The Candy Buffet

I have to share one of my favorite wedding details first: the amazing candy buffet! My sister made the painting for us as a suprise.

Our Wedding Ceremony

My brother-in-law is a preacher, and he will be marrying us. I have known him literally my entire life - he and my sister began dating around the time I was born. We wrote our own ceremony, and I'm pretty proud of it. I'd thought I'd share it here for you ladies - hope you enjoy.

Welcome. We are gathered here today to witness the joining of Savannah and Jeremy in marriage. It has been said that a wedding is a public declaration of a private commitment, and Jeremy and Savannah would like to thank you for taking time to share in their celebration today.
Savannah’s sister, Debbi, who is my wife, will now present a reading from the Velveteen Rabbit.
"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "It's a thing that happens to you. When someone loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
“I suppose you are real?’ said the Rabbit.
“Someone made me Real,” he said. “That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always.”

Please face each other and join hands.
Savannah, do you come here freely, with no reservation, to give yourself to this man as his wife? I do.
Jeremy, do come here freely, with no reservation, to give yourself to this woman as her husband? I do.
Please get the rings. From the earliest times, the circle has been a symbol of completeness. An unbroken and never ending circle symbolizes a commitment of love that is also never ending. As often as either of you looks at this symbol, I hope that you will be reminded of the commitment to love each other, which you have made today.
Jeremy, please place the ring on Savannah’s hand, and repeat after me.
With this ring/
As a symbol of my promise and my commitment/
I marry you/
Savannah, please place the ring on Jeremy’s hand and repeat after me.
With this ring/
As a symbol of my promise and my commitment/
I marry you/

A vast, unknown future stretches out before you. The future, with its hopes and disappointments, its joys and its sorrows, is hidden from your eyes. But it is a great tribute to your belief in each other that you are willing to face those uncertainties together. May the pure, simple love with which you join hearts and hands today never fail, but grow deeper and surer with every year you spend together.

It is with great joy that I present to you Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy *****. You may now kiss.

Today . .

I have a huge research project proposal due, that I'm only going to use for class but also to submit to a national conference. I have spent way too much of the past three days reading fatality index tables. Not fun.

We bought out wedding bands yesterday. Mister got a 4mm white gold band, and I got a matching 2mm band. It was really important for him that the bands match, so I induldged his request. I also finalized the catering menu for the reception. I'm not sure if I've told you all this or not, but we are HUGE foodies. We're having three mni- buffets (stations, I guess), with three types of food.

Bar 1:Comfort Food, catered by a local Amish restaurant
Green Beans
Corn on the Cob
Fried Chicken
Baked Ham
Noodles
Homemade Bread with butter and apple butter

Bar 2: Italian, catering by Fazoli's
Spagetti with marinara
Meatballs
Fettucine
Breadsticks

Bar 3: Mexican, catered by a local place
Chicken Quesadillas
Beef Chimichangas
Seafood Fajitas
Beans
Salsa
Queso
Pico De Gallo
Chips

Dessert:
Cupcakes! Red velvet, chocolate, yellow, carrot, spice, and raspberry

Yum! Makes me hungry.

Hope you all are having a good Tuesday!

Pictures from my bridal shower!

This past Sunday, my sisters threw me the nicest bridal shower! I thought I'd share the pictures with you all.

This is the cake table, complete with our maternal grandmother's candleabras and a circa 1914 punch bowl that is used at every wedding in our family.



One view of the guests - we had more than 30 guests, which just seems crazy to me. I have a huge extended family, and most of them were in attendance, as were of my mom's sorority sisters from way back.

The bunny cake. When I was little, my grandmother used to make me a cake just like this for my birthday every year. She stopped when I was about 12. When I was a senior in high school, my grandmother had a stroke a month before my 18th birthday, and as she was recovering, the first thing she baked was a bunny cake for me for that birthday. She passed away in 2005, but my sister made this bunny cake for me as way to have her in spirit at the shower.

Love you, Mamaw.

What traditions did you have at your shower?