This post is going to be a hodge-podge of the last couple months and I am going to start by pointing out my absolute inability to take pictures. I have a camera in my purse at all times, not to mention my iPhone that never leaves my hand (unless I lose it as Jason says I do more than anyone he knows), yet I cannot manage to snap pictures of anything, no matter the importance.
May 21, 2011--Bachelorette Party
For my bachelorette party a group of my awesome bridesmaids and friends took me out for a fun-filled night out in Memphis. We started the party early in the day going to see Bridesmaids where Julie got carded because it was R-rated--HILARIOUS since she is 23! We stayed downtown and Liza, Candi, Julie, and Sara hosted a small lingerie shower in the hotel room before we went out for the evening. We were definitely a sight hitting the streets of Memphis in our matching tank tops, my veil, sash, and other items that will remain unnamed :)! We went out to eat at Blue Fin, a great sushi restaurant on Main Street in Memphis. If you haven't been you should definitely go! After that we hit Beale Street and had a GREAT time! We actually ran into another bachelor party and spent the majority of our night hanging out with them. Thank you to my best friends for spending such a fun night out with me!
June 3, 2011--Rehearsal Dinner
The week of the wedding I was off for the entire week which helped since my mom came up with an infinite list of tasks for us in the days leading up to the "big day". My grandmother came into town to help us prepare and Liza was home, too. I do not think we stopped all week--I mean mom barely let us sleep through the night and we only got to relax on Thursday for a mani/pedi :)!
(I know this section is titled June 3; however, I must rewind to June 2--the day we picked up our tuxes. Let me just say, this was an absolute NIGHTMARE. The place we ordered from in Southaven is about as big as a public bathroom and there was no less than 20-25 people in there at once. We had about 4 people in our group picking up, plus I had to pick up several out of town tuxes and it took about 2 hours. It was hot, I was stressing--no fun :(. )
Now, to the day of the rehearsal. We had an unbelieveable amount of things to get done on this day and I was so thankful to have Mom, Liza, Candi, Meagan, Kelley, Sara, and Julie along with Jason, my dad, cousin Dave, Aunt Linda, and Aunt Dee helping coordinate all of the madness. We had to pick up keys first thing in the morning for the reception venue and the church, so mom and I made a run to Como while Dad went to the church then to Batesville for some rentals, and Jason headed to Southaven for more rentals. Mom and I were half way to Como when we received a call from Dad--the first words out of his mouth "don't panic, but..." Don't panic but WHAT? The worst was coming to my mind--don't panic the preacher is sick and can't do the ceremony? Don't panic, but some of the bridal party can't make it? Don't panic, but some of your rentals are lost? No, "don't panic, but the air conditioner in the church is broken and they don't know when it will be fixed." Fabulous. It's 8 A.M. and already 98 degrees and today was supposed to be mild in comparison to tomorrow. Well, much to my and everyone else's surprise I really didn't panic. (I think I was pretty much in denial...) Mom and I headed back to the church to survey the damage. Yep, it was smoldering. Mom started immediately coaching Candi and myself on what to do--she started making bows and Candi and I got the job of picking off magnolia leaves, getting attacked by spiders, and shining the leaves. Then, mother realized she didn't have enough leaves so off Candi, Liza (who arrived just in time), and I went to cut more magnolia branches--we were definitely a sight for anyone who drove by that morning. When we got back the florist was there to get started and Jason arrived shortly thereafter with some rental decorations and before we knew it, everything for that day was done and we moved on to Como. This part did not take long at all because I wanted VERY SIMPLE. We got clothes on the tables, the candy bar set up, and all the chairs covered and bows tied around and were done by about 3. We all headed back home to get ready for the rehearsal and dinner.
I have NO PICTURES on my camera or anyone else's to my knowledge from the rehearsal or dinner. My sweet proxy bride, Rachel, looked so beautiful with her "bow-quet" and we did not get a SINGLE PICTURE. I am terrible and have challenged myself to fix this. If anyone has any random shots from the rehearsal or dinner, please let me know! :)
During the course of the rehearsal, it was brought to my attention that my slideshow did not work. Excuse me? What? I was sooo upset! Liza worked so hard on this slide show, but the church's equipment could not play a DVD and CD at the same time, so we either had to choose one or the other, or we had to make an entirely new video. This completely dampened my mood for the rest of the evening and I hate it because looking back, it was no big deal.
