A Weekend of New Beginnings

It was a busy weekend, but an amazing one at that!  I was able to witness the marriage of one of my good friends, and I was also able to share in the joy of the birth of my cousin's baby girl.

On Friday, we celebrated the Bridal Luncheon at a local Italian restaurant in honor of Courtney.

{Bride and her Maids (l to r: Danielle, Allie, Kathleen, Katie, Courtney, and myself)}

Friday evening, the rehearsal was held at the church, then we all headed out to the reception venue for the rehearsal dinner. The food was the best party.  Shealy's BBQ catered the event! If you have never had Shealy's you are missing out!

{the groom and his cake}

Saturday morning, my sister and I made a pit stop at the hospital before meeting the girls to start getting ready.  Our cousin was induced Friday morning, and a precious little 8 lb. 8 oz. bundle of joy arrived about 4:45 that afternoon.  Avery Grace had a little trouble breathing on her own after her grand entrance and has been in NICU since, but she is getting stronger each day!  Mama came home yesterday, and Avery should get to come home by this weekend if all goes well.  I wasn't able to get any pictures of the precious little baby, but I did get a few of her one year old cousin!  He likes to keep everyone on their toes.

{Mason "riding" the electronic bed}

We then met all the girls at a salon to begin the fun process of getting ready.  My sister tagged along and fixed a few of the bridesmaids' hair, including mine.

{tease baby tease}

Around 1 PM we headed to the church to begin getting dressed and taking pictures!

Take a look at this beautiful church. It's timeless and classic!

The next few are of the bride and her bridesmaids and family.

{Allie (MOH and sister) and Courtney}

{Stephanie (groom's sister) and Courtney}

{Kathleen and Courtney (nursing school friends)}

{Myself and the bride}

{Katie (high school friend) and Courtney}

{Danielle (nursing school friend) and Courtney}

{Mother of the Bride, Bride, and Maid of Honor}

{The bride and her new stepchildren}

{Grandparents}

{GORGEOUS}

After the ceremony, everyone headed out to the Drummond Center for the reception festivities!

{Photographer said we were the cutest couple there :) }

{Drew, Logan, and Kat}

 

{how pretty is the lake background}

{precious...he is gonna be a heart breaker one day!}

{first dance}

{father/daughter dance}

{mother/son dance}

{Myself, Logan, and Kat}

{too cute!}

{cutting the cake}

{she got him good!}

 Since there was no TV at the reception venue, and the Gamecocks kicked off at 6, we had to improvise...

{oh how far technology has come...we watched the entire game LIVE from an iPhone}

{cuttin' a rug after a Gamecock V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!}

{2 peas in a pod...Bradley and Tim (the groom)}

...and just when we thought the party was over...the bride and groom invited a few of us to a hole in the wall bar on the outskirts of town for karaoke.  Check out how redneck different some people are :).

{you can only see a little, but this lady had a classy spider web and spider tattoo on her hand...with a Natty Light and Menthol in hand I might add}

{classy dancing on the bar}

We had a blast though; singing karaoke to the top of our lungs and breaking it down on the dance floor!

{the groom singing to his beautiful bride}

{gun powder and lead :) }

I wish Courtney and Tim only the best and a lifetime full of love and happiness.  I also pray that sweet baby Avery continues to get stronger every day and will be able to come home with her mom and dad soon!  How sweet is it to experience new beginnings?!

Happy Monday Ya'll!