Courthouse Wedding...

Back in May, I was feeling really on top of wedding planning... I mean, REALLY on top of it!  ... Except for one thing... We didn't have a wedding officiant, which happens to kind of be a BIG DEAL, right?!  So, Aaron and I scowered the internet for pastors in the area and even "wedding officiants" by trade.  No one seemed right, so I e-mailed my mom in a bit of a panic, and asked her to pray about it for me.  Within 24 hours, I got an e-mail response from her telling me that she had prayed with my dad about it, and then talked with my uncle Jeff that night and he had told her that he would be honored to officiate our wedding!  I think I may have actually cried when I read that e-mail... My uncle Jeff is one of the most wonderful men I know, and I respect his marriage to my aunt Barb immensely!  They also happen to read this blog, religiously, so I knew he would be able to make the ceremony personal and comfortable... Only hurdle was, he wasn't ordained in the state of North Carolina.

Which leads me to my courthouse wedding!  Aaron and I decided that if Jeff would officiate the REAL WEDDING, we would have to do the legal ceremony a couple days before, at the Asheville courthouse.  So, on Wednesday, July 25th, we got out of bed early, but some nice clothes on, I made myself a little bouquet out of wild flowers, jumped in the car, in the pouring rain I might add, and headed for the courthouse.  First stop was the register of deeds where we had to apply for our marriage license.  The people working there were so sweet and super excited for Aaron and I.  The lady there even let me borrow her umbrella for our walk to the courthouse! :)

Aaron's mom and dad met us there and up to the 9th floor we went, where we waited patiently for the clock to strike 8:30 and the judge to come in for work!  Luckily, it was a beautiful view to enjoy while we waited...

... and Aaron's mom played photographer for us while we were all waiting...

Still waiting... I actually remember this moment clearly, sitting with Pegg.  We were chatting and in between words, I was thinking to myself, Okay, now what's gonna happen next?  When the judge comes in, will he start immediately?  Where will he ask us to stand?  Will he sit in his judges chair? Will we recite vows?  Will we use our rings?  I'm not sure either Aaron OR I were really ready when he finally came in.

 ... Because he literally came in, introduced himself, asked if we had rings (which we did) and asked us to stand here (pointing) and said, "Are you ready?"  hahaha!  I think we both kinda laughed and said, "Yep!"  ... and within seconds, we were in the middle of our courthouse wedding ceremony!  And for the record; Yes, we recited vows, Yes we exchanged rings, and Yes, I cried through 

the whole thing!

"By the state of North Carolina, I now pronounce you husband and wife"

What courthouse wedding is complete without a fist pump (and a double chinned bride!  LOL)?!   

And here it is folks, our official 1st kiss as "legal" husband and wife!  Smooshed cheeks and all... :)

*** HUGE thanks to Pegg for photographing!  I love that we have these pictures to look back on.

Mom of the groom, happily signing the witness line...

Dad of the groom singing his name on the witness line too...

The papers that make us stuck for life! :)  MAN, I LOVE THESE PAPERS!

I'm happy that Pegg and Keith were able to make it to be witnesses for the legal part!

... and I'm of course thankful for this great guy, who "legally" married us in a record 2 minutes! :) 

When we walked out of the courthouse, there was an elderly couple sitting on a bench outside.  They clapped for us and congratulated us on our marriage, and the wife told us that we had picked a GREAT day to get married, because it was THEIR wedding anniversary too!  They had been married for 54 years.

... and I'm sure we'll beat them!  Even if we won't be celebrating this day as our wedding anniversary. 

We basked in our "legal marriage" for the next hour or so and then Aaron slipped his ring off and we went back to being fiance's. In our opinions, the legal part of a wedding is important no doubt, (gotta love the perks of filing taxes jointly!) but it's the commitment we made in front of God and our friends on our REAL WEDDING DAY (July 28th) that makes us husband and wife... so while this courthouse wedding was important to our country, July 28th, was important to US!  We'll cherish that day forever.  *** The REAL WEDDING blog is coming... I promise! 

Down on the Ranch

Aaron's uncle David e-mailed Aaron and I about 4 months back asking if we would have time for a pre-wedding BBQ party for all of the family at his house before the wedding!  We're always up for a party, and a country BBQ with family?!  How could we refuse the offer! 

We were told, when we arrived in Black Mountain on Tuesday afternoon that there we were supposed to dress in country attire!  With 8 hours notice and nothing countryish in our luggage, we set off to a couple Goodwill's and the local Walmart!  I think we pulled it off quite nicely, eh?!  Luckily my Hunter Rain Boots from the UK had arrived at Aaron's mom's house the day before... just in time for me to wear them,  doubled as horse riding boots! 

