Katie’s Wedding Weekend in Raleigh North Carolina… Part 2

After the bridal luncheon was over Katie and I got back in the car and we traveled to Brooks' mother, Caroline's home (also in Smithfield NC) to rest and relax with the grandparents until time for the wedding rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner. When the time came clothes were changed, makeup re-applied and off we went in Katie's car with two of the bridesmaids to the rehearsal at River Ridge Golf Club ( the wedding venue).

The rehearsal went without a hitch and everyone was having fun as we went through our actions. The groomsmen and bridesmaids were enjoying the moments and making plans on doing a little something when they were going to be announced at the rehearsal dinner. I loved the officiant and the wedding coordinator as everything went very smoothly. It was really quite fun.

In the meantime our son and family arrived from Texas and we had quite the snafu as Katie and I told him the wrong parking garage to find our CRV that we left for him to use. As a result he was not in great spirits when he arrived as we sorted out what went wrong. We finally got him back at Katie's house so he could get ready to meet us at rehearsal dinner.

After getting Jason and his family situated we hopped in the car after rehearsal (John with Brooks and me with Katie and 2 bridesmaids) to head over to the rehearsal dinner in Clayton NC at the restaurant Bricks and Mortar. It was decorated perfectly with pictures on each table of Brooks and Katie as children. What a great venue this was and I was thrilled to see my son and family when they finally arrived.

My best friend from College Station Texas arrived with her daughter and then another bestie with her daughter and another girl. All of these girls were a big part of Katie's softball years. So fun! It was really great getting to reconnect with all of them.

After mingling there were some very moving speeches from the father of the groom and from a grandfather who gave the couple a memorial plaque commemorating their first date, the proposal and the wedding. Next came speeches from Brooks' sister, Morgan (the maid of honor), Brooks' best friend and me. A few laughs, a few tears, a wonderful Italian Buffet and some adult beverages made for a most wonderful and memorable wedding eve celebration!

Brooks went to spend the night before the wedding at a hotel near the venue while Katie, Jason, Kelly, Cameron, Adrianne, John and I went back to the house to air up the portable beds an get a few hours sleep before the wedding day…

Tomorrow the big day would finally be here…

NOTE: We are now in Charleston SC for a three nights before moving on to a RV park near Savannah GA as we slowly migrate to Florida…