The Big Day

The day had come for little Lauren to be wed. A Sunday afternoon wedding, much to accomplish, emotions ran high, hustle and bustle and lots of folks around the house, we still have to eat! church, Father's day….somehow- we fit it all in!

The events of the day I will cover but not the emotions. I will get to that but it will take me a while to process what it really means for my sister to be a married woman. George, George and I awoke to an empty house. Everyone else made it to church. I guess we were all still on California time because we totally missed out. I went to Port City Java and got a big jug of coffee for everyone. When they got home, I gave my sweet daddy his father's day gift and my husband his cards from Georgie. The poor dads got about fifteen minutes of fame on this particular Father's Day. We'll make it up to you next year, guys. After that, we began to prepare the bride. Charissa was the hair magician and the rest of us advised on how much and what color eyeliner, what undergarments (sorry guys, its part of it!), honeymoon packing, etc. Around 2:00pm the photographer arrived. Around 2:30 there was an emergency at the church (Be advised: an "emergency" on a wedding day most always has to do with a color issue, missing flower petals or placement of toile). Mom and I went in curlers and solved the problem only to get a call from Lauren to say, "Please come back, its time to put my dress on!". At 3:00 we were all dressed and began to take pictures on my parent's front porch. We arrived at the church at 4:00 and anxiously awaited the 5:00 hour. We re-curled hair, re-applied lip gloss, helped Lauren to the restroom, nibbled granola bars, and at the last moment- we prayed. It was a really special moment. That's all I will say. I told you- no emotions until I have a chance to process all of this. The sanctuary was beautiful, the ceremony was sacred and special, the flower girl was perfect and my little ring bearer George did the best any three year old boy could do. After about twenty minutes of whispering in my ear, handing the ring pillow to the bride, and slumping on the stairs he said to me, "I want to go sit with Wibif (Elizabeth, his cousin). I knew there was nothing more to do for me than to walk him down the aisle to the pew where Grammy and company sat. Good thing I had seen them on the way in. Once he was with his cousin, all was well. The reception was wonderful but went by WAY to fast. It literally felt like fifteen minutes. I got through my wedding toast without crying- a major accomplishment- and luckily found my seat in time for a quick bite of cake (made especially for Lauren by my Aunt Patti. It was delicious and looked gorgeous, but no one was surprised, she is a magician with some butter and sugar!) We danced to about two songs before it was time to go. I am sure there was more to it, but it sure felt short. Everything was beautiful though and everyone seemed to have a wonderful time. I was able to meet my new nephew for the first time and that was super special. I saw old friends from Rocky Mount and Camp Don Lee and got to reunite with family once again. Lauren and Michael got one of the best sendoffs I have ever experienced. My Uncle has an old blue truck. He placed two rocking chairs in the bed of the truck and had all kinds of props for the Bride and Groom to wear. There was shaving cream and silly string- the works. We all sang the theme song from The Beverly Hillbilly's right there in the Country Club parking lot. They were escorted out with a couple of backfires and lots of laughs. All of a sudden I found myself in an empty room except for my mom and dad and Georgie, Aunt Stef, Uncle Phil and my cousin Hannah. It was over, just like that. We cleaned up, packed the truck and left. Well, there was ONE problem- the keys to the car with the carseat were no where to be found. At least the door was not locked so we got the carseat out and put it in Aunt Stef's car. We all made it home around midnight and sat in the den and talked about the events of the night. What a special time. Lauren was off with her groom and all felt right. Congrats my little sister, you did it! Now they are somewhere in Europe honeymooning. I sure hope he brings her back!