Virginia, Em's wedding, and a bestie reunion

I've been MIA. I know. But, in my defense, I've been having an AWESOME time. Turns out, some times I'm actually too busy living my life to BLOG about my life. Now the excitement has died back down and I'm ready to recap.

So Emily (blonde on the far left) was getting married to long-time boyfriend Tim on Sunday (Oct. 17) in Powhatan, Va. All the besties Kel (Latino looking chick), me and Megs (with Ava in the tow) winged in to be at her side.

Josh and I flew out of Brunswick at 7:40 a.m. Friday and arrived in Atlanta at around 9 a.m. (we had a delay on the runway). From there we moved to the next flight and landed in Richmond at around 11:30. Flying has always kind of made me nervous, but let's be real, it's SO GREAT to be able to travel more than 700 miles in like 2 hours. Thankfully I'm much more comfortable flying today than I was say three years ago when I married Josh. I've even went through hyno-therapy...which helped.

I digress.

Anywhoo...we met up with Clint and Megs at the airport, got our car rental (a Charger we lovingly nick named Quan - or Quantrey - don't ask). We drove the twenty minutes to the hotel, which was in an area called Short Pump (no, I'm not making that up. This provided countless dirty jokes for the weekend). We ate lunch and checked in the hotel (super nice by the way). Megan, Clint and Josh opted for naps (not all together, just FYI. Josh slept alone). I, on the other hand went to explore the adjoining shopping area. I bought some cute sweaters (it was C-O-L-D when we arrived) and coffee. I made it back to the hotel just in time for little Kel's arrival. Poor Kel. She had left her cell (unthinkable) and also had a tussle with a flight attendent. But she was there and we made it to the rehearsal on time.

The wedding/rehearsal was at the Mill at Fine Creek. It was out in the country (from what I could tell). It was rustic and very New England-esque. We ran through the ceremony and took some pictures, including the one at the top.

I swear Kel and I are the same person some times. SO much fun to be with her.

She makes me laugh so hard. FUNNY GIRL.

Then it was off to the dinner at Maggiano's. SO. Yums. Everything was great and we had a ball.

Me and the beautiful bride

Kel and our new friend Kaleb (Tim's son and Em's step-son). He adored Kelly.

We enjoyed ourselves. Great food. Great (and free) drinks. Amazing company. Tres bien!

From there, we went back outside and sat around talking (and drinking) outside for the smokers. We didn't actually SLEEP until 4 a.m. - rough, but fun.

Saturday - I woke up feeling less than hot...in fact, I felt like shizzat. But I powered through. We got up, showered and hit up the bridal luncheon at Firebird's. Wine was served so that helped me feel a little better (for the time being anyway). Em, Megs, Kel and I got some good convo in... we laughed SO HARD. It was one of those great belly laughes. The entire table was looking at us (we were on the end). That alone was enough to make the trip worth while. Geez. Love them so much. It's amazing that you can remain so connected with people.

Here are some luncheon pics:

Me and Kel

Megs and Em

After lunch, the girls went for pedis. It was also around this time that I felt little Ava kick for the first time. Absolutely WONDERFUL. Gah. Surreal.

Speaking of baby, Megs needs MAD props. She didn't complain at all. She sat there and watched everyone get "bleep blopped" and didn't say a word. I wouldn't have been so graceous.

When pedis were done, we met a group of our guys at Bar Louie to watch Auburn defeat Arkansas - whoop.

Ladies loving football

Me and Josh - War Eagle!

Everyone basicall went their own way that night. Josh and I ate at Cheesecake Factory - YES! - then I went to the room and passed out. I was beat.

Sunday - Kel and I got up early (feeling MUCH better). We did a six mile walk run at the gym and started to get ready for the wedding day. Once we did, we had Clint drop us at the site. We spent the day getting ready, taking pictures and sharing time with the other girls and of course the bride.

Emily was STUNNING. Truly. No other word even comes close it. She mixed a 1930s look with a modern, rustic venue. I loved it.

Emily (now Webb)

We explored the old mill and took our own pics too. Megs (baby Ava) and Kel.

We also took pics of the set-up. This is the reception area. Em used a lot of antiques (like the flower vases. They were old medicine bottles).

Her flowers were so pretty. Love the thistle.

In addition to antiques, there was a lot of birch and other tree material.

The wedding site

The wedding went perfectly. It was very natural and very Tim and Em. By that, I mean that it had a lot of "spirtual" aspects but nothing religious...which I admire.

Once the mushy vow swapping was done, (lol) it was PARTY time. And party I did. The band played a lot of classic rock, Dave Matthews and Phish. I LOVED that. My calves were SO SORE Monday and Tuesday from all that dancing.

Seriously check me and Nacn (Kel's mom) out!

I rarely sat down but I did manage to snap a couple of other (non-dancing/fool making) pictures.

Me and my man

Me and hot mama

Kelly and me

My true loves

The wedding really went over well. That's pretty uncommon. Most people have AT LEAST one mishap. Well, Em did cut her foot on the dance floor. And bleed on her dress. That counts, right?

(There was this one chick who was doing a clogging type routine to "Rocky Top" - such the dangerous tune - and she knocked a glass over. It shattered. Then Em stepped on it. But she was fine in no time).

After the send off, we all piled into our rental and went back to the hotel. Megs was the awesome D.D. :) She described it as driving around a drunken show choir. We sang all the way home. Clint actually recorded it. Naturally, it was beautiful.

From there, Kel and I went to "change clothes" but rather plugged in my iPod and proceded to continue dancing to Girl Talk (a rap/pop mix) in our room. SO. MUCH. FUN. We met the boys (and other wedding party members) downstairs and had another drink. We then bought some snacks from the front desk and headed back-up. We talked, danced more and ate. Lights were out around 2 a.m. Sunday late night/Monday morning.

I just can't tell you how fun that was...now answering the wake up call at 7 a.m. Monday was NOT as fun. :( Still the weekend was a monster success. I was SO happy to be a part of it.