The Wedding -again-

On Saturday, Mama and I went to the bridesmaids' luncheon, while David, Daddy, and Russell attended the groom's brunch. The luncheon was at the home of one of the bridesmaids on College Street, near the W. We were offered mimosas or champagne, but Mama and I both took just plain orange juice. I was driving, but my real reason for not drinking was that I did not want to have anything at all fuzzy about the day. Then we had cold tomato bisque in the living room in demitasse cups; it was o.k., but I was not that crazy about it.

We all went into the dining room, and one of the hostesses said the blessing. It came from the Book of Common Prayer, and it talked about getting married and having a common life. It was really sweet. Then we went through the buffet line and had chicken pie, a cold rice salad, snow peas, rolls, and sweet rolls. It was all delicious. Later we were served rainbow sherbet in silver compotes with a sugar cookie. It was all just wonderful. Being the dish nut that I am, I loved all the old china that was used, as well as the silver and crystal.

The bride and her attendants were seated in the dining room, and the rest of us were seated in the sun room. There was plenty of room, and it was all very nice. My mother and I really did not know anyone and did not have a lot to say to participate in the conversation, especially when they all started talking Ole Miss football. Who cares about that?

While we were there, the groom and his attendants were at Wesley UMC at the brunch. Alicia, Juli, Jamie, and Mary Al were the hostesses. They had borrowed old photos from me of Russell and used them in the table settings. Mary Al had taken snapshots and made place mats. It was really a cute idea. Of course, with Mary Al, Alicia, and Juli cooking, there was lots of good food. I know that they had breakfast casserole, cheese grits, fresh fruit, and mini muffins; I'm not sure what else. Of course, everyone ate and ate.

In addition to the groom's attendants, those attending were both grandfathers, Uncle Steve, Chris, Kevin, and Warren. Darrell had been invited, and he came in late and brought the whole family. So it was a really big event.

Juli was in charge of games. They played a wild game of fruit basket turnover. The Whitakers arrived late during the game, and you can tell from the pictures when they came in because little Martha is added to the circle. David said that she had a good time and basically just went from one chair to the one right next to it the whole time.

At one point in the pictures you can see Timothy in the circle on the phone. Matt started his residency at Vanderbilt and ended up not being able to be in the wedding. Timothy called him and Matt told a story which Timothy relayed to everyone. He told about the time when they were in high school and went to Dare to Lead at Camp Lake Stephens. Russell got stung by some yellow jackets and broke out in hives. They all enjoyed that story and it meant a lot to Russell to hear from Matt on that day.

Later, Russell told the group what each of the hostesses meant to him. He went around and talked about each one of them a little bit. When he got to Mary Al, he started crying and could not finish. David said that it was really sweet.

Overall, the groom's brunch was a huge success, and I think that they all really enjoyed it. Juli said that the church was the perfect place to have it because they are all so familiar with cooking in the church kitchen and there was so much room for all the guests to spread out. After the brunch, Chris went back with Mr. Casteel to their house and visited most of the afternoon. Some of the other church members dropped by, and David's mom said that Chris really enjoyed it.

By the time that we all got back to the hotel after all of these get-togethers, we did not have a lot of time until we had to be at the church at 4:00. Jamie and I talked on the phone, and she set up 3:00 as the time to come by the hotel and do my make up. David need to put his feet up, and we did get a little bit of rest in before we started preparing for the evening festivities.

I really will blog about the wedding next!