Not even a CW TV star could outshine Katie + Kyle on their wedding day.
Dan went to high school with Kyle, and I've come to know him and Katie in recent years. They are the cutest couple. Because all of their pre-wedding events had been so well done, I knew the wedding would be beautiful, too. It was...
Instead of place cards, guests were given luggage tags! Dinner tables highlighted all the places the newlyweds have travelved to together, and when guests picked up their "luggage tags" a map and vacation photos showcased all the places Katie + Kyle have visited...
After cocktail hour....
Glamour Guests!
when Katie + Kyle arrived, they kicked off the reception with their first dance, and then everyone hit the floor for a few songs before we even sat for dinner. That set the tone for the party that would continue in downtown Baltimore long after the band had stopped playing.
Best wishes, Katie + Kyle - it was so fun to celebrate with you on your wedding day!
When Peyton Sawyer married Lucus Scott on One Tree Hill, her dad wasn't even at the wedding! That happens often in Tree Hill; parents, even those who aren't murderers, pill poppers or nasty bitches who destroy your fashion empire tend to be a tad overlooked.
Peyton's dad (aka, the actor Kevin Kilner) was, however, at a wedding I attended this weekend for friends Katie + Kyle. If you recall, it was at Katie + Kyle's engagement brunch where this mega Tree Hill fan sort of acted a fool. I played it cool this time around, though, bordering only slightly shameless by asking, along with a few other cult followers of the show, for a photo.
It felt good to come full-circle from silly Fan Girl to toasting on the dance floor with Mr. Sawyer like we were old pals. I felt redeemed, and couldn't help but think, this must be the kind of peace for which Dan Scott's soul longs...(hee!).
This girls' trip I've been babbling about all week was born soley out of the union of Jenny + Jon.
I loved so many of the shamelessly Southern touches of J+J's reception, held at the groom's parents' beautiful home Mississippi...
...like this magnolia leaf swag that draped the balcony....
...and these magnolia leaf baskets that met guests at the front door.
Magnolia leaves were everywhere, in fact...
so appropriate, since besides being elegant, magnolias are Mississippi's state flower.
Though the bride is from Tennessee, the groom's cake showcased her husband's first love...
Since J+J got married on the day of the UT-Florida game, there might have been a little pre-ceremony score checking by Vols fans....
Shameless.
Jenny was one of the first friends I made in college, and she's likely the reason I moved to Washington. It was her bright idea that we leave Knoxville, and when she got a job in D.C., I soon followed. Of all the adventures we've shared, I am most happy to have been there for the start of this one. Best wishes, JG!
...and Nashville! Ever had one of those weekends that you'd anticpated for months, and it STILL managed to be more fun than you'd expected? I'm fresh off one...
An unexpected and extended stay in Nashville gave me a night dining with Jenni at her favorite GOOP restaurant......
where I ate, hands down, the most amazing bruchetta of my life. It tasted like cake...and was almost too pretty to bite!
There was also an impromtu visit with my old friend, Lori, who ten years, several pounds (mine) and two children (hers) ago was a reporter with me in Knoxville.
Now she's the toast of Nashville with her amazing new career as a Franklin-based designer at Re-Do.
Here's a little peak into her shop...
P.S. Nashville Readers: You may recognizedher husband...
After seeing Lori, Sarah, Elizabeth and I hit the road, next stop Memphis. The mixed cd was the perfect backdrop for a little road trip conversation inspired by deep and probing questions....
Before we knew it we had taken Flight at dinner....
Lobster biscuits and gravy, anyone?
There were cupakes, too...
and cupcake carnage...
The next day we would find ourselves down in the jungle room, getting roughed up by the Peabody Duck Police and finally, seeing our friend Jenny get married!
The only thing we didn't have: special t-shirts like these fellow girls trippers...
which might have given us, for a fleeting moment, the Delta blues.
I got to see my friend (and former co-worker) Lindsay say I Do on Saturday. She was one of the happiest, most excited brides I've ever seen, kissing her groom even before he was given the charge to lay one on her. It was adorable!
