carrie and andrew boyd

this weekend was awesome. carrie and andrew tied the knot at lake martin in a precious chapel on the lake with a lighthouse to boot! the reception was at the Willow Point Country Club, which is also where we, the wedding party, stayed. it was so beautiful and, remarkably, not oppressively hot!

we rolled in friday, checked into our "villa" at the cc--awesome! went to the rehearsal din din--great food, great company. very sweet things were said of carrie and andrew and a good time was definitely had by all. some friends i was finally reunited with include laura self (my love), julie chamberlain (introduced to me 5 years ago as "j.nasty" by her roommate carrie), garrett hill (carrie's cousin and my former date to the deb ball 100 years ago) and many many more to play with (paige, amy, melanie, patrick, holmes, brooks, etc)! it was fantastic seeing everyone. grant and garrett finally got to hang out, which they both loved, since we shared our villa with the whole Hill clan--anna and skipper (garretts 'rents), holmes (younger bro at clemson), earl and nancy (the grandparents, aka earl was grant's favorite person at the wedding). it was phenom. the night ended as most successful nights do: at the pool with music and adult beveriges and lots and lots of laughter.

saturday morning came early, but grant and i (because of the time change) were definitely up an hour or more before the rest. we had a very nice breakfast at the cc, then went to carrie and andrew's brunch at a pretty incredible house on the lake (and by house i mean mansion and by pretty incredible i mean estate). we left that to hang out with everyone pool-side until the wedding festivities commenced. At 3.30 laura and i headed to the Children's Chapel on the Lake to watch carrie get ready and take pictures. at 4.00 i dutifully took up my job as greeter and guest book administer...? (whatever, i had to make people sign in). i helped everyone pin on their flowers (and saved mine b/c they were beautiful white roses) and get ready. carrie, of course, looked stunning in her debutante dress--an old Victorian tradition that once the young woman makes her "debut" into society, she is married in the same gown. awesome. the guys wore blue seer sucker suites (CUTE!) and the wedding was perfect.

onto the best part: the reception!! the band was awesome, the cake, delicious! and everyone danced all night long. grant and i danced all freakin night and were the last ones on the dance floor (shocker, i know). carrie and andrew left through glow sticks and bubbles to "oh, when the saints! come marching in!" (which always reminds me of kathleens alarm clock...) and are currently loving their honeymoon in colorado!! they'll be back before carrie starts back at alabama's grad school (with me, commuting... ughgh!) in a week or so. she has until may and i have (thank the Lord!) until december. God's been so faithful to our friendship that He would bring us through the same seasons of love and happiness (and school) at the same time.

We had the best time this weekend. going to/ being part of a wedding after you're married is a totally different experience. it's a renewal of vows, a new appreciation of friendship, and an indulgence in the sweetest things: cake, wine, dancing, enjoying each other, and spending quality time as if we're the only ones having a private conversation in the midst of a crowd. true beauty. God is so good that only He would create such a holy bond as marriage and allow such an honest and limitless love to exist between two people within that covenant. i know carrie and andrew feel the same way.