Sorry I'm so slow in getting this thing up to date! Flashback in time again...to the reception. The reception was in the family center at the church and Jo Morris and her crew did an AMAZING job decorating it for the occassion! I mean...the room was totally transformed. Byron and I are so blessed to have such capable women that love us so much! The food was great...or so I hear:) The cake was amazing...the wedding cake was strawberry with cream cheese icing, and the groom's cake was Byron's favorite- Italian Creme cake. Gina Mauldin did an amazing job with the cakes! There was plenty to go around, and there was plenty enough leftover for several other church gatherings!
The church was gracious enough to allow me a dance with my dad, which was so emotional for me and him! Thank you Southfork; so much. We danced all three dances (father-daughter, mother-son, and bride-groom) to "Sarah Maria" by James Taylor. Its the song I was named after. The relationship between a daughter and father is just so special. Dad has done an amazing job with his kids. He's sacrificed a lot over the years to make sure we had everything we needed. I always said I didn't want daughters (I'm basing this off of my own childhood and teenage years), BUT I want at least one girl for Byron. There is just something about the daughters that brings out a side of the man that no one else can. Not the mother, not the wife... Only a baby girl. I want that for Byron.
We also did the Bouquet toss, but with a small twist (thanks Kiera for the idea). I threw the bouquet without it being held together so that all the flowers fall apart in the air. It wasn't exactly as I had planned (We had to use the ones I planned for this part in another part of the wedding), but it worked out perfectly. All the girls int he picture are going to be the 'next to marry'!:) My youngest brother 'caught' the garter, but the guys weren't too excited to get up there and do this wedding ritual. It fell to the ground first, and baby Jake picked it up:)
Before we headed out, Jennie R and her crew put together a song for us "The Lord Bless you and Keep You" out of the hymn book. Man was I crying then! It was just so touching, beautiful, and it really demonstrated how blessed we have been at Southfork. Thank you for loving us so much!
Bob Smith secured a antique pick up truck for us to ride away in! I was a little afraid I would fall off the back, but thankfully there were places to hold onto! And....since Byron was a firefighter in a previous life, we had a firetruck escort us to our car! people were coming out of their houses to see what was going on. I waved to everyone, like Miss America:) I can't find the picture of Byron's face when we got to our car, but let me just tell you...he was NOT happy. Some of our dearly loved friends trashed our car and it took us about 45 minutes to get it cleaned off enough to drive away. Turns out...the firetruck was a signal to them to finish up and get out of there. Siblings...just wait until you get married.
