Rehearsal and rehearsal dinner

 A preview of the church and order of the ceremony, meeting Sophia's extended family and seeing Daniel's friends from high school was really fun as was the party afterwards! I was so hoping the rehearsal dinner would go well and it certainly did! We had the Mardi Gras theme, Louisiana cuisine, cajun music playing on the sound system and drinks to bring the party to life! The food was SO good - chicken and sausage gumbo, seafood jambalaya, garlic bread, Natchitoches meat pies, Louisiana crab dip with crostinis, fresh asparagus and New Orleans bread pudding with rum sauce with a full open bar. It was a wonderful evening and everyone said what a great time they had. I was quite relieved when the evening went off without a hitch and was over so I could enjoy the rest of the weekend!

Daniel, Cane and Shaun arriving at the church for the rehearsal

Jared, Sophia, Daniel, Cody, Shaun and Chris awaiting instructions

Then it was on to the rehearsal dinner...

I gave Katie my phone so she could take pictures for me. They kept these warmers full all night!

My kiddos...so very proud of them both!!! 😍

Daniel and Mom

Daniel and Dad

Lincoln telling dad, Jared what he wants to order up at the bar!!

The Mardi Gras masks were a hit!!

I don't remember what Sophia was telling me, but I look worried!! And Daniel looks like he's about to line someone out...I assure you, neither was true! We all had a great evening!!

Amber gave a very emotional speech about Sophia and Daniel and had everyone dabbing their eyes...so sweet!

Handing out gifts to the parents and wedding party

After the rehearsal dinner, all the people staying in the hotel gathered in the breakfast area and visited, drank and laughed until almost midnight. So happy I had this time to visit a bit because it turned out this was pretty much the ONLY time I got to visit with friends and family...I had NO idea I'd be so busy during the dinners and wedding. It was all pretty much a blur it went by so fast!!

We had the room all cleaned up and ready for our breakfast the next morning...the wedding day!! And here's the groom handling wedding business while eating his breakfast.

Bridal Brunch and hotel check-in

 WooHOOOOOO!!! Let the wedding festivities begin!! We started the weekend off on Friday, January 14th with a Bridal Brunch hosted by the matron of honor, Amber and one of the bridesmaids, Heather at Bella Fresca. Wonderful lunch and so nice to visit with everyone close to the bride...perfect way to start off the weekend!

The flowers the girls had for the brunch were absolutely beautiful!

Heather and Amber

My place setting with my sister in the background...HI, Jenny!!

Sophia's cousin Calee, Sophia and Calee's mom Yvonne

My little girl and me!

I blocked hotel rooms at a hotel about 5 miles from the venue and had a shuttle running during the reception so nobody had to drive after celebrating. We checked in after the brunch and since the hotel did not have a meeting room we could gather in, they graciously offered us their breakfast room so everyone at the hotel (there ended up being about 26 from the wedding there) gathered to visit - so much fun!

Pam and Anibal checking into the hotel.

Mike taking Olive to Grace and Ed's house while we were all tied up with the rehersal. He got lost on his way there and what should have taken about 30 minutes round trip took over an hour! What an adventure they got to have together!!

So we have a wedding in January!!

 What an exciting time for our family...Sophia will officially become a part of our clan!!! Lots of preparation has gone into this special weekend (mostly by the bride and her mom), but Katie and I started on Thursday, January 13th by decorating the venue for the rehearsal dinner. Since we're in Louisiana and Mardi Gras season is upon us, we went with a Mardi Gras theme and had a lot of fun, as we always do!

BAM!!!!

We put some things in the Bride's Room for Saturday, too.

Our first weekend of 2022

 It was a cold weekend to start off the new year and the wind made it feel even colder! I really didn't want our moms out in the weather in Saturday traffic so I told them to stay at home and we would bring the traditional dinner to them. We made six to go dinners and took them to our neighbors Joe and Carol, my mom, Daniel and Sophia and Kenneth's mom. I got up and of course fixed myself a mimosa...can't let that New Year's Eve champagne go to waste!! Even though it takes longer, I make everything from scratch because it's just so much better. Took all morning, but we grabbed a plate for ourselves, ate, then started delivering around 12:30 - to go containers loaded with pork loin, hot dogs, kielbasa and sauerkraut, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, blackeyed peas, cornbread, applesauce, cookies and Chex mix. So much fun to see everyone, visit a bit and head to the next house! Everyone was happy to have all the new year food and not have to cook it. Sunday Kenneth did the cooking for us and it was even better...fresh crappie with all the fixins...SO good!! What a wonderful way to start 2022...looking forward to what it will bring...🥰

Kenneth enjoyed his Apple Pie Moonshine New Year's Eve...😮

And I enjoyed several mimosas with the leftover champagne...even had a to go cup while we delivered meals. Daniel refilled my cup at his house so I drank mimosas ALL DAY!!! 

Dinner wasn't very pretty, but it sure was good

Apparently he was thrilled driving me around...🤣

Got home and had to clean all of this up, but if you know me, you know I love to clean a kitchen!

YUM!!!