Married

So the previous post about Peggy Sue Got Married got me to thinking, and I decided to post a little about our wedding, since we've been married for seven years and counting now.

Phillip and I were married on October 6, 2001 at Oakland's Historic House Museum in Murfreesboro. Our wedding was at 5PM, because I wanted a full meal at the reception and because I was hoping for a sunset wedding. I used the Farmers' Almanac to determine the sunset time, and it was wrong. However, we still had a lovely ceremony. We had bought glass lanterns that lined the walk from the little cabin to the mansion's front porch, and they were pretty useless, but they still looked neat.

I wore a sleeveless, boat-neck ballgown and my bridesmaids wore black, which people thought was strange in 2001. I designed the dresses, and they were handmade; each girl wore a long jacket with a sleeveless top and long skirt...very Stevie Nicks. The groom and his groomsmen wore black tuxes with charcoal grey vests.

The music that I chose for the time while people waited for the wedding to start was very unique for 2001. (Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Otis Redding, Madonna, Ben E. King, etc.) My bridesmaids walked in to "You Look Beautiful Tonight" by Frank Sinatra. My friend, Kathryn Fowler Stallins, sang "Grow Old with Me." My daddy gave me away and I gave him some sugar, a hug and said, "I love you, daddy!"

Our preacher was Brother Luke, who I'd grown up with. He'd worked his way through Christmas one year at McDonald's while he'd been in LSU's doctorate program and had been a friend of my parents for many years. He called Phillip 'Raymond', which is Phil's middle name, numerous times throughout the ceremony. He later told my parent's that I was the happiest bride he'd ever married, and that this had made him really nervous.

After the ceremony, Phil and I walked back down the aisle (amidst the bubbles that our guest blew) as husband and wife to Sinatra's "Fly Me to the Moon". We hopped into the limo waiting for us and were whisked down historic Maney Avenue towards the Stones River Country Club for our reception. After we arrived, we came into the ballroom to Stevie Wonder's "Isn't She Lovely" and were introduced as husband and wife.

Our guest dined on house and caesar salad with rolls, corn, new potatoes, California mix, green bean almondine, lasagna and Jerusalem chicken. for dessert we had wedding cake and groom's cake but we also had Oreo Dreams and Cheesecake Toffee Bites.

Our dj played lots of oldies but also some current (2001) goodies. Mrs. Judy Caffey led the Cowboy Cha-cha. It was a good time had by all. One of my two maids of honor, Mandy Caffey, gave a reminiscent toast before requesting/dedicating to me the anthem of our 6th grade year, "Push It," and my college bff/Rosewood Apartment # H-127 roommate/Chi-O sister, Anjeanetta caught the bouquet. Phil's friend, Patrick caught the garter. Casey was a groomsman and Franklin came into town for the big she-bang. Skylar, my niece, was our youngest attendee at five weeks old.

We refused to do the thing were we left before it was over. We literally all helped carry gifts down to my daddy's Cadillac (they barely fit) and wished my parents a safe trip back to the house before heading back upstairs. We sat around a really big round table with our closest friends, had a beverage (or two) and talked about old times and the good times to come. The only regret that I have is that I didn't ask the dj to play "All my Rowdy Friends Have Settled Down" as we sat around that table. After a short time, Phillip and I decided to leave and we all walked out together. Our friends headed to Puffing Billy's while we headed to our honeymoon suite in Nashville. On Monday morning, we flew out of the country less than three weeks after 9/11. We were nervous, but we made it overseas and back just fine.

And there you go...my wedding day...summed up in a simple blog post.