FRIDAY:
David got off work around 1 pm so we could try to beat the weekend traffic out of town. On my way home from dropping Echo off at the vet (Yes, we waited until the very last minute to abandon her for the weekend.), the downpour began. It rained nearly the entire drive. Fortunately, except for the traffic headed to Pigeon Forge, the roadways were relatively vehicle-free.
We arrived at the Holiday Inn and Suites in Bristol and discovered that the hotel was location of choice for several of the teams competing in the Virginia State Softball Tournament for Nine and Ten-Year-Olds. Oh, boy. (The only real inconvenience to us since we had no desire to swim in the pool was the use of the elevators as entertainment once the girls returned from their games. We ended up using the stairs quite a bit.) After checking in, we met up with Grandma and Grandpa and Allen to go to the rehearsal dinner.
The dinner was at a little cafe type place called K.P. Duty on State Street, the Tennessee side, I think. (Bristol is on the Tennessee/Virginia border and State Street runs along the state line. One side is in Tennessee and the other is in Virginia. When shopping on State Street, remember that Virginia's state sales tax is about half of Tennessee's.) The food was delicious--barbecue pork, potato salad, corn on the cob, green beans and lemon squares for dessert. Yum. We sat with Allen and Bev and Richard. This turned out to be a mistake. :) Each place setting had a mason jar glass with a monogram painted on it combining Christy and Gray's initials (GBC). I mentioned to David that if we named our child so that it had the initials G.B.C. we could snag a set of glasses for it, pre-personalized. And then Allen christened our baby Golden Bouldin (Goldie if it's a girl) and called it that all weekend. I tried to reassure The Peanut that Allen had no naming rights whatsoever, but I'm afraid the child might be afraid to come out now. Wouldn't you?
SATURDAY:
The wedding took place at River's Way Outdoor Adventure Center. It was a gorgeous location, especially since the rain held off until after the wedding and reception were over!
Much to David's delight, the music was provided by a bluegrass band. :P
The guys wore matching bowties and brown leather flip flops. I really liked the bridesmaids' dresses.
Mr. and Mrs. Buckles 
Bev put together some fans to keep guests from passing out during the ceremony. She also did the little bags of mints scattered on the tables at the reception.
And while she was busy posing for pictures with the bride and groom, I snagged her glasses and had Dave try them on.
SUNDAY:
We all decided to meet down in the lobby around 8:45 to go to breakfast. Allen and I were down there reading the paper waiting for everyone else when the fire alarm started going off. We saw the hotel staff running around with their walkie-talkies, but no one told us to leave so we enjoyed the show. I got a little nervous when I heard the alarm was from floor six (the floor David and I were on) and that they needed the front desk clerk to call the fire department because they couldn't figure out where the smoke was coming from, but even before the fire truck got there, they said everything was under control. By that time, most of the hotel had evacuated out to the parking lots. We used the opportunity to get a good table in the restaurant and start eating breakfast!
After checking out, we all decided to meet in Jonesborough, the oldest town in Tennessee. The shops didn't open until one, but we ate dessert at a little cafe and walked up and down the main street before heading our separate ways. Grandma had us take a picture in front of some old building.
We didn't pick Echo up until Monday. She was pretty wiped out. Our little kangaroo puppy.
3 comments:
Sounds like a good family wedding, which is nice, because sometimes big events like that can go ... not so well. I liked the bridesmaid dresses also. If Chris and I ever actually get around to getting married one of these days, I am a big fan of giving my girls certain colors and letting them choose what style they want to pay money for. Then, they can't gripe :) Also, that way, my size 4 best friend and my mother-of-three sister don't have to wear the same thing.
Sounds like a good family wedding, which is nice, because sometimes big events like that can go ... not so well. I liked the bridesmaid dresses also. If Chris and I ever actually get around to getting married one of these days, I am a big fan of giving my girls certain colors and letting them choose what style they want to pay money for. Then, they can't gripe :) Also, that way, my size 4 best friend and my mother-of-three sister don't have to wear the same thing.
It also helps to keep down the bridesmaids' costs. I picked my dresses from JC Penney because I didn't see the point in making anyone spend $300 for a dress she didn't choose.
Post a Comment