Something borrowed, something blue...

This is a trip down memory lane. I took it yesterday afternoon with the girls both in my lap, laughing so hard they could hardly stand it. I wanted them to be a part of remembering with me. The beginnings of their mommy and daddy. 10 years ago tomorrow.

I told them the story from the beginning. Because where else would I start?

I love this picture, for so many reasons. I look ridiculous and drunk (I was not). We rocked a mini van all the way to Blue Ridge (courtesy of The Downs Family), full of candy and bridesmaids dresses. Notice the foil and toilet paper veil Annie and Jenn made me. Amazing. The night before the wedding, we crammed into a room at the Cohutta Lodge. And while they all slept, I stared at the ceiling.

We got our hair done at the only salon in Blue Ridge. They shut the place down for us. They were so cute and so southern. And we spent the morning laughing like we were in Steel Magnolias. They made us pose for all kinds of picture afterwards...a 30 minute photo shoot in our sweats.
When we got home from the honeymoon and friends started sending us pictures, this one made me roll in the floor. My mother in law will appreciate this story 10 years later. But, this was taken moments after meeting her for the first time. She'd driven in from Oklahoma with her husband and here we stood in the parking lot at the lodge. Awkward at best. Then she says, "Oh wait, I have a gift for you." I thought...hmmm, dishes or a nice picture frame.

Please take in all the nuance of the picture as I describe what's going on. She hands me the box and it's incredibly light. I look at my best friend Jennifer and think...oh no. It can't be. I open it slowly to find a white lace nighty.

I'm in a parking lot.

This is my mother in law, whom I just met. Seconds prior.

Please note the disgust on Jenn's face. The hand that says, "Here, let me take it from you."

Erin in the background doing her best to find her happy place anywhere but there.

My mother in law, ecstatic telling me. "Oh, I hope I got you the right size. I can't wait to hear how it fits." No. Lie. Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming...
We spent the day at Wal-Mart picking through lip gloss, dancing on the green lawn in the sun, laughing in our flip-flops and sweats, making decisions about chairs and toulle. Doing nothing but enjoying the day.

Then came the photographers. Utterly obnoxious. Terribly bossy. And we got to the point that we just laughed at them. This was a moment I still remember vividly. Laurel behind the camera. Laughing from the white lawn chairs at the chaos the photographers were causing. That's the photographer's hand in the corner. I won't tell you what Annie and I were doing, but it still makes me giggle. And Jenn's face is classic next to us.
This....is why we picked this place.
At this point in my life, these sweet ladies were two of the best friends I'd ever had. So loved sharing this day with them. They helped make it what it was. Magic.
Sweet friends. Friends I still treasure.
My dress...almost weighed as much as I did.
My favorite moments...

We've been friends since we were 4. I walked into Sunday school and there she was. We've been best friends ever since. Our kids play together now. How crazy is that?! And this is the perfect wordless description of our friendship...Love it!
My precious Uncle John. Who looked like a WWF wrestler. Hugged like a teddy bear. And whom I loved fiercely. My heart breaks a little every time I see this...
A defining moment in the day for me...another similar to the one in the parking lot...with the nighty. John's grandmother catches me. Hand over my heart. And just at the moment the picture was taken, she tells me to give her a call if John isn't gentle...you can fill in the blanks. She was tottally serious.
Let there be dancing.

This is SO my dad and I. Singing. I'm sure in harmony. To a Nat King Cole song. Precious.

John's favorite part of the evening by far. He calls it, "that ugly song you sang to me". Someone to Watch Over Me. It had been in my vocal repetoire for years. Sung at many competitions and auditions. It was and still is one of my favorites. I was so excited to get to sing it to him and mean it.

And one line in the song says...although he may not be the man some girls think of as handsome, to my heart he carries the key...And this picture was taken as he was telling me how ugly that was. Made us all laugh. Good stuff.
My dad, telling John how proud is was of him. The two men in my life. Both of them irreplacable.
There was no choice in tossing the garter. John just put it on Matt's arm. And they had a good chuckle over it.
A precious group of friends, who had loved me, laughed with me, cried with me, prayed with me, and encouraged me through so much of my life. A discipleship group that started when we were in the 6th grade that met until the day we graduated high school. This isn't all of them. But I was thankful for the ones that were able to be there...and missed the ones who couldn't.
This picture is so cheesy. Yet, it's been one of my favorites since that huge album of proofs came home. Ten years later, it is our life together. Hands in. Commited. In love. And more beautiful and dear to me now than I ever could have imagined that day.