Lindsay's mom compared her daughter's wedding day to her first day of kindergarten. "She was just so ready, like on the first day of school" she said, "she never even looked back." I loved the likeness of those two monumental days.
I, however, spent much of the wedding reception looking back, glory daysing with co-workers, past and present, who'd made the trip from all over the country to be at Lindsay's wedding in Tennessee.
I took my mama as my hot date, since Dan didn't make this trip home with me...
....and she got an ear full as everyone told stories and played catch up. PR loved it, especially all the nice young men who made sure her drink was always full.
Mom told me I was really lucky to have worked/work with people I like so much.
As she often is, PR is right! A few years ago I left the Hill, and was working at a place where I didn't jive with too many people. They all seemed to think the world of each other, and when that happens -when I'm the outsider to a situation - my default defense is to just scoff at it. Very mature, I know. I can remember saying to someone, very As If-ish, The only friends those people have are people from work.
Four of the people in my wedding party were people who were first "just" co-workers to me. Yes, I'm guilty of being one of those people. It's truly no wonder I struggle with weight; I eat more words than anyone I know!
Not everyone gets to spend eight hours of their day with their friends, but for many years, I have. Tons of people wouldn't even want to see their co-workers outside the office, certainly not at their wedding. That wasn't the case for me, and clearly not for Lindsay, either. Here's hoping you are lucky enough to be one of those people, too.
The Baby Shower - My friend Annie Laurie (right) is having a baby girl!
So is my friend Amanda (center), who co-hosted this really pretty Parisian themed fete for AL...who loves Paris!
I loved the cute party favors - cupcakes in a tiny jar!
My favorite part was the Bebe Cakes!
Tiny cupcakes, in chocolate and vanilla, were offered with indulgent toppings.
So clever - I'm filing away this idea for sure!
The Bridal Shower -
My friend Katie is getting married in November.
Her bridal shower theme was Alice in Wonderland.
Her new last name will be King so for the day she was the Queen of Hearts.
There was a Project Runway challenge for the shower guests - to design, with a bag full of random items - a wedding dress.
This was one of the most fun shower games I've ever seen!
I was on the shower circuit hard last Saturday, from morning to night, from Maryland to Virigina back to Maryland again. Communting is SO much more fun when your destination is a party instead of the office!
They've been hitched for a while now, but People magazine just posted a video on its website of Miranda Lambert + Blake Shelton's wedding weekend. Since I love country music and weddings, I watched. Three times.
The Sheltons got married on a Texas ranch. Celebrations surrounding my wedding were held on a ranch, too, so obviously I'm a tad partial to a rustic, downhome affair.
Table from Dan's and my BBQ Rehearsal Dinner - denim + burlap
You'll see in this video, so worth the 8 minutes of your day, these gorg vintage cowboy boots that Miranda gifted all her bridesmaids. At my own rehearsal dinner, I changed into cowboy boots...
making Miranda + I, like, practically sisters, true?
These girls, pictured here at our rehearsal dinner, are some of my oldest friends, and are like sisters to me.
I think if I could have attended any celeb wedding this year (save for the Cambridges, of course) I would have loved an invite to Blake + Miranda's wedding because it just looked like a crazy party! Not that some of my own guests didn't end the night napkin atop head......
No matter how formal or casual wedding celebrations are, I think it's the personal touches that set another cake, another dress, another buffet line apart from the next ceremony or reception, and from this video, you'll see see the Sheltons' weekend was one-of-a-kind! You'll also see lots of their famous friends!
Tables at our rehearsal dinner were named after country songs. My friends sat here.
Withouth really* knowing Miranda and Blake, this wedding seems SOO very "them"! What celebrity wedding would you have liked to attend this year?
*Back when "Austin" was just hitting radio, I interviewed Blake Shelton when he was rolling through Knoxville for some radio station gig. His manager said it was his first-ever interview. How, then, could I have been left off the guest list?
