Jessica & Philip's Wedding

First off I apologize for taking so long in posting about Jessica & Philip's wedding! It's been such a crazy summer and I haven't kept up with this as much as I would have liked. Ok so getting to the good stuff! Jessica and I have known one another since we met at Camp Bethel in Woolwine, VA since the summer of 2000. Who would've ever guessed that a week at a Christian camp would make us friends for life??? I can even remember when she called me up and told me about Philip--in October of 2002--when Philip moved to Patrick County and they rode the bus together---how sweet and cute!

So YES they were high school sweet hearts! :-) Since then they have grown in friendshipe, faith, and love together. Every time I came home from school Philip would graciously let me take his girl away and have a girls' night. He is a good 'ol country boy and she's a sugar & spice and everything nice country girl. Seriously only God could have brought two amazing people like them together! So after dating for five years, Philip proposed and asked Jessica to be his wife and several months later the two were married on June 21, 2008.

The bridal shower was held in the bottom of Jess & Philip's home church--it was decorated in lime green and pink--it was so pretty! A light dinner was provided by ladies of the church and some of Jess' family. And of course there were presents everywhere! Let me put it this way, Jess & Philip received almost twice of everything they had on their registry list!! Now that's what you call blessed! Unfortunately I was unable to make it to the lingerie aka bachelorette party--but from what I heard it was a heck of a time! The maid of honor, Amanda, and the other bridesmaids: Charity and Amy are amazing girls that are a blast to be around!! Seriously it was so amazing how well we all got along!!

Finally the day before the wedding came!! The dress rehearsal was held on Friday, June 20th at 5pm at Pocahontas Baptist Church in Bassett (where the wedding was held). While it was sweltering outside it was cool inside! Of course the groom and groomsmen and the father of the bride all goofed off while all of us ladies were ready to get down to business and match up the timing of people coming down the aisle and who walked in/out with who. Finally after the boys started paying attention and we finally did a few run thrus we all drove up to Jess & Philip's home church where the rehearsal dinner was held with family and friends. For the dinner we had down home country meal the included fried chicken, mashed potatoes, rolls, and the like. What could be better for dinner held in Jess & Philip's honor??? :-P

As night turned into day the wedding day had finally arrived!! I must admit that I was late in getting up that morning, but no worries, I did show up on time (I know you must be suprised!) but yep I actually got to something on time! All of the bridal party was asked to be at the church at 2pm. We each got ready, did our hair (if it wasn't already done), put make-up on, and did last minute checks before taking a few pre-wedding pictures. Finally the time came (4pm) for the wedding to begin) walking down the aisle of the church was so beautiful! The sun filtered in thru the glass stained windows and several dozen candles had been lit at the altar. It was such a sight to see, but that's not even the best part! As Pachebel's Canon in D Minor played, the guests stood as the bride maid her grand entrance. Well because there were so many people in front of me I was unalbe to see Jessica, but the look on Philip's face was priceless! His eyes filled with tears as he shrugged and jerked with emotion. It was so amazing to see someone as tough as he was to show emotion over someone that means so much to him--Jess is one blessed girl! The wedding lasted about thirty minutes then afterwards we took an ooberly amount of pictures and finally left heading to the Bassett Country Club for the Reception around 6pm. The reception was also incredible. Guests were everywhere, as a slide show of pictures played while dinner was served and as people danced. There was of course the typical cutting of the cake, toasting of the best man, tossing of the bouquet, and tossing of the garter---which was hilarious (Jessica lifted her dress up to where the garter was so she exposed all of her leg and Philip of course rising to the challenge took off his vest like it was some hard task and bent over beside her leg and bit the garter sliding if off her leg!). Oh what a fun reception! By the end of the night I was so tired! All things considered everything went off without a hitch and it was a wedding to remember! Congratulations Jess & Philip!

What a joy and honor and especially a good time it was to be in there wedding and share in their special day!! For those of you who have been waiting, here are the pictures from the bridal shower (that was held on May 31 and the wedding!!

