The Southern Belle is now Mrs. Big Cat! A beautiful wedding in Charlotte, North Carolina with Chamber of Commerce weather was held on June 1. The hydrangea were in full bloom, the birds were singing, we got to spend time outdoors with both sides of the family. It was awesome.
Because Mr. and Mrs. BC have 2 sweet nephews and zero nieces they wanted to include them in the big event. What to do with two boys and one wedding? Give them both a job. The Southern Belle turned to Pinterest for inspiration and discovered this:
(Source unknown)
A quick trip to the Etsy Shop told her that she was not the only bride who would have a “herald” in the wedding along with a ring bearer.
The only problem with the signs on Etsy was the price. Customized signs were a little more than TSB wanted to spend. A friend has a machine that cuts vinyl letters and she agreed to make a vinyl sticker to go on a board. It comes as a big ole sticker. Hubby cut the board to fit, I painted it white and applied the sticker then peeled off the covering carefully.
This was the scary part! I only had one sticker and it could have gone bad. I am so glad it worked.
Sweet Maeby had to help her Gramps.
Hubby put handles on the back so that his nephew could hold it.
I do not have any photos of the nephew coming down the isle. I was too busy trying not to blubber.
Here is a picture of the sign with the family. One day next week I will tell you about the ring bearer box.
My sweet daughter, The Southern Belle, and her fiancée, Big Cat, planned the perfect urban wedding. Her style is clean, modern with a nod to the past. In all things she is elegant. A true southern belle who wears pearls and loves sweet tea. The couple met in Savannah, Georgia and there were shades of the low country in the wedding. The groom and his party wore striped bow ties, and we ate shrimp and grits at the rehearsal. The colors chosen by the couple for the wedding were navy and silver with lots of white hydrangea.
We live a long way from the southern kids so all the planning fell on their shoulders. They planned, coordinated, organized, and contracted all the elements of the wedding and the results were spectacular, if I do say so in my biased state of mind.
When we arrived Wednesday evening we were greeted by our sweet grand dog Maeby and the kids.
Everyone else arrived on Thursday or Friday so we got some quality time with the kids.
Thursday morning while TSB was out for a run the flowers started arriving along with wedding gifts. At one point we had UPS waiting for Fed Ex to finish. The fact that flowers started showing up was a problem because they were supposedly canceled. A few phone calls revealed that an error had been made and the flowers would not be charged to her so they were going to be added to the reception flowers. This is what the man cave room looked like when we were through sorting the flowers and putting them in vases.
The kids attend Hawthorne Lane United Methodist Church. A beautiful old Methodist church in Charlotte. A quick trip to the church confirmed that they were all ready for the invasion. The wedding coordinator, Karen, had it all under control.
Their bridesmaids and groomsmen were a mix of family, high school friends, college friends, and current friendships. The ladies were beautiful. The guys were elusive.
We then set up at the reception venue. They chose Palmer Fire House. A decommissioned fire training station built by the WPA. It is now run by the Charlotte Firemen Union as a fund-raiser for them. If you live near Charlotte I recommend the facility for anyone. The cost is low, the staff of volunteers who run the center are amazing and the service cannot be beat. We loved it from the moment we saw the facility. The outdoor space had a fireplace, a garden, and space for their one desire… a food truck at the wedding.
Yep. They wanted a food truck to drive up and serve food right out of the truck. I told you in the title this was an urban wedding. Here they are ordering from the truck.
The kids wanted a trolley to run between the church and the reception.
It was so cool. Everyone checked it out. Dad, brother and grandparents.
Finally, TSB’s dream was to have a vintage car take her away from the reception all at the end of the night. A check of local car clubs landed her the perfect car, a 1951 Chrysler. The grand parents loved it!
The wedding was stunning… it went off without a hitch. We love her new in laws! TSB now has two sweet nephews to spoil.
The reception was fun. I think everyone had a ball.
