helped out the Parents of the Bride by being available all day for whatever they needed, including taking down decorations after the wedding and helping move gifts to the reception site. And even the night before (during the rehearsal) he made a run down the street to get some snacks for the Bride (who hadn't eaten much all day and wasn't feeling too good). Isn't he great? So dependable and thoughtful. And isn't his 3-Piece-Suit (complete with Pocket Handkerchief) just so snazzy? He had that Tailor-made in India. Yup, he's the man.

On to more wedding stuff....

The officiating Pastor was none other than Kerry Jones himself, our former Youth Pastor (he was at VVBC from 1984-1996) and all around wonderful human-being. I do love a "KJ" wedding and Shannon's was no exception.

Below, I'm giving Kerry his usual birthday present from me - Red Tootsie Roll Pops. Ever since I was a kid (and right there in that church) I would give Kerry my Red Suckers from the "Candy Man" who gave out candy at church (that takes a little more explanation, so maybe I'll have to do a post about him sometime). Anywho, it's now become a tradition that I give Kerry a whole mess of Red Suckers every year around his birthday (Oct. 4), so even though I was a little late this year, I couldn't think of not giving them to him!

The Mother of the Bride, Barbara, pinned Kerry's boutonniere on.

Then......it was WEDDING TIME!!!

The lighting of the candles.....

Jenn sang absolutely Beautifully!

Then the Parents of the Groom lit their half of the Unity Candle...

Followed by the Parents of the Bride.

The Groom and his Groomsman took their places....

....and then the Bridesmaids...

(That's me!)

Then the Flower Girl (Shannon's niece) was escorted down the aisle by her father (Shannon's brother).

And then Shannon made her Big Entrance!

Her father gave her away...

....and the ceremony began.

"Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother, and cleave to his wife: and they shall be one flesh." Genesis 2:24

What a sweet, sweet ceremony it was!

The Groom's Father read a passage from I Corinthians 13 (known as the "Love Chapter").

I absolutely LOVE this picture! It's so cute and sweet how they're almost sneaking a look at each other, while they are listening to Mike's dad read aloud.

Next came the Vows...

Then the Rings....

First, his gift to her...

....then hers to him.

Then the Lighting of the Unity Candle.

Next, Michael and Shannon took communion together.

And then Michael prayed for he and his Bride privately.

Then it was time for the KISS!! I LOVE it! Shannon's hands at her sides, Mike laying a good one on her. What a happy (and very cute!) moment!!

Then they are officially pronounced Mr. & Mrs.!

Whoo Hoo!

And you should have heard the crowd when they started down the stairs and Shannon's hot pink/purple shoes popped out from under her dress! (Look at her shoes!) :)

Since Mike & Shannon didn't see each other before the wedding, there were a few last photos to take before heading over to the reception.

Here's the entire Wedding Party:

Maid of Honor and Best Man with the Bride & Groom (I think I've failed to mention yet that Mike is a twin!) Mike & Nate are super-tall....and well, Shannon and myself are kinda...shorter. In this picture, we're all standing on the same step...

...and in this picture Shannon and I are on the same step, while Mike and Nate are one step lower to help even us all out.

Once the rest of the picture were taken, it was time to head over to the reception. Shannon had a gorgeous jacket to wear with her dress for the chilly November day. Isn't it lovely?

And the buttons on the back of the sleeves to the jacket, match the buttons on the back of her dress!! So cute!

Husband & Wife! (I LOVE this picture!!)

One more shot before the reception

The reception was at Hotel Louisville, downtown. It was a really pretty ballroom with a nice ambiance. Hotel Louisville is owned by the Wayside Christian Mission (a local homeless shelter).

All the people working at the Hotel are "in a unique social enterprising program that is empowering men, women and families to rebuild their lives". It's a great program that helps rehabilitate folks who have become Homeless. So, all the proceeds for renting out the ballroom, plus the food service go directly to those in need. Pretty cool, huh? For more info about this program, click here.

My mom and her friend, Susan, helped to decorate at the reception hall that morning. And hey - that's my Dad in the blue shirt (almost) in the center of the picture.

The Bride & Groom took the floor for their first dance as Husband and Wife.

Then came the Father/Daughter dance. They danced to "I Loved Her First." (I have never been able to listen to that song without crying!!)!

It was a very tender moment between this Daddy and his Daughter.

Next it was Time to Eat!

Then Time for Toasts. First Nate, who had the crowd laughing (a lot!)...

...then it was (nervous-out-of-my-mind) my turn!

Mike's so tall that he had to squat down a bit for the "Intertwined Arms" pose

The simple, yet oh-so-pretty (and very tasty!) cake.

And here's the Groom's Cake. There's a joke that started between Shannon's Dad and Mike about each of them wearing yellow shirts (2 different days, one after the other) and teasing each other about looking like Big Bird. Then Mike ended up getting Shannon a small Big Bird doll (that she then took to Europe, getting pictures of him everywhere we went) and Mike also incorporated the Big Bird doll into the proposal (the ring box was propped up against him). So needless to say, this was the perfect Groom's Cake for them!

Cutting the Cake...

....and deciding whether or not to smash it?

Mike ended up perfectly placing the cake into Shannon's mouth - great job Mike!

...and then it was Shannon's turn. She returned the favor of being nice, even though his face seems to suggest otherwise.

Aww...how sweet!

Here's me and my Boy-fran. ;)

Isn't he too handsome??

Three Generations: My Granny (Tillie), My Momma (Cindy) and Me

Gal Pals! Me, Shannon, Gina and Jenn. Shannon's breaking up the foursome. Guess somebody had to go first though, right? We're all so overjoyed for her though and technically we're still a foursome....even if one is an old married lady now. ;)