Matt & Amy's Wedding

Yesterday at 1pm I gathered with the Vernatter and Bolen families to watch my best friend Amy and her fiance Matt finally tie the knot and get hitched :-) It was such a joy and blessing to be a part of their wedding! I have known Amy since the

tenth grade, when she first moved to Bassett, VA from Shady Spring, WV. And I have followed her pure God centered relationship with Matt from the beginning, when they first wrote to each other, from the Thanksgiving break when he asked her to be his girl, up until the beach trip when he asked for her hand in marriage, and now, the wedding! But let me tell you, weddings don't just happen! They are a lot of work! For months Amy has been planning and working out all the minor details for this big happy day! Let's rewind...

Beginning in the Fall of 2007 Amy and her mother shopped and browsed around to find the essential piece of a wedding, the dress! She found her sweetheart beaded dress at David's Bridal. This also the place where Emily, her maid of honor, Amy's mother, Amy, and I met one afternoon for lunch at TGIFriday's, so that we too would find our matching dresses that would coordinate with the color scheme Amy had chosen. Our dresses which you see here, are a green color called Peridot (pair-a-doe) which you can see above to the right. In March I was finally able to pick up my dress from David's Bridal. Two weeks before the wedding however Amy had decided that she wanted our dresses shortened so I had a wonderful seamstress, Melissa Kerr help me out my cutting and hemming my dress to the length it is in the picture.

Ok enough about dresses and color schemes. What must every bride have before she walks down the aisle? Of course, a bridal shower! The shower was held on March 29 at Bassett Worship Center, Amy's home church in Bassett, VA. The shower was hosted by the wonderful ladies of the church. Here are some pictures from that shower. They include a picture of me and Amy before it started, then of course her unwrapping a lot of the gifts aka necessities that she and Matt will use in their new home! She recieved items from pots, towels, dishware, dishtowels, candles, picture frames, silverware, and so on.

To the left lies a picture of a game Amy invented, "Pin the Kiss on Matt" as you can see her aim was a little off! But she was closer than mine, I landed on his shoulder! LoL. Below is a picture of the Corningware my parents got for the couple, and to the right is the gift I got her! Every girl needs a little bit of lingerie before she gets married right?! Well you gotta give me a little credit, it wasnt' that scandalous! After the bridal shower I actually haven't been home or have seen Amy until the day before her wedding.

I arrived at the Black Knight Country Club around 12:30 Friday, June 6 and helped decorate the rest of the reception area. Two hours later we finally arrived at the church for rehearsal practice, and finally around 5:30 we made it to the rehearsal dinner, excuse me, picnic, that was held at Little Beaver State Park, isn't it beautiful! In the center are Matt's friends, Tess (the photographer), her fiance, Andrew, and all the way on the right, Matt's best man, Mike! Those were some fun kids! Next is Amy and Matt making their way around chit-chatting with everybody that was at the dinner.

The night before the wedding wasn't too scandalous or busy. Amy ran around on errands until 10pm while Emily and I were at Grandma Vernatter's house just chillin, eating, and talking on our cell phones. Once Amy arrived we helped her with some last minute stuff including making t-shirts that she and Matt would wear when they left the building to go on the honeymoon. You'll see those in a little bit, but now I'd like to include some pictures from the wedding and reception!

Here is the lovely bride taking some pictures before the wedding. I think that taking pictures helped calm her nerves before going down the aisle. Isn't she beautiful?! And her dress is gorgeous, too! Absolutley love the beadwork and layering that the dress takes! Each one of the bridesmaids were to stand with the bride and take pictures individually, so as you can see here is a picture of Amy and I. Below is a picture of all of the bridesmaids and maid of honor with the bride. It was such a beautiful day!

Because I was in the wedding I didn't get the chance to take any pictures of the ceremony. But the ceremony was traditional and unique. Amy's processional was from the Narnia movie (it was wistful and romantic, just like a princess entering the castle), her father gave her away and included a promise ring that symbolized the purity he and his wife had had and the purity Amy and Matt had and how that was passed on to them. The couple took communion, traditional vows and exchange of rings, and recited 1 Corinthians 13:1-8 aloud, the lit the unity candle, and then of course kissed :-). The ceremony lasted a total of 20 minutes. After the couple greeted everyone that came to the church, we took pictures which are below, and then of course we made our way to the reception for dancing, eating, and of course the fairwell to the newleyweds who are currently at Harbor Island, Jamaica! Thanks for sticking along to read this!

The End.