Wedding Weekend Extravaganza

I think I will be recovering from our travels over the past week until probably this weekend. Let's just be honest. After our quick trip to Miami, and late night arrival back in the ATL on Thursday, we loaded up the Honda and headed west to the Ham on Friday afternoon. I can honestly say that this was probably the most social weekend I've ever had. Ever. In my entire life.

The festivities began as soon as we arrived that afternoon, with a rehearsal dinner for Hunter's sweet cousin, Ginny. Although the dinner really didn't last that late, I think we both fell asleep immediately after crashing on the couch and turning on TV. Saturday morning started with a shower for my friend Emily, who will be getting married in August. From Emily's shower, I met the precious women in Hunter's family at Brio, to celebrate my birthday and Grandmom's birthday. It was so much fun to just have a ladies' lunch! This picture was actually taken last summer at my bridesmaids luncheon, but here are some of the most important women in my life:

That evening we headed to Ginny's wedding, followed by a beautiful reception at Hoover Country Club. We took advantage of the opportunity to grab a quick family picture, since we were all in attendance and dressed up.

At this point, you would think that our weekend was winding down. Not so much. From the reception, we had yet another party to attend for Emily and Steve at Otey's in Crestline, where we got to see lots of our friends that we don't get to visit with much when it's not football season. Steve is Hunter's pledge brother, so he was in hog-heaven getting to hang out with the guys and tell lots of Steve stories. For those of you aquanted with Mr. Lovoy, I'm sure you have your own fond memories of him as well. :) This a picture of the incredibly cute couple, taken at our 2010 New Year's celebration:

While we were at that party, I got to catch up with lots of girlfriends as well, including my long-lost friend Jill. She is one of my favorite people ever! You know those people who you know God specifically put in your life for a reason? She's one of them. She is such an incredible Christian woman, and has been an incredible source of friendship, knowledge, understanding, and advice since I've known her. We only met about 2 1/2 years ago (although I can't believe it has been that long!), when she moved to Birmingham to take a position at Children's. Little did we know that her boyfriend at the time (now her husband) was best friends with my future husband's brother-in-law. (Confused? Maybe a little?) So, Jill's husband is Ben. Hunter's bro-in-law is Chris. Ben + Chris = BFF. Got it? So anyway, we worked with each other for about a year and a half, and she got married last June (Happy Anniversary!), and we got married in August. What started as a bond by sharing a divided cube, was eventually enhanced by planning our weddings at the same time, and has since grown via multiple daily emails regarding recipes, devotionals, and other every-day adjustments to a new city, a marriage, and life in general. I don't know what I would do without her! (Possibly be more productive at work? But how boring does that sound??) I was informed upon leaving the party that our husbands had a "strategy" for the evening. They agreed to not interrupt our conversation until it was time to leave so we could "get it all out." Really? Get it all out? We talk throughout the day, all day, and you think we can get it all out in two hours? Please. Regardless, it was so nice to see her and have a face-to-face conversation, rather than via email and through the phone.

Finally, the finale of the weekend was a Sunday morning brunch with the Shepherds, or as Hunter refers to as "Crane Day 2010." This is a yearly gathering of the Shepherd families and extended families, and it was decided that since everyone was in town this weekend for the wedding, that it would probably be easiest to do a Sunday brunch rather than the typical Saturday lunch. Agreed. What a wonderful way to end a wonderful weekend with family...more story telling, more delicious food, and most importantly, more family time. How blessed we are to have such a busy, family and friend-filled weekend!

So, in summary, we attended 1) rehearsal dinner, 2) bridal shower, 3) birthday lunch, 4) wedding, 5) reception, 6) couples shower, and 7) family brunch. Add all this together = exhausted Shepherds. Although we enjoyed every moment of it, we are looking forward to a much more calm week ahead!