A Family Wedding (All the Details)

The big event for our trip back South this Summer was my sister-in-law's wedding. Mary Austin and Andrew are two of the sweetest, most wonderful people I know, so we were thrilled to celebrate them getting married.

We came in a few days early to help with some of the finishing touches. James stayed with my family in Georgia to free Jay and I up to focus on wedding stuff. Honestly though, in certain contexts, like this one, since my stroke, I often feel kind of useless. I used to be the one on the ladder hanging decorations for the birthday party or working 24/7 to orchestrate the perfect final night for sorority rush. I'm a major planner and a good executor, and yet sometimes, my physical limitations get in the way of my helping out in the ways I used to. It's an area of guilt and frustration that I have to give over to the Lord on a continual basis. I am able to help in smaller, different ways, and I suppose I should be grateful to be able to do anything and even to be there at all. Thankfully, in this particular setting, there were lots of great helpers bringing all the pieces together. It was kind of nice, in a way, that I could sit back and take it all in, enjoying time with family members whom I don't often see, and sipping iced tea in the 100+ degree weather. It was hot!

For those of you who don't know, all four of the Wolf children are fabulously creative and talented, in their own different ways. It was fun for me, truly not that creative of a person, to watch all the details unfold. A wedding, like any special event, is a wonderful time to focus on the little things. Here are some of the touches that made Mary and Andrew's day even more memorable!

{Btw, these fab cookies were made by the talented Elisabeth Epperson!}

Alex, the youngest Wolf child, and best friend of the bride, is an incredibly talented artist and graphic designer. She was responsible for the map drawings in the programs and hand-lettered calligraphy on the out-of-towner baskets, and perhaps most impressively, tons and tons of hand-chalked signs. They made the reception. So cool!

{more chalking goodness on Alex's blog ALL//DELIGHTED PEOPLE}

Second Wolf child, Sarah, made loads and loads of festive bunting flags from multi-colored neutral paper, which were swagged across the high ceilings of the overflow room, transforming it from rather plain Sunday School space to charming and chic country fair.

I must brag on Jay who cast the overall vision for the reception, aided brilliantly by Jan Miller, florist/decorator/event executor extraordinaire, and Mary Sanders, the lovely and talented wedding planner. Since it is so hot during in the South during the Summer, the idea was to bring the outdoors inside with kind of an "easy but elegant picnic under the stars vibe" (my words, not Jay's, hee hee). Big buffalo checked table cloths, white Chinese lanterns, real trees, translucent draping dividing the spaces, and swagged globe lights made the reception feel like we were all enjoying an ideal, al fresco party, just with massive A/C being pumped in and no bugs (though sweetly enough some real crickets had stowed away in the live trees, and they chirped throughout the night!)

* Stay tuned for the actual wedding post next. Needless to say, Mary Austin was truly a radiant bride and Andrew the most handsome groom! And for our little family, it marked several big milestones...all before the broken leg (PTL!!!)