The Bride and Groom were beaming, and joking all day. I love the photo bomb.
These two guys have spoiled TSB. They definitely love her more than air.
The evening ended with sparklers lighting the path for them as they made their way to the car.
Enjoy the random shots. We had an amazing photographer. Lauren did a great job along with her assistant, Juliette. They will be sharing photos on the website as they become available.
The Southern Belle convinced me to go dress shopping with her. I am thrilled to report that I found both the rehearsal dinner dress and the dress I will wear to the wedding! So excited, I just need to make sure I look good in them so I am now on a serious workout plan and back on my weight watchers. This week I got the chance to attend a shower at her office, meet some of the kids’ friends, do a few projects around TSB’s home and spend time with my sweet husband.
updated post
Here I am dancing like a goofball in my MOB dress with Baby Boy.
The Southern Belle asked me to look for small ornate frames for her June wedding. She wants to turn them into chalkboards to write menu items and information to guests. Because the chalk boards are black, I am painting the frames white until I get instructions from the Southern Belle.
Here is how the beauties started:
Bought for $1.00 each
Bought for 25 cents each
The top two are Home Interiors specials from the 70’s. The bottom two are plastic faux wicker. They will all make great chalkboards.
I am determined to become a better spray painter, and I believe I am on the right track finally. I have discovered the spray paint handle.
This is the best thing since sliced bread. I love it.
It is amazing how they turned out. I did not take a picture of the larger one when bought. It was southwest style teal and salmon. I bought it for a dollar. Hubby already cut the chalkboard for the large one. I am going to spray the mirrors for the narrow ones with chalkboard Sprint. I can see them as direction signs at the reception. On my way to collecting some frames for the girl. It is nice to be able to help with her wedding- even from a distance.
It looks like we are going to have a rainy weekend at Star Hill. I just love working four day weeks during the summer because I get to be a weekend country girl for three days! The wedding is just over a week away so we are going to use our time working on projects for the love birds and the wedding. Here is my list of things that are getting packed into the truck: ceramic tile, adhesive, grout- sanded and unsanded varieties, 2 X4 scraps, left over plywood, hardboard, ornate picture molding, chalkboard paint, gold spray paint, antiquing glaze, two part epoxy, angle brackets, vintage plates, broken dishes, foam roller, screws, PVC tubing,and clear poly acrylic. The tools are already at the Garagemahal along with 1X4 and 1X6 lumber, and more plywood.
I will post pictures when we return to the city because there is no Internet at Star Hill. ( Just another thing I love about that place!)
In addition to the above supplies that will become four separate projects; I am packing tall clear vases, Christmas lights, hurricane glass, crystal candle holders, a vintage globe and microscope along with a stack of treasures that have been collected around the house. I will let Sweet Amanda choose what stays at Star Hill and what makes it to the wedding and or rehearsal dinner. The rest will just have to go into my hoard.
We have to be done with all the projects by Saturday night because the Garagemahal needs a good clean up Sunday before we leave…company is coming. If I am brave enough I will post some pictures of the Garagemahal in its current state along with some after the clean up pictures.
My buddy Tanis has been shopping resale shops, garage sales, antique stores and Goodwills all over Harris County today so I can’t wait for her to arrive with her treasures on Friday.
By this time next week my oldest, our southern bell, and her fiancee will be in route to Texas. I miss them so much and am thrilled that we get to spend a little time together next week and that they will be a part of the wedding. The southern girl is planning her wedding too so hopefully I will get to make some regular visits to the the southeast. She is so far ahead of where I was at this point in the wedding planning. Hubby and I decided to get married and got the whole thing planned in four months. She already has her colors and brides maid dresses picked out, the photographer booked, has the reception site nailed down, the church is reserved for a wedding next June! Oh if only I could be as organized as she is. She sure did not inherit that trait from either of her parents so she must have developed it in order to survive our chaotic lives.
