summer 2014

- Lake Trip with our Harvest Church Family -

- Mallory and Justin's Wedding -

- 4th of July -

  

tyler + shannon :: nashville

before the anxiety of having a time bomb in the back seat - aka a baby - ben and i used to love to ride in the car together. we could listen to music, sermons, talk, or just be quiet. we got to do all of the above on our 10 hour trip to nashville and actually enjoyed the ride!

we checked into our hotel on friday night and headed to the bachelor and bachelorette nights. shan was so thoughtful to invite me to spend time with her best friends for an intimate dinner at a friends house while ben headed to the cherry's for a boys night for tyler. 

the next day, ben was in heaven getting to spend the day playing basketball and laughing with some of his best friends while helping prepare for the wedding. the wright's arrived at the hotel just as we had to leave for the rehearsal. i loved getting a front row seat to the creativity, generosity, and community that surrounded tyler and shan. their friends and family worked around the clock to get the venue set up and ready for the big day. it was so sweet to be a part of this group, they all genuinely loved serving tyler and shan and the result was so beautiful! 

the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner felt like a family reunion. something about the way tyler and shan care for others made the night feel like home. the toasts throughout the night spoke to this as well. ben gave a beautiful toast to his lifelong best friend and included a little something from me - i knew i wouldn't be able to get through it and let's be real i wasn't going to do what tyler did at our rehearsal dinner :) after dinner, the wright's and a few other close friends joined everyone for a little after dinner party. we felt like since we were in nashville, we should keep it going and actually experience downtown...but we were losers and once we got out in the rain and saw how much it cost to park we were outta there. 

the next day, we did get to explore a little! big rob took us to his alma mater and we walked down memory lane touring Vanderbilt's campus.

from there, we walked around centennial park and saw the parthenon replica

found some fitting monuments for each family member 

you know we had to stop by our local hang out

that night, we all went to the wedding and got to witness shan and tyler become husband and wife! the reception was so much fun, the food was AMAZING and the dancing was even better! ben lost his mind for most of the night and danced like i have never seen before...soldier boy made an appearance and so did tight eyez wright and the krump krew.

one of the most unexpected fun things of the weekend was jamie getting to join us! she came to nashville for the ole miss bowl game and hung out with us at the reception and stayed in the hotel with us sunday night. it was so fun to get to hang with my baby sis before she went back to school! 

we had the best weekend celebrating the Parkers. we love you so much and are so excited to get to live life with y'all in Raleigh!! 

Laney + Graham

2 Weeks after celebrating with Caroline and Will, we wrapped up the summer of weddings with Laney and Graham getting married on September 7, 2013. 

Again, family and friends came to Raleigh to be with them on their special day. The Scalf's came to town and were able to stay at our neighbors house...(thank you, Co!!) so we took advantage of being pretend neighbors for the weekend with lots of cousin time :). 

The festivities started out with Laney and the bridesmaids being treated to mani/pedis by Jana and her mom at the Spa by Mitchell's. It was great to relax, reconnect with all of the bridesmaids, and start #lookinwright for the big day.

Had to get a mirror selfie with the groom 

After heading home and getting ready, we all met at the Little Herb House for the rehearsal. Getting a preview of the field and the barn where the ceremony and the reception would be held was so exciting. Everything was so beautiful and Laney's vision was coming to life right before our eyes!

Nobody puts on a rehearsal dinner like Robert and Ann! There were so many personal touches added to the beautiful room at Mia Francesca where family and close friends gathered to express their love and excitement for Graham and Laney. Robert and Ann wrote and read a full on fairy tale describing Graham, the risk taker, growing up to meet his princess, Laney!

It was really sweet to be able to stand up with Megan, EJ, Ben, and Austin to welcome Laney to the family and speak about Graham as a brother. Once again, I couldn't hold it together and had to quickly end my toast before even getting to the "real" part. Good thing you both know I love you :) 

The morning of the wedding came and everyone went their separate ways to shower and get ready to head out to the Little Herb House except Laney and I. 

Laney woke up trying her best not to be nervous or overwhelmed about the big day while I did my best to keep her distracted talking about other normal, everyday things as I drove us to her hair appointment. 

It was so sweet to be able to have the morning to ourselves reminiscing about Saturday's together throughout college, how she and Graham met, our various vacations together, and how crazy it is that we were about to be family! We talked about it all on the way to the bridesmaids luncheon at the Little Herb House where we were met by the bridesmaids, Susan, and Ann!  

After eating a beautiful lunch and sipping on the most amazing tea (made at the Little Herb house of course), the photographer, Robyn Van Dyke, arrived and took pictures while we got ready! All of the following photos are by her. 

After the bridal party took pictures, Laney and Graham read the letters they had written to each other. As you can see from Laney's reaction below, I exited the room as I got way emotional AGAIN watching her read Graham's words to his bride to be!

The emotional roller coaster continued as we prayed over Laney right before walking over to the ceremony!

The ceremony was beautiful, personal, and so special. Jesus was glorified and so obviously in our presence as two of my best friends vowed to love each other for the rest of their lives by His grace.

At the reception, we all ate amazing Southern food, danced the entire night, laughed a lot and celebrated with Graham and Laney as we sent them off to Mexico as husband and wife!! 

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Graham Wright!! 

We love you so much and are so thankful to call you family!