Sunday, June 28, 2015

Vana ♥ Joe

It's Vana and Joe's wedding weekend!! Ben and I left Athens Thursday morning to make the trek to Asheville.

Summer graciously offered to watch Felix while we were gone.  We've been taking him over to her house a lot this summer to get him used to her house, yard, and dogs. We arranged for her to pick him up from our house Thursday afternoon, and take him out to her place with her. We were anxious to hear how the transition went, and when she texted us a picture of him happily settled in, we were relieved and happy!



Joe and Vana had planned a big pizza feast for family to enjoy when they arrived on Thursday.



It was an extra challenge, because the oven wasn't working! They had to shuttle pizzas up to Cheryl's cabin to bake, and cook some on the grill.



These methods worked great and there was a smorgasboard of delicious pizza!



Yum!



Friday morning, it was time to start preparing for the wedding. There was a lot of work to be done! Ben did a lot of dog walks with Iris and Vinnie. There's the wedding tent!



Cheryl and Dae got us set up to make terrariums and assemble succulents!



They've been collecting lots of decorations like little rocks, gems, faires, etc.



What a fun project!



Vana and Derrick assembling succulents.



Little fairy!



These were to be scattered throughout the tables at the wedding.



Each one special in its own way!



Hanging lanterns.



Friday night, Connie and Bruce hosted a rehearsal dinner taco bar at their cabin! They had an amazing view up on the hill.



Look at those mountains!



This dinner was the BEST!! Joe smoked chicken, pork and beef for the tacos. The chicken was the best I've ever tasted!!!!!!!!!



Jamming.



Saturday morning, Kayla, Vana and I did our nails. Cousin Alicia helped! Vana treated us to Jamberry nails as a bridesmaid gift. I've never tried Jamberry before.They were super fun! Sparkles!



Cheryl, Kayla and Vana had put together beautiful peacock feather hairpieces and boutonnieres.



OMG LOOK HOW PRETTY THAT BRIDE IS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was like, "I can't believe we KNOW her."






The event planner, Holly, arrived in her golf cart to whisk Kayla, Vana and I off to the secret location.






Golf cart selfie! Whee!



Sisters!


Holly had some Prosecco chilled for us, so we could have a toast before the ceremony. Cheers!



Holly and Vana!



After our toast, we walked up to the beautiful ceremony spot and Vana and Joe got MARRIED!!!! It was a beautiful ceremony. Afterward, we came back to the gazebo and got ready for pictures! Kayla took great care of Vana's dress throughout the day.



Vana peeking out of the gazebo.



Bridesmaids!


Vana's awesome Jamberry nails and beautiful wedding ring!



Photos!



Hey, there's MY husband!



Guests enjoyed cocktails on the pond deck while we did family photos.






Derrick and Kayla!



Mama Mia!



Kayla and Soozan, the wedding photographer!



Bros.






Nieces and nephews.



Ben!



Yang!



Vana!









Soozan had all the guests gather in front of the tent for a giant group photo!



Vana did a quick change, removing her wedding dress sleeves and adding a sash!





Vana's Athens lady friends!



Cheers!! We got to write our names on our beer jars! I did a unicorn pegasus on mine.



Ben and me!



We set up an underwater adventure photo booth for people to snap photos in!



Joe giving a speech.



Dinner! Catered by Joe's restaurant. SO SO SO SO SO SO GOOD.



Cheers!



Moss's beer!



The cakes were beautiful! Chocolatey chocolatey chocolate cake:



Chocolate and vanilla cake:



And carrot cake!



The unicorn pegasus on my beer glass inspired Maya to ask about them. I told her about www.unicornpegasus.com, and gave her a unipeg!



Joe's twin Rob's Best Man speech!



Husband and wife!!!!!!



Kayla gave a super sweet speech.



Maya's little sister Brie wanted TWO unicorn pegasuses!



Vana and Joe's first dance!












Sisters!



Vana's friends Asher and Kris wrote a special song that they sang for Vana! Here's Asher talking about how she and Vana met.



The song!



After that, it was a big dance party!












Photo booth!



Cheryl and Kayla!



A painting of Vana and Joe from the moon photo booth at Ben and my wedding!



Alicia and Michael!



Dae and Cheryl!



Lydi swimming with the fishies!






Ellen!






Wedding beer!



Moss, Skye and Yang!






Succulents!



Time to cut the cakes!



Smooch!



YUMMMM!!!!!


Derrick tried all three cakes!



And declared them all SO GOOD!



Photo booth!












Kayla and Derrick!



Unicorn Pegasus bride!



Dance dance!



Kayla!



The band played Taylor Swift's Shake It Off, and folks just couldn't STOP dancing!! They started a line dance that kept evolving as it went on. The band just kept playing and playing!



Dance circle!

























































And that's when my camera died! This morning, Ben and I woke up bright and early to head back to Ohio. We went to breakfast at the Well-Bred Bakery & Cafe, the same place we went on our way home from Asheville last fall!



Yum!



We were pretty excited to pick up Felix from Summer's house. We MISSED him!!!!



He was so happy to see us that he climbed up into the front seat and jammed himself into Ben's lap!!



Hahaha he is way too big for that!



We had to pull over! Awwww.



Congratulations, Vana and Joe! What a wonderful wedding weekend!

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