The dinner was great, but hot. My awesome cousins, Mandy and Neal, offered to host us at the gorgeous house and Mandy worked diligently for about 6 months making sure their yard and pool were perfect for all the guests. We had a good ole' back yard barbeque and everyone had a great time. Everyone stayed, laughing and talking, up until about 11, then Liza started working on fixing the video. Bless her heart, she worked on this thing until 1 AM, but it was PERFECT and worked great! I appreciate everything she did for me that night! Liza's friend, John, came to stay with us for the weekend, so he was in her room which meant she slept with me. Now some background, Liza and I have shared a room for about 6 months total in our entire life. Why, you ask, because we cannot stay in the same room and try to sleep without talking and giggling until all hours of the night. We probably did not go to sleep until about 2 and had to be up for breakfast by 9. Hooray for cover-up because heaven knows we had black circles!
June 4, 2011--Wedding Day
So the day finally arrived! I woke up at about 8:30 and got up and partially ready for breakfast. When we were in high school Candi, Julie, and I would go to breakfast every Friday morning during football season which mostly consisted of a fast trip to McDonalds or a trip to the gas station if we were really running late. We decided the night before that we would continue that tradition and go to breakfast the morning of the wedding, too. When I got up, I was really emotional for some reason, but glad that it was coming out then and hopefully would hold off during the important stuff! I pulled it together and we had a great breakfast full of laughs and then in full girl fashion had to run to walmart because we all had forgotten something essential! When we got back home, Meagan came to hang out while her husband went to be with the rest of the groomsmen on the shooting range and brought her ADORABLE baby girl Preslee. We all had so much fun playing with her and relaxing until 1:00 came and we had to be at the church. When I started getting ready, I started getting nervous. It was so hot and I knew the air was out and I, typical girl, did not want my make up to run or my hair to frizz--so shallow, I know.
1:00 came and we arrived at the church. Julie's mom brought us great snacks and drinks, along with tooth brushses and toothpaste, and we started getting ready. My wonderful hair stylist came and fixed me up better than I could have imagined--I fretted over this and we had 3 practice runs prior to the wedding day! The girls went to take pictures with Jason first and then came back and helped me into my dress. Everything was going great. I had been doing really good holding in all of the emotions, even getting into my dress as a couple of my bridesmaids started to tear up. As we were getting ready to start our pictures, my dad walked into the room and saw me in my dress for the first time and I lost it. I was a blubbering idiot! When my waterworks started, Liza's started, then Candi, then Kelley. I could NOT stop--it was ridiculous. Finally, in true Ricky Copeland fashion, he said something to make me laugh and the tears stopped. We went to take our pictures and did not really go into a long, drawn out process as it was extremely hot in the sanctuary. I was hot in a strapless dress and Jason is hot in underwear in 30 degree weather so I could only imagine how he felt in the black tux. Pictures were soon over and then we had to wait until 6 o'clock. The girls rigged my dress over one chair and I sat in another so I wouldn't wrinkle anything, and there I sat for two hours.
4:45 came and the AV guy was there to try out the new and improved video Liza slaved over. It worked! Everyone, BUT ME, went to the sanctuary to watch the video. I had some time to reflect then, but held it together! When they came back it was about time to touch up makeup and get ready to go. Liza helped me hold my dress to walk around to the front of the church. When we were almost to the front, Dad said something to both of us, I can't remember what, but we all started crying and did not stop really until I walked down the aisle. From that point on, everything is a blur. I just know it was hot and poor Jason had sweat running all down his face. (He wiped his head during the prayer and his lips off before he kissed me--poor guy.) I was just so excited to be married to him! I have been waiting for this my whole life! I never imagined when I met him in 1999 that he would be my husband one day! I could not have asked for a better fairytale ending!
The reception was great! Everyone says the food tasted incredible--it looked great, but all we got was the cake we shoved into each other's mouth! Thank you to everyone who came to celebrate with us! We were trying our best to get to everyone to thank them personally, but it was almost impossible! Before we knew it, everything was over and it was time to go. We were actually married--wedding, reception, all the formalities--check check check! Hallejuah!
June 5-6, 2011--Honeymoon
Although we only went to Memphis for two nights, we had such a great time on our honeymoon! I successfully took ONE picture of us. Go Tara, way to document such a special occasion. We woke up Sunday morning and ordered room service, then went to Texas De Brazil, to the movies, got frozen yogurt, played puttputt golf, and people watched on Beale Street. When we picked up our car from valet each time we both had forgotten that it was filled with balloons and had writing all over it! It was so funny watching people trying to read the car or figure out why we had so many balloons! Monday we went shopping, got my rings stuck together, and ate one more meal before heading home to open up gifts! We feel so blessed to have had so many people who love us share our special day with us! Thank you to EVERYONE!
