For those who don't know, we chose July 9 because it was the day of our first date. The ceremony was at Augusta Pines Golf Club in Spring at 11 a.m. The theme of the wedding was frogs (not a surprise to those of you who know my love of the little green creatures). We had pewter frog goblets for our champagne toast, frog cake toppers, blue wooden letters spelling out FROGS at the cake table and frog centerpieces.
I arrived at 8:30 to have my hair and make-up done by a local woman who worked incredible magic! I wore a white dress from Private Label by G and white Reebok tennis shoes that my mother decorated for me with roses, lace, pearls and frogs. I also wore a veil and tiara. I loved how beautiful I felt in all my wedding "finery." There's nothing like the happiness I felt getting dressed and waiting to marry the man of my dreams.
The club had a spiral staircase under a beautiful chandelier that my Matron of Honor (my best friend Britt) and my father and I walked down. We had a short ceremony (about 20 minutes) conducted by Dr. Orin Smith, who is a pastor at the church Chuck has attended for the last few years. We wanted the ceremony to be short because those long wedding ceremonies are awful for the audience in my opinion:)
We had a buffet lunch for our reception. We had about 57 people attend, which was a good size because we got to go around to all the tables and talk to everyone at least once. It's true what they say about weddings and receptions - they go by so quickly! I wanted to get around to the tables again, but we weren't able to.
We had all the traditional wedding stuff: bouquet and garter toss, cake cutting, and dances. Chuck and I chose Bless the Broken Road by Rascal Flatts for our first dance. Because this was a second marriage for us both, the lyrics really resonated with us. My father and I danced to You Raise Me Up by Josh Groban. I chose the song because its lyrics very much remind me of my father's place in my life. Chuck and his mother danced to What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong. A nice, traditional song for their dance:)
We spent the honeymoon in Jamaica at Sandals Royal Carribean resort in Montego Bay. We were there July 10 - July 15 and it was wonderful! A great way to unwind after all the wedding chaos.
Just because I get this question a lot, I am going to answer it here: no, I will not be changing my name. I will go by Chuck's last name socially, but legally it will still be Shelley Nash. At this point in my life, it would be an incredible hassle to change my name.
Chuck and I are settling into newlywed life at our home in Spring. We are enjoying being married and we are so thankful to all our wonderful friends who shared our day and celebrated our joy!