Mr. and Mrs. Hiram Sipes

"Black Friday" this year was "White Friday" for our friends, Hiram and Jeri Katherine as they married in a 5 p.m. wedding that was beautiful. A reception was held in the church social hall and after a bridal wardrobe change they met all their friends and bridal party at the Sheraton Rooftop for the best view of Columbia to finish the night.

Glenn and I had spent a busy Friday enjoying lunch with his mom's friend's The Bensons before heading to the wedding, making a brief stop at the reception, running to dinner at MoMo's with his mom, Fred, his dad, Belinda and Ruben, then on to the rooftop to celebrate with the beautiful bride and groom. What a fun night!

Congratulations Hiram and Jeri Katherine!

Mr. and Mrs. Randal Cox

A few months ago my long time friend, Kristie got married on a Sunday morning....just her and Randal and the officiant. Last weekend the hosted a reception for family and friends at her mother's lake front house. It was a perfect and beautiful day to spend with them and celebrate their marriage! Congratulations to both of you!

Alisha and Andy's Wedding

On the Saturday we returned from Costa Rica, after a long day of sleep and unpacking, we attended the wedding of our friend Alisha at USC's Rutledge Chapel. It was a sweet and short ceremony followed by a terrific sit down dinner reception at the Capital City Club. (Unfortunately much of the city view from the Club was hampered by the storm that rolled in minutes after we arrived there.) Congratulations to Alisha and Andy on their new life together!

girls: Grace, me, Kat and Connie

The bride getting down with Cocky!

Elizabeth and Drew's Wedding

As soon as school was out for me on the first Friday of June we headed back to the beach. On Saturday we drove from Myrtle Beach down 17 to Folly Beach to attend our friends, Elizabeth and Drew's wedding. It was a simple, beautiful ceremony right on the beach with the ocean in the background and was followed by a casual, fun reception in the open pavillion at Folly Beach Park.

Mr. and Mrs. Byrd

Wedding Shower

Our second stop was by Za's for Alisha and Andy's wedding shower. Although we didn't get to stay but a few minutes it was nice to see friends we haven't seen in a while and chat with some new friends. (One wardrobe change....shoes, I couldn't take my stilettos any more after standing all afternoon in them!)

Our First Shower!!!

My first shower was this past Friday afternoon/evening. My co teacher, Jan, hosted it at her house for our school staff. She also graciously allowed me to invite my maid of honor, Peggy and two other friends, Christina and Tammy. We also invited our other friend, Jan, who teaches at another school in our district.

Jan left no detail undone...she had wonderful foods, a beautiful cake and was a fabulous hostess. She didn't even throw us out when the shower was over! Instead she called Glenn, Ben and Ruben and asked them to come on out enjoy leftovers. The gorgeous corsage was a gift from our assistant and I loved it!

Our gifts were also wonderul and generous. We recieved gift cards to Belk and Target (where we are registered) and the most fabulous towels I have ever seen!!

Thank you to everyone who brought food and gifts and attended! It was so much fun!

Our First Wedding Present!!!

Our very first present arrived in the mail today!!! It was a fabulous Oster blender from Glenn's stepdad's brother and his wife! Thank you!!!

Engagement Picture Preview

This is a small sampling of the engagement photos that Ashleigh took and posted on Facebook. I'm still working on a link to the whole album! Hopefully, I'll get it to work soon!

Dress Shopping

I've looked at a few places and found one dress that I thought was "the one". But, my friend Peggy had made an appointment at Bella Vista, a local bridal boutique and I agreed not to buy anything until after that visit.

My plan was to get a simple, classic dress. Everything I showed Glenn he deemed "plain" or "okay". I finally decided that he wanted something more wedding-ish. I truly went into the Bella Vista visit with a bad attitude. I was determined that I was not going to find a dress --- too expensive, too wedding dress, too much bling, too anything. Belinda, Peggy and Christina all met me there and I began to explain to Meredith, the consultant, what I wanted. I think she was quickly frustrated with me, but she remained super sweet and encouraging. The first dress she showed me I said "no" to immediately. I didn't want a train. I didn't want buttons on the back. I didn't want sequins. We finally found a few options, but none worked. Finally, I found one that I did like. It was a strapless, sheer dress, but it had (tasteful) sequin lines on the front and a big train. Then, Meredith asked again if I would just be willing to try on the first one she showed me. And, I agreed. It was love as soon as I put it on. I forgot the train, the slight pearl and crystal beading, the buttons up the back....I just saw that it was perfect.

I ended up getting a fabulous deal on it as well. So, my initial wedding dress plan was scrapped and I got a real wedding dress. I am so excited.

We're Getting........

........MARRIED!!!

Yes, Glenn and I are ENGAGED!! We decided last weekend that it was time to do this and we started planning.

We set our date as 11.24.10 at the Bellagion's East Chapel in Las Vegas, 5 p.m. (If you'd like to come, come on! If you'd like to watch the webcast, message me and I'll send you the info!!)

On Monday we were going to pick out a ring. However, his family offered a family ring instead. The diamond was originally his grandmother's. She gave it to his dad and step-mom, Belinda when they got married. Belinda had it reset in the current setting using diamonds from her mother and grandmother' rings! So, not only is this a beautiful ring, it is also full of family history! I'm so excited to be the 3rd generation to wear this ring! And, I'm more excited to marry Glenn in shortly over two months!!

Charleston and A Wedding!!

One of Glenn's childhood friends got married this past weekend at Magnolia Plantation in Charleston and Glenn was an usher, so we joined his huge group of friends for this celebration. Despite the fact that it was blazing hot on Friday at the rehearsal and it rained and a car horn blared during the (outdoor) ceremony on Saturday, it was a beautiful wedding and weekend!a beautiful view of the marina

although most of the time was spent doing wedding events, we did get to spend a little time with my friend, Juice!!
the rehearsal under the moss draped trees along the Ashley at Magnolia Plantation

the rehearsal dinner was at a house along the Ashley River....here we are out on their dock and you can see it was VERY windy! But, worth it for the beautiful sunset we watched!
Glenn and Scottie were ushers posing as Secret Service Agents!

the wedding

Kat, Kim and me waiting on the guys to finish taking pictures and the reception to start

the beautiful peacocks!

Lauren and Jason