Lauren's Wedding Weekend
We had a great time at Lauren’s wedding. We picked up our awesome rental car (A Nissan Cube – so fun and zippy!) drove down on Wednesday afternoon and made it to Joplin, MO. Where we spent the night (after hitting a Denny’s at 11:00 at night!) and then headed back out on the road on Thursday morning. I am SO glad we split up the trip. The views as we were driving through Arkansas were just breath-taking. It was the perfect day for a 7 hour drive!
We pulled into Texarkana around 3:00 and met Mom and Tom at the hotel. It was SO nice to see them and the girls were loving time with Grandma Li Li and Papa Tom. We chilled in the hotel for a bit then headed to Cody’s house to see Lauren.
We got to work on the flowers and programs. Mom and I took off the leaves of 400 roses and then worked on programs while Lauren and Courtney went to work on making all of the bouquets, corsages and boutonnières. The flowers turned out beautifully! I think you can see how great their work was by some of the pics below. Around 10:00 we headed back to the hotel with a tired girl.
It was all a whirlwind after that. Pictures inside and out of the church – with an awesome Dodge Challenger Cody rented for their honeymoon. We had SO much fun taking our pictures outside! Around 4:30 we all congregated in the Bridal Salon (aka the church nursery) :) and were able to take a moment to relax before the ceremony started. That was such a special part of the day – I think. Usually weddings are so rushed and everyone is haggard and stressed by the time the ceremony starts. This was the first wedding I have been a part of where there was time to chill and enjoy the moment. Lauren was calm and relaxed as she walked down the aisle. It was such a nice ceremony filled with lots of music and love. Cody sang the Adam Sandler song – “I wanna grow old with you” to her and Courtney and Jen K. sang too.
The reception was short and sweet and then they were off! They headed to Hot Springs, AR for a few days. Where they enjoyed some much needed R & R.
After the reception and some help with clean-up we headed back to our hotel with Mom and Tom and had a small birthday celebration for my mom. Drew surprised her with her favorite – a red velvet cake and we all laughed and were entertained by Tom and Mary all night.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and met Mom and Tom for breakfast. It was SO hard to say good-bye to them. But I am hoping I will be able to see them next month – I might fly down for a friend’s wedding – and then we will all see them again in March when we head to Arizona for Spring Break!
We were on the road by 12:30 and made it back to Des Moines around 1:00 a.m. It was a long drive, but we survived and got in some much needed family time with the girls! All in all it was a GREAT weekend and it was so nice to be with family.
We are SO happy for Lauren and Cody. They are so in love and so happy. It makes me tear up just thinking about how in love Cody is with my sister. He expresses it so freely and shows her whenever he can. I just love to watch him with her and can’t wait to see it for years to come!
Back of Lauren's Dress
Mini-Bride
Julsies New BFF
The Sibs!
Cute!
We pulled into Texarkana around 3:00 and met Mom and Tom at the hotel. It was SO nice to see them and the girls were loving time with Grandma Li Li and Papa Tom. We chilled in the hotel for a bit then headed to Cody’s house to see Lauren.
We got to work on the flowers and programs. Mom and I took off the leaves of 400 roses and then worked on programs while Lauren and Courtney went to work on making all of the bouquets, corsages and boutonnières. The flowers turned out beautifully! I think you can see how great their work was by some of the pics below. Around 10:00 we headed back to the hotel with a tired girl.
On Friday I met all of the ladies at the nail salon where Lauren treated us to Pedicures. It was so nice to chill out and chat with everyone and take it easy before everything for the wedding began. After that we went to lunch and then did some amazing shopping! They have some of the cutest stores down there. We scored some pretty great deals on purses, wallets and accessories! Then we headed back to the hotel to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. Drew made the most amazing dinner (as usual) and all of the guests loved it!
After the rehearsal we headed to Lauren’s friend Holly’s house for her personal shower. It was a lot of fun. We played some fun games, gave good advice and made Lauren blush! All in all a good night! : )
The next morning we all met to get our hair done. Lauren decided last minute to wear her hair down and it looked wonderful! She also had her make-up done and looked beautiful! After that we ran back to the hotel to grab Jules and headed to the church to get ready.
It was all a whirlwind after that. Pictures inside and out of the church – with an awesome Dodge Challenger Cody rented for their honeymoon. We had SO much fun taking our pictures outside! Around 4:30 we all congregated in the Bridal Salon (aka the church nursery) :) and were able to take a moment to relax before the ceremony started. That was such a special part of the day – I think. Usually weddings are so rushed and everyone is haggard and stressed by the time the ceremony starts. This was the first wedding I have been a part of where there was time to chill and enjoy the moment. Lauren was calm and relaxed as she walked down the aisle. It was such a nice ceremony filled with lots of music and love. Cody sang the Adam Sandler song – “I wanna grow old with you” to her and Courtney and Jen K. sang too.
The reception was short and sweet and then they were off! They headed to Hot Springs, AR for a few days. Where they enjoyed some much needed R & R.
After the reception and some help with clean-up we headed back to our hotel with Mom and Tom and had a small birthday celebration for my mom. Drew surprised her with her favorite – a red velvet cake and we all laughed and were entertained by Tom and Mary all night.
The next morning we checked out of the hotel and met Mom and Tom for breakfast. It was SO hard to say good-bye to them. But I am hoping I will be able to see them next month – I might fly down for a friend’s wedding – and then we will all see them again in March when we head to Arizona for Spring Break!
We were on the road by 12:30 and made it back to Des Moines around 1:00 a.m. It was a long drive, but we survived and got in some much needed family time with the girls! All in all it was a GREAT weekend and it was so nice to be with family.
We are SO happy for Lauren and Cody. They are so in love and so happy. It makes me tear up just thinking about how in love Cody is with my sister. He expresses it so freely and shows her whenever he can. I just love to watch him with her and can’t wait to see it for years to come!
Enjoy the pics!
Back of Lauren's Dress
Mini-Bride
Julsies New BFF
The Sibs!
Cute!
Papa Tom and his girls!
No one could believe how grown-up Mary was.
These pictures were so much fun!
Jules showing off her "move"
Love it!
Our fun rental car! I want one now! ;)
Love this pic!
"I wanna grow old with you!"
Lauren and Cody with their Matchmaker April!
Lauren and her buddy Zach!
The 2 brother-in-laws. Adorable.
The Happy Couple
Some of the best.cake.ever!
And they're off!
Congratulations Lauren and Cody. We love you both so very much!!
No one could believe how grown-up Mary was.
These pictures were so much fun!
Jules showing off her "move"
Love it!
Our fun rental car! I want one now! ;)
Love this pic!
"I wanna grow old with you!"
Lauren and Cody with their Matchmaker April!
Lauren and her buddy Zach!
The 2 brother-in-laws. Adorable.
The Happy Couple
Some of the best.cake.ever!
And they're off!
Congratulations Lauren and Cody. We love you both so very much!!
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