Friday afternoon proved to be as busy as I had imagined, maybe even more so! Before leaving for our tasting, Darling Fiance' & I stopped by Purdon's to pick up three different chairs and our table linen for the reception. I had originally imagined that natural wooden chairs with white padded seats would look perfect in our natural setting, but over the past several weeks I'd begun to doubt my decision and wondered if white wooden chairs would be more appropriate. The only solution to this dilemma would be to take a few of the various options to Natural Bridge directly! Seeing is believing, right?! At Purdon's though, we were surprised to see that there were not only 2 wooden chair options, but 3: a light natural wood, a dark natural wood, and a white wood. Here are some images of the choices:
I was concerned that the white wooden chair would be too stark a contrast against the soft mossy greens and earthy browns of the ceremony site. However, much to my surprise, the white wood was a perfect compliment to the weathered, slightly grayed wooden walkway! Both of the natural wood options clashed with the differently-colored wood of the walkway! So, it was the white wood that had taken the trophy in the walkway test after all! Now it was on to the Woodland Center to test the chairs in our reception room. The Center has a gorgeous vaulted wooden ceiling and stone pillars that stretch from floor to ceiling. A massive fireplace is unquestionably the focal point of the space while a large, smooth, glassy floor lightens up the large room. Our table linens are a gorgeous sand-colored duchess satin, which coordinates beautifully with the stone pillars. Because of their formality, though, the natural wooden chairs were much too casual for the room! Things simply did not coordinate well! So in the end, the white wooden chairs prevailed again! So the decision had been made--white wood it would be!
After this decision, we were thrilled to enjoy our tasting! Daring Fiance' & I were joined by my parents and Troy, the event coordinator at Natural Bridge. To be honest, I was a bit nervous about the tasting! The quality of the food for our wedding is very important to us, but the everyday food served at the Bridge is mediocre, not outstanding! This definitely concerned me and as we waited to begin the tasting I prayed that the menu I had submitted would be a tasty as I had hoped. Finally Chef Susan emerged with her smart little white coat and trays full of beautiful cuisine! She had prepared both the rehearsal dinner and reception menus, so by the time she had laboriously unloaded her trays, our immense round table was brimming with tasty treats! We began with the rehearsal dinner menu. For this meal we had planned a Kentucky-themed cuisine so that Darling Fiance's guests from the "Great North" would feel welcomed and at home. Lightly breaded, fried catfish (that would be caught just the day before the meal, we were told) was complimented by sweet potato fries (Darling Fiance's favorite!), cole slaw, and a Kentucky-favorite--spoon-bread! All the dishes were delightful, and no changes were made to the rehearsal dinner menu! I was surprised and amazed that the tasting was progressing so smoothly!
Next came the reception meal! For our first course, a gorgeous salad of mixed greens, strawberries, feta, and candied pecans was topped with a light fruit vinaigrette and crispy won-tons! The salad proved to be quite the presentation as the won-ton tower stretched to beautiful heights and the fresh strawberries sprinkled the greens in gorgeous pops of color! Much to my delight, the salad was just as fresh and delicious as it was beautiful! No changes with course #1 were necessary! The entree' course of fresh pasta with a creamy pesto sauce and balsamic-glazed chicken breast accompanied by locally-grown fresh green beans was also impeccable! The only change made to this dish was swapping bow-tie pasta for miniature shells--the angel hair that I had hoped for simply would not hold its shape well enough for the big day, we were told. The sauce was altered slightly too, and after those two changes we were finished! I was confident that our reception food would be all that I had hoped it would be! My parents heartily agreed and as the ladies in the party began hashing out details of the big day with Troy, the men wandered off to chat about hunting and fishing! Some things never change, right? ;-)
After our wonderful evening at the Bridge, Darling Fiance', Pretty Puppy, and I made our way back to my hometown to prepare for the next day's big event--Eli's 4th Birthday Party! Sweet Sister had indulged her son's wishes to have a "Duke's of Hazard" themed event, because, after all, little boys' Birthday's come but once a year! Because we were expecting 100 degree weather for Eli's party, Sweet Sister had thought it the perfect time to pull out Eli's jumbo-sized kiddie pool for all the little ones to enjoy! And enjoy they did! At one point during the party, there were 10 "young-uns" splashing around in the pool as their delighted parents looked on watchfully. It was a smashing success, indeed! Carolyn, our family cake-maker, had crafted an adorable "Duke's" cake for the Birthday boy, complete with a flying General Lee! He was delighted with his special cake! In fact, he was too busy enjoying the cake, pool, and his company to open all of his presents! He did manage to open the gifts from his Granny & Bapsy (my parents)--which consisted of new clothes, a t-ball glove, and other wonderful goodies--as well as the gift from his "Sissy" and my Darling Fiance'--a t-ball set complete with bat, balls, and a stand! I think he was pleased with his new toys, but as the attention span of four-year-olds is as short as can be, he didn't spend too much time playing with them, but instead rejoined the pool party, where he stayed for the rest of the evening!
Sunday afternoon, normally spent resting and catching up on school work, was instead devoted to finishing our invitations! Mom and I began working on them around 11 am and finished around 9 pm! I'm proud to say that I hand calligraphed all 200 invitations while mom completed nearly all the inner envelopes! We made a great team and the finished products were beautiful, even if we were exhausted by the end! Hold tight for photos!
While Mom & I were finishing the invitations, Darling Fiance' was enjoying a once-in-a-lifetime trip--the Indy 500! My dear friend Sabrina had called the previous day explaining that her father, husband, and brother-in-law had an extra ticket for the race and would love if Darling Fiance' could attend! He was, of course, thrilled at the opportunity and gladly accepted! They left very early on Sunday morning and didn't return home until late that evening, but according to Darling Fiance', they had a blast! It was military appreciation day and the fans were all grateful to attend the big race! Our guys were privileged to sit up close near the action and had wonderful pictures to prove it:
Memorial day was spent cooking and cleaning but ended with a fun family cookout! Darling Fiance' prepared hamburgers and hot dogs galore while Mom grilled onions and bell peppers and prepared other fresh greens for our dining pleasure! After noshing on our delicious meal, Darling Fiance' & I relaxed a bit before returning to the big city, a busy but enjoyable weekend under our belts!
Til Next Time...
Hugs & Kisses,
A Southern Sweetheart
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