Going to the Chapel

Once everyone was dressed, we grabbed our belongings and made our way to Peachtree Road United Methodist Church,where the ceremony would take place, on a beautiful limo bus.  We touched up our hair and makeup (Lila even got to get some lipstick and blush applied), took a few pictures, played with my little flower girls, and waited for 6pm when the ceremony would start. Lila calmed everyone's nerves before the ceremony by entertaining us with her sweetness and going up to each bridesmaid, climbing in their lap saying "Oh hi ___ (fill in bridesmaid's name), I'm Lila!".

Once six o'clock rolled around, it was game time! There ceremony was beautiful, no one fell or dropped the wedding rings (I was so scared about that since it was my job to hold onto Ralson's ring!!), and my Pop sang The Lord's Prayer more beautiful than I have ever heard before.

We are all thrilled that Kimberly and Ralson are finally married, and we were so ready to get the celebration started!!

Getting Dressed

After everyone's makeup was done, it was time to get dressed. All of the bridesmaids quickly threw their dresses and shoes on to be ready to watch Kimberly step into her beautiful dress and Manolo Blanik shoes. She looked absolutely stunning in her dress and vail, and it was so special to watch her and my dad's reaction to seeing each other for the first time. It was definitely an emotional moment that I won't ever forget!

14 Months Old *September 13, 2012*

With all of the wedding excitement and the crazy-busy photography business, I'm just now getting around to blogging about Alli's 14 month milestones. She has had the biggest "grow-up" month yet, and she is definitely a full-blown toddler! She's still such a precious little human and getting more sweet the older she gets!

Here's what you're up to this month:

*You are about 17 pounds (our scale broke a few months ago, and we still haven't replaced it, so it's a guess). You are about 28.5/29 inches tall (guessing again).

*You still have SIX teeth and still no more in sight yet!

*You love to wave and say "Hi" to everyone that you see. You also say "bye bye" most of the time.

*You say "ma" for "milk" and "that" when you want your paci or something else that's out of your reach.

*You love to play with the cell phone, and you will put it up to your ear and say "HI".

*You still love to clap when we say "yay", but you also love to clap anytime you are really happy.

*You and Lila are starting to act more like true sisters. You love hard and definitely fight hard!

*You are WALKING full time now! You walk everywhere and are getting faster by the minute. You are getting to be hard to catch sometimes.

*You are a climber and love to climb on and off of chairs and tables.

*Your favorite toys are riding toys, cell phones, remotes, anything that can be chewed, pens, (pretty much anything that you shouldn't have...)

*Still taking 2 naps a day (when we are home) at 10am and 2pm. You will sleep between 2 and 3 hours.

*Bedtime at 7:45 ish and you love to get in your bed. You love to turn on your light up toy in your crib and listen to the music (just like your big sister did).

*You are no longer wanting to eat baby food. You love waffles, cereal bars, bananas, some gerber meals, bread...your pretty random with the other things that you will eat. You're pretty picky about textures that you will try.

*Still drinking out of a bottle. I'm going to take it away next month, but you love to drink milk out of Lila's sippy cups so maybe it won't be such a bad transition??

*You are still OBSESSED with your paci...this will be interesting to get rid of!

*Wearing size 3 diapers, 12 month pjs, 9-12 month dresses (can still fit into most 6 month clothes though...tiny thing!).

*You are loving your school again this year. You are in the same class at St. Christopher's MDO with the same teachers. You haven't seemed to care that big sister isn't across the hall anymore.

*You did a great job at your Aunt Kimberly's wedding last weekend (9/8/12). You were such a cute honorary flower girl!

What a big month for you baby girl! I can't wait to see what else you learn to do these next few months!

Getting Ready

We began Kimberly's wedding day with hair appointments at the Dry Bar next door to the St. Regis. The rain hadn't started yet, so we were able to walk over together. Each of us had either an up-do or blow out appointment to make our hair beautiful! Dry Bar is such a neat place, and everyone there was so nice and accommodating. It was so much fun getting to chat with everyone while getting our hair done.

After our hair was finished, we made our way back in shifts to the St. Regis for our makeup appointments. The makeup artists were in the Bridal Suite waiting for us as we finished with our hair. They did such a fabulous job on everyone's makeup, and we all looked beautiful.

Lindsay Pitt (our awesome wedding planner...website linked here), had drinks, chips, and sandwiches waiting for us in the suite to enjoy while getting our makeup done. We all had such a great time getting pampered the morning of Kimberly's big day!

Bridesmaid's Luncheon

I just realized that I posted about the Rehearsal Dinner before I posted about the Bridesmaid's Luncheon...a little out of order, but that's alright!

The Bridesmaid's Luncheon was held at my aunt's house in Atlanta, Georgia. She has a beautiful home and was kind enough to host my bridesmaid's luncheon there as well a little over four years ago.  The mimosas were delicious, the company was perfect, and the food was so yummy! We had herb seasoned chicken breast with fresh greens and goat cheese and the best strawberry shortcake with lemon biscuits. It was fun visiting with Kimberly's other bridesmaid's while we ate our lunch by the pool.

After the luncheon, we made our way to the St. Regis Hotel where we spent the whole weekend! It was such a great time with the girls!

Rehearsal Dinner

Lila loved the elevator and pushing the buttons

After the Bridesmaid's Luncheon on Friday morning, we made our way down to Buckhead to check into our hotel room at the St. Regis. It is by far the nicest hotel room that I have ever been in. There is a beautiful marble foyer in every room with a vanity set up under a chandelier. The bathroom was beyond beautiful and the beds were so comfortable. We were definitely well-off that weekend!

St. Regis Pool

We got ready quickly in the hotel room for the rehearsal, and then made our way to Peachtree Road United Methodist to practice for the big day.  The rehearsal went off without a hitch, and by the end, we were all ready for some great food at the rehearsal dinner.

The Goetz's hosted a wonderful rehearsal dinner at the Buckhead Club just a block north of the church.  The food was so delicious and very "Ralson" (we had a tasty Quail appetizer since he loves to hunt).  The flowers and decorations were gorgeous and perfect for Kimberly.

I had been nervous about my speech ever since I was asked to be her matron of honor, and despite the shaking hands and extreme dry mouth, I did a really great job (so everyone says-I hardly remember it I was so nervous!).  The other speeches were so awesome, and I know it meant so much to my sister to hear everyone speak so highly of her and Ralson.

It was a great beginning to a great wedding celebration!

St. Regis Entrance (our home for the weekend)