This week was incredibly special. David and I took off to Atlanta to take part in the wedding of two wonderful people: Jay, David’s best friend from college, and Stacy, one of my good friends from back in middle/high school. We proudly take credit for introducing them at my 10 year high school reunion and totally milked that story for all it was worth over the past few days- ha.

With the generous help of Uncle Stat (my bro), Aunt Cara, Nana and Papa John, the girls were able to come down and stay in Roswell (close by) and soak up family time, leaving us free to be hands on for the wedding.

It all started Friday afternoon, after dropping off the girls, when we went to meet up with the groom and friends for a celebratory, kick-off lunch at Grindhouse Burgers. It was delicious; I love a perfectly sized burger with some many delicious topping choices!

The paleo challenge starts today, remember? (winky face)

Meeting back up with friends we don’t see very often was invigorating and set the tone for the fun weekend to come. After checking into the hotel, we fancied up. By that, I mean I attempted to not burn myself with a curling iron, then had the opportunity to wear this gorgeous fur. It was David’s grandmother’s coat and I was so honored with David’s mom passed it along to me.

I almost had a man in the elevator convinced I was high society until my phone rang and I had to pull it out of its case… and by case, I mean old sock. Can’t win ‘em all.

After rehearsing at the church, we made our way to La Grotta, a beautiful little restaurant in the heart of Buckhead. I wish I would have had my fancy camera so I could even attempt to capture the ambiance, but alas, I just had my phone, which was probably for the best. It left me able to focus on what is very often my very favorite part of weddings- the rehearsal dinner.

We caught up with so many friends, enjoyed food that I lack the ability to describe because it was that incredible, listened to stories of people honoring the couple, attempted to pay tribute via spoken word myself to Stacy and Jay and shared in their joy of joining their lives by watching a slideshow of pictures that depicted their lives growing up through current day. Those darn slide shows make me cry every darn time… and I love them.

We continued to celebrate into the evening, finally making it to bed around 3 I would guess? Needless to say, morning came early. I was up at 6:15 to pump, drive milk to my brothers’ house (that will teach you to build up more of a freezer supply ahead of time), then return back around 8:00 to begin getting ready.

I just loved how the hairdresser fixed my hair! And since I was one of the first ones, I got to relax and enjoy watching the excitement build.

As somebody put it this weekend, Stacy is sunshine personified, and true to form, had a glow about her the entire day.

The 2:00 wedding start time edged closer, so we all got ready to head to the church, making sure we sent the men off ahead of us so the bride and groom wouldn’t cross paths.

Arriving at Christ the King, a beautiful cathedral in Atlanta, you could feel the excitement building as the details all began to come together, starting with what might be the cutest flower girl I ever did see.

That dress!! Amiright?

Time passed quickly and we had to keep moving to get Stacy fully ready in time.

And may I just say that I’m not sure there are any words to describe how she looked beyond stunning. Ok, eloquent, bridal and pristine also come to mind, but… just wow.

Being the first bridesmaid to walk down the aisle, I’m not above admitting I almost succumbed to the ugly cry. I’m not sure if it was seeing Jay looking so handsome and happy, or seeing David at the end of the aisle right beside him that reminded me how grateful I am for my marriage, but my lip started trembling before the ceremony even officially began.

Lucky for me, I was able to hold it together and enjoy watching these two lovebirds get hitched. And just like that, the monsignor was introducing Mr. & Mrs. Cline for the first time!

After snapping some pictures, the trolley took us to the Piedmont Driving Club for the reception. The venue was breathtaking.

Old Atlanta charm at its best. After catching the tail end of cocktail hour, the reception began with the bride and groom’s chorographed first dance, which the knocked out of the park. Then, dinner.

I easily spent the first 10 minutes gawking at all the intricate details.

Gorgeous. Just like the newly weds.

After dinner, David joined the uncle of the bride and the maid of honor in giving a speech. I might be biased, but I think he gave one heck of a best man speech. These best buds are just awesome.

As much as I love taking pictures, I love dancing even more, and with such a rocking live band, I put my camera away in favor of tearing up the dance floor. Between chatting it up with my old high school buddies and grooving with our great group of college friends, the evening passed quickly and was beyond fun. I might not have the pictures to prove it, but I’ll let this one from the photo booth attempt to portray the dance party shenanigans…

I knew the reception was beginning to wrap up when the Sigma Chis sang their sweetheart song to the bride (honestly, one of my favorite traditions)

and then sliders were passed around of silver platters (brilliant!).

The party continued back at the hotel until I finally turned into a pumpkin just before midnight.

I had looked forward to sleeping in and taking advantage of the dark, quiet, kid-free room, but alas, at 6:30 I woke up to find I had left part of my pump at the reception, which meant David and I had to hurry and get back to Kaitlyn for the sake of my sanity and pain tolerance. C’est la vie!

Congratulations to the new Mr. & Mrs. Cline! Thank you so much for letting us be such a big part of your celebration!