Pretty much all of Aaron's mom's side AND dad's side of the family were there (24 people total) , except for his sister and a few cousins.  It was so nice to be able to spend so much quality time with everyone in one place!

Every time we've come back to Black Mountain (this is our 3rd trip there together), we've talked about coming to uncle David's to see the horses!  I think he has 10, if I remember correctly, 2 of which are gorgeous Thoroughbreds! (Not these... These are just gorgeous horses!)

... and friendly little fellas!

Gran, Aaron and Mammy.

Aaron's mom's best friend Annie was even there to join in on the fun!

Someone had roasted peanuts and put Aaron's cousin Olivia in charge of serving them!

Kaye and Keith!

Carol and one of the many, many, many dogs on the ranch...

Aaron's mom Pegg and aunt Vicki.

Look at these hams!  Aunt Tery and aunt Carol, taking a break from cornhole to pose for the camera!

Aaron's uncle Jedd and dad.

The uncle Joe's!

Being that Aaron's uncle David lives on a ranch, there are plenty of animals to go around... cats, dogs, horses, a barn snake, wild turkeys, etc...

There was plenty of cornhole being played during the night...

This here was a friendly battle of husband and wife vs husband and wife!  I think the Osteen's won!  (Only a few will get that joke!)

I decided to take a break and relax with the cornhole peanut gallery! 

...and family, enjoying family time together.  (The Tyson family)

As the sun was starting to set a little, Aaron and I snuck off to take a little walk around the ranch together. :)  We had to snap a couple pictures here on this bridge... I mean look at this place!

Aaron's uncle David had hired this guy to come out, with his assistant, to cook a good old fashioned country BBQ right there on the ranch!  Mmmmm mmmmm!

I lllloooooovvveeee grilled corn!

The food was definitely worth writing home about! BBQ chicken, pulled pork, mixed grilled vegetables, corn, and even a cobbler for dessert!

...and there were plenty of cold drinks to go around!

After dinner, uncle David pulled Aaron aside and wanted to show us his special room in the barn where he has displayed family pictures for generations and generations!  He's a true history buff and we loved hearing stories about Aaron's relatives.  As we were walking out of the special room in the barn, I blurted out, like a small child I'm sure... "David, is it too late to ride the horses?!"  With a big smile on his face, he responded, "You wanna ride the horses?!"  The rest was history!

Olivia, Aaron's cousin joined me in the riding adventure!  David loaded the saddle onto one of his Thoroughbreds while Olivia and I stood nearby...

 I think this little guy was jealous he wasn't getting a saddle put on!

Me and my horse!  

Uncle David in his element!

 

Do I look like a natural or what?!

Thank you again David and Judy for such a fun party!  

The Hoppy's are here!

I was so excited when my parents arrived in Black Mountain! They came straight to Pegg's house for dinner with Aaron, Pegg, and I.   They were pretty excited to be there, as you can see!  

Are those HAPPY HOPPY'S or what?!

Two days later, after running around town all day getting last minute wedding details dialed in, Aaron and I called my mom and dad to see what they were up to and my mom was just about to cook dinner at the cabin they had rented for the week!  We may or may not have invited ourselves over for dinner!  But, my mom swears she loved having us there!  It was a win win for everyone!  :)  

The boys played a little game of mini-pool after dinner...

.... and how adorable is this bag!?  

Don't worry, be Hoppy!

Pegg found them at Cracker Barrel and bought it.  She probably asked me 5 times before I took it over to my parents if I thought they were too corny!  haha.  I loved them, and so did my mom!

The night before the wedding, Aaron and I headed back over to my parents cabin, charmingly named "The Mountain Getaway" for a Hoppy (dad's side) / McCallister (mom's side) family reunion!  This was such a special night for me, because my dad's sister and her husband and all of my mom's side of the family were there!  Every summer, we would fly to Alabama for 2 months and stay at my Mimmy and Granddady's (mom's parents), but we never went back after they both passed away when I was in middle school.  I had never even met my cousin Shelby (2nd from the right) until this night, and she's 16!  Amazingly, it felt like no time had passed at all, and we all jumped right back into being family!  It was A.W.E.S.O.M.E and we all swore never to let that much time go between visits again! 

***Photo credit to my sister's camera timer.  (Thanks Amy!) 

I'm blessed with an incredibly supportive, funny, loving, encouraging, and super fun to be with family!

Thank you to Barb, Jeff, my sister, mom, dad, aunt Judie, Shelby, Jenn, Kirk and Will for coming all the way from Colordao, New York, California, Mississippi, Alabama, and Virginia for my special day!

Love you guys!