Hallettsville Recap

This past Saturday night we celebrated (one more time!) Ali & Mark's recent marriage. I promise this will be the last post on these two for awhile! The wedding was held in Dallas and Mark's parents offered to host another reception in Hallettsville so many of their friends and family that were unable to attend the wedding could come. I have heard crazy stories about these famous parties in Hallettsville and let me tell you, this one did not disappoint :)

The party kicked off with the Grand March (this was a first for me) which is a tradition at most wedding receptions in this part of the county. Throughout the reception we drank beer and whiskey, ate BBQ and Kolaches (the real kind) and polka danced. I think Nelly might of even squeaked in for a few songs; Tyler's request :)

After the party we headed back to Mark's parents house and went out to the field where they had set up a bonfire. We stayed out there until the wee hours of the night listening to music, talking and drinking Shiner.

Some of the wedding party - getting ready for the Grand March!

Ryan & I

Alison & Mark polka dancing


The girls


Yes, we did the chicken dance :)



Bonfire

The boys

The boys thought it would be a good idea to jump over the fire....

Haha Mark's really not on fire I was just playing with the different shutter speeds on my camera :)

Check out Nicole's blog for a few more fun pics!

Hair Dilemma

So for the last two years I've had a love/hate relationship with my hair stylist. One appointment I'll leave with fabulously styled hair with golden locks and the next time I'll leave with a ridiculously looking bob with uneven layers and streaked hair. I think he has tried something different every time even though I keep referring him back to that one really great style he did many moons ago. So I finally decided to break it off (and hope that I never run into him) and find someone new. I made an appointment at a salon near my house with hopes that this would be the one. Well.... she was OK. I felt like she cut it fine but the highlights were terrible and I left with more roots than I walked in with. I decided that I needed to give someone else a chance. That's when I found him. I was given a referral for another salon and I was promised that I would be satisfied. Well I was satisfied with the hair, just not the price...

As soon as I walked into the salon and they handed me a glass of wine I knew this would be it, there was no way this place would let me leave with a bad cut. Now maybe I should of ran when I heard the guy in front of me paying for a $50 haircut but I relaxed and waited patiently for my time. When it was my turn I sat down at the chair and my stylist took one look at my hair and confidently said he knew exactly what to do and that he would put the perfect shades of gold onto my hair. That's when I was hooked. Then I got the bill.

I'm not even going to admit what I paid for color and a cut as I'm pretty embarrassed. I mean how can they charge so much for color when my hair barely even touches my chin!! I am willing to pay for a good haircut but the color alone cost more than what I was used to paying for cut and color. So now I have a dilemma. I have finally found someone who understands the art of short hair and how to craft the perfect shades of blonde but I can't afford him. Well I guess I could cut back on groceries and such to cover my hair bill, right???

Well, even if I don't ever get to go back I will at least have fabulous looking hair for the next 6 weeks or so :)

Headed to the Big Apple

It's hard to believe that our 2nd wedding anniversary is fast approaching and this year we've decided a trip to NYC would be a great way to celebrate. New York has been on our travel list for quite some time and this seemed like a perfect opportunity to go. We've booked our plane tickets and hotel but that's all we've done. The plan is to relax in Central Park, roam the streets and take in all the sights and try out delicious new restaurants. I'm hoping I can get some shopping in as well :)

Let me know if anyone has any recommendations on things to do and restaurants to try. We're up for anything!

Wedding Weekend - Part II

Ok, moving on to Saturday. We woke up the next morning with a slight headache (that might of had something to do with the champagne, sangria, margaritas and oh maybe a few beers that had been consumed the night before) but for the most part we were pumped that the big day had finally arrived. The guys headed out to make their tee time and Nicole and I met all all the girls at Alison's house before our day of pampering begun. I want to first say that I have never seen a bride as calm as Alison. We did have a slight freak-out on the way to the salon when we realized we didn't have Alison's "hair" and her veil but other than that she was all smiles. We arrived at the salon a little after noon and soon the girls were working their magic on us. We sipped on wine, ate yummy snacks and enjoyed ourselves while being pampered.

When we left the salon we came back to Alison's house for a late bridal luncheon and relaxed before we left for the church. Once we got to the church we got dressed and started taking pictures with her photographer. Before we knew it Alison was walking down the aisle and we were all tearing up as they said their vows. After that it was off to the reception which was absolutely beautiful! Unfortunately I did not take many pictures after this point as I thought I would leave that up to the real photographer.....

The calm bride

Nancy and Lauren

Rochelle

Nicky T and her wine

I loved how she did the back of my hair!

Ready to get dressed

Nicole and I at the church

Loved her dress!

We're all married now! Ryan & I, Ali & Mark, Nicole & Aaron

My handsome husband

Best friends :)Loved all her cakes!

Best friends since high school

All the centerpieces were different and absolutely beautiful!

All the groomsmen and Mark serenaded Alison

Nicole, Tyler and I at the end of the night. By the way, we rocked the dance floor :)

It was such a great weekend and Ryan and I were honored to be a part of their big day. Now I need to figure out what I'm going to do to occupy my weekends since their wedding is over....

Ali & Mark's Wedding Weekend - Part I

Yes, Part I. I took so many pictures this past weekend that I can only put Friday's wedding festivities in one post. I just finished up my photography class and this was a great opportunity to try out some of the different functions on my camera. Besides, two of my best friends were getting married and how could I not document this once in a lifetime event without taking 300 100 pictures :)

Scroll down for a recap from Friday.....

Alison & Mark

Alison's parents hosted a champagne toast at their house before the Rehearsal

Love these girls!

Some of the groomsmen sipping on Sangria

Pouring the bubbly

Cheers to Alison & Mark!

Alison with her beautiful sisters and parents

After the rehearsal Mark's parents hosted a dinner at Iron Cactus

Some of the details from the tables

Everything looked great!

Loved the Bride & Groom pinatas

Ryan and I

A few of the guys

Room shot

Aaron, Nicole, Ryan & I

All the Laurens :)

Alison's sisters gave such a cute speech

The groomsmen all received monogrammed cuff links and the girls received pearls

Mmmm dessert was delicious

All of the girls in the wedding party

All of the guys

Nicky T! Back at the hotel before we went out

Ryan's practicing for their golf game the next morning

Ryan and I at City Tavern

Some of the gang out after the rehearsal dinner

Stay tuned for Part II with pictures from their wedding day!

Ali B is getting married!!

This weekend Ryan and I are headed up to the Big D for Alison and Mark's wedding and we couldn't be more excited. We have been celebrating their upcoming wedding with showers, parties, and crazy bachelor/bachelorette trips and now we're looking forward to the big day.

To kick off the wedding festivities we are having a champagne toast tomorrow night at Alison's parents house before we head to the rehearsal and then to dinner for some delicious fajitas and margaritas. On Saturday the guys have a tee time, the girls are headed to the salon before a late bridesmaids luncheon and then it's off to the church. A reception is being held afterwards in downtown Dallas which I'm sure will be nothing less than fabulous!

I promise to take way too much pictures and bring back fun stories to share!