So here is the promised post of Shannon's wedding weekend! Let me just start by saying it was such and AMAZING weekend and such an honor to be a part of Shannon and Robert's wedding day. They are such beautiful people and are perfect for each other, you could just feel all the love and joy throughout the weekend!
So the weekend started on Friday Michael and I got up early to drive to Charlotte and drop Bella off at my Mom's where she stayed for the weekend, and don't worry my mom spoils Bella just as much if not more than we do so lets just say she didn't miss us one bit!
Once we dropped Bella off we headed to Winston-Salem which is where all the wedding festivities would take place! When we arrived in Winston we checked into our hotel and quickly showered and got ready for the rehearsal dinner. Both Michael and I were super excited about the rehearsal dinner because it was being held on the Wake Forest campus(Michael graduated from Wake) and we love any excuse to go back and visit, we have so many memories there!
The rehearsal dinner was beautiful and delicious and it was so nice to share the evening with so many people that love Robert and Shannon as much as we do!
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| The hubs is happy to be back in Demon Deacon land! |
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| So beautiful! |
Fun fact about the groom, Robert hiked the Appalachian trail hence the AT cake. Oh yeah and he biked across the U.S you know no big deal! Ha!
After the dinner we headed back to our hotel to change into some more comfy clothes and get ready for the bonfire that was planned! We also picked up my cousin Jordan who had just arrived and was staying with us at the hotel. I could do a whole other post about Jordan and how much fun we have when we are together, she is basically my sister and we do nothing but cut up the entire time we are together so lets just say she doubles the fun! Anyways we changed, picked up Jordan and headed to the bonfire.
A little side note about Shannon and Robert's wedding, their ceremony was held at a place called the
The Children's home. This is an amazing organization that helps children in need in the area, it is a huge piece of land with lodging and even farm animals that the children can come stay and have a blast! So this bonfire was at the children's home and it was so much fun, we chatted laughed and stuffed our faces with s'mores(well at least I did). When the festivities started to wind down we headed back to the hotel to get some rest before the big day!
Saturday morning we woke up grabbed some breakfast and quickly got ready, then headed over the wedding venue to help with last minute details and to see my beautiful Shannon! When we arrived I headed back to the room where Shannon was getting ready and y'all she seriously blew me away! The tears immediately started flowing, she was the most beautiful bride I have ever seen!!!!!!
We spent the next couple hours finalizing details, flowers etc. Before I knew it we were thirty minutes til the ceremony and I quickly took my place at the front of the chapel and started greeting guests and handing out programs.
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| Taking some pictures with the bridal party before the ceremony. |
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| Axtell sisters |
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| Stunning right? |
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| Passing out programs |
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| Lets get married!!! |
The ceremony was beautiful, lets just say I shed more than a few tears! Yes I cried a ton this weekend, it is just so overwhelming to me that Shannon and I are both married! It seems just yesterday we where sitting in her bedroom surrounded by *Nsync posters planning our weddings with Justin Timberlake, and now here we are living the real deal, all grown up!! Ok enough nostalgia! So yeah like I said the ceremony was beautiful! I think weddings are so awesome not just for the couple getting married but for other married couples. It reminds you of the covenant you made with your spouse and with God and what an amazing blessing marriage truly is!
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| Cuties! |
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| Here comes the bride! |
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| Mr and Mrs. Martin! |
So after the ceremony Jordan, Michael and I helped my mother in law pack up all the flowers and clean up the chapel and then we headed to the reception, it was time to par-tay!!!
The reception was a BLAST!!!!! The food was awesome, it was all middle eastern food and it was yummy!!! Funny side note: Shannon has lived all over the world, her dad was in the Navy so they spent some time living in Saudi Arabia. So Shannon's family grew up eating all kinds of middle eastern dishes. I remember in High School Shannon use to bring hummus for lunch and this was way before hummus gained its popularity in the US and we used to laugh at her all the time hahaha, what can I say she is a trend setter! Back to the reception, we ate and then the dancing started, and it didn't stop until the very last song! Even my nephew Nicholas who is only 19 months was killing it on the dance floor. We had such a blast at the reception, it was honestly the most fun wedding I have ever been to!
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| So cute! |
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| Hubby and I |
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| First dance! |
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| Breaking out the thriller! |
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| Dancing with her daddy! |
The next day there was one more event planned, a cook out back at the Children's home! We feasted on yummy BBQ and fixins and got to chat with the newly weds! We also got to visit with many different farm animals including: pigs, goats, donkeys, horses, a lama, and my fave a baby cow!!! This was pure heaven for me, I LOVE animals. I even got to pet and snuggle the baby cow, I know this is going to sound lame but it was one of the coolest things I have ever done and I was seriously trying to figure out how I could get this baby cow into the car so I could take him home. I mean wouldn't Bella love a cow for a brother? I think so!
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| The Children's home, so beautiful! |
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| Everyone hangin and grubbin! |
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| Hello donkey!! |
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| Taking a moment for a photo opp. |
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| feeding the donkeys! |
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| Yes we are swinging like children! |
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| Sisters |
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| BABY COW!! I want him! |
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| Off to their honeymoon in Virginia! |
After the cook out we bid the Newlyweds farewell and we loaded up and headed back to Charlotte to pick up our furry little girl who was way to busy having fun to miss us but let me tell you I missed her terribly! After picking up Bