I thought about waiting until Thursday to give you an update on my brother’s wedding and doing a matching 5 Things post to last week’s, but several of you sounded genuinely concerned about my sanity, so I decided not to leave you in suspense and go ahead and spill the beans today.

Well, I survived. I guess you gathered that from the fact that I’m able to blog. But the truth is that I spent Sunday in a straitjacket in a little known institution called Wedding Rehab. I’m still there now, actually, and since I haven’t fully regained control of the trembling in my hands, one of the nurses is having to take this down while I dictate. I can’t imagine the bill for this place is going to be cheap.

Okay, okay, so the truth (were you worried?) is that everything went absolutely fine, and everyone was so nice and helpful that I never felt overwhelmed or freaked out or…anything. I got everything done that needed to get done and didn’t worry about the little details that fell by the wayside (like the shoes that I forgot to put on the twins’ feet, even though I surprised myself by a) remembering to look for them before we left the house, b) finding all 4 of their tiny little selves the first time I looked, and c) actually transporting all of them to the ceremony site and remembering to take them out of the van; so close, but no prize for me on that one).

If you recall, my list went a little something like this:

1) Make the Groom’s Cake:

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Here he is. Gerald, the Groom’s Cake. Clearly, I need some lessons in cake-leveling, as Gerald has some rather unfortunate lumps and a definite leeeeeean. But I was always fully aware that my efforts would neither look nor be professional. My main intent was that he look presentable and taste great. Besides, I knew that there would be a different homemade dessert on each table at the reception, so if no one liked him, they would have their pick of other options.

Apparently, he turned out okay, though, because my cousin Matt declared, upon taking a huge bite that he could barely talk around: “This is the best one here!”

I laughed and said, “I appreciate it, but you can’t possibly know that. How many have you tried?”

To which he replied: “Well, there was the chocolate espresso one and the strawberry thing-a-ma-jig, and then I had some pecan pie and some coconut cake. The Italian creme was pretty good, and the chocolate trifle thing wasn’t bad either…”

At which point, I said: “Okay, okay! I believe you! Thanks!”

2) Then there was the child-dressing.

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This picture, while cute, would kind of seem to imply that I’m incapable of properly positioning clip-on ties. But this is after a good deal of wiggling and picture-taking and most definitely after a successful and surprisingly dignified trek down the aisle, during which Ezra resisted the urge to insist that the other little flower girl besides Della hold his hand (because a 7-year-old dragging a screaming almost-3-year-old down the aisle might not be best), Simon resisted the urge to pick his nose, and Della—well, she succumbed to the urge to be quintessentially Della. And that’s generally a good thing.

My mom actually dressed the boys for me, and then she helped me dress the babies. So the only child I dressed alone was Della.

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Here she is hanging out with her Great-uncle Dixon who was so sweet with her. This picture almost chokes me up a bit since the sight of men being good with kids touches my heart in a very deep place.

P.S. There was no time to curl her hair, but somehow I don’t think anybody noticed. Thanks for all your great suggestions just the same! I will definitely be filing them away for future reference.

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Here’s the proof that we all did end up dressed and (somewhat) in our right minds (this is my side of the family). I can’t help but laugh when I see how much space Shaun, the kids, and I take up.

3. Then there was the bride’s hair and makeup.

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She decided to go with a pretty, romantic half-up look and soft curls, all of which she did herself, which was awesome for me since it relieved the stress of having to recreate the up-do I did for her bridal portraits.

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We were both happy with how her makeup turned out.

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Not that she needs much embellishment, with all of her natural beauty.

As for my other duties—MC-ing the rehearsal dinner ended up being a cinch, since after nervously running through the program and carefully choosing my words, there ended up being almost no time for anything but eating. But that was fine with me. And we did manage to squeeze in the one thing I hoped we would—a blessing that Shaun painstakingly and creatively scripted, complete with props!

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He brought home several options of stand-ins for Shae and Hannah one day, and I immediately chose Rapunzel and Flynn Rider.

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{I wish I had a picture handy of my brother in his former long-haired glory; my choice would have made even more sense}

I would give anything to have had pictures of Shaun’s speech, but I completely forgot to commission a photographer, and I was busy Vanna-Whiting it with the props. Sad face.

Oh, and I was able to breathe easy performing my bridesmaid duties, thanks to this lovely lady:

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Meet Christina—AKA my wedding savior. Even the day before, I wasn’t sure exactly where the twins would be during the ceremony or how we would make it all work since the drive ended up being 2 hours +, and there was no guarantee of a nap or time for me to nurse them or…anything. Christina—an identical twin herself—is the wife of one of the groomsman, and she selflessly volunteered to watch the twins before and during the ceremony. She rocked and played with them, fed and consoled, strolled and changed diapers.

She was Jesus to me that day, and I am so, so grateful for her precious servant’s heart. The day would have been very different (and not in a good way) without her.

OH!

And you’ve probably already figured this out, but God shut the heavens, and not one single drop of rain fell that day in Atlanta, Texas, even though the forecast almost guaranteed it (there were probably some confused weathermen in that area).

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{Can you spot one of my children in this shot?”}

Not only that, but the weather was so mild, and there was an almost constant gentle breeze:

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{This is my mom with my Aunt Patti as they manned (womanned?) the twins’ stroller during the reception; I want to look like them when I’m 60!!}

 

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{I have a hard time believing my carrot cake beat out this beauty. Doesn’t it look delish??}

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The ceremony and reception were full of thoughtful, creative DIY details like homemade ice cream, a DIY “love” sign (made by one of the crazy-talented sis-in-laws), artfully arranged Tyler roses (its claim to fame is the nickname, “Rose Capital of the World), and a wooden pavilion that they built and then draped with tulle and sheer white curtains just for the wedding.

Even better, the ceremony site was the “backyard” of the bride’s home church where she grew up, and her father, the pastor, was the officiant.

To say that everything went off without a hitch wouldn’t be entirely accurate since two people actually did get hitched (i know, i know: groan), but to say that it couldn’t have gone more smoothly—now that’s the truth!

Thank you so much for all your prayers and suggestions. God is so good!

And now, as I survey my messy kitchen and cluttered living room floor, I have only one thing left to say:

It’s time to get a MOVE ON!

0 Comments

  1. Abbie, do you mind me asking do the twins take bottles of pumped milk? If so do you have any suggestions how to get baby to take bottle. Nursing strike central here 🙁

    1. I don’t mind your asking a bit! Mine don’t really take bottles very well, having had almost no practice at it. Evy will a little more than Nola (who never takes more than an ounce and mostly just gnaws on the bottle), but neither is super-great at it. There’s a bottle that looks, um…*very* realistic that might tempt your baby. I’ve heard good things about them, so you might give them a try. I think they’re something like these: https://daddytypes.com/2007/09/19/adiri_breast-shaped_bottle_or_do_co-sleepers_dream_of_eclectic_teats.php.

      I did have one that went on a nursing strike, and, while I never got her to take a bottle much, I did manage to get her back nursing with a combination of persistence and creative nursing positions (she would only willingly latch when she was very sleepy, so early morning feedings, and her last feeding of the day, but everything else was a fight from weeks 6-12). I learned to feed her standing up, walking, and bouncing, which was the only way that she would eat for a while. Then, eventually, she stopped arching her back and stiffening up and turning her head, and went back to nursing…until 14 months. Hope that helps!

  2. Abbie, do you mind me asking do the twins take bottles of pumped milk? If so do you have any suggestions how to get baby to take bottle. Nursing strike central here 🙁

    1. I actually used to hear it all the time when Lost first started, and my hair was long, but then I hacked it all off, and the show ended, and I haven’t heard it much since. I’ll definitely take the compliment, though! 🙂

  3. Thank you for sharing all the wedding details with us! It really looks like it was an amazing day with so many sweet and personal details. Hooray!!!!!

I love hearing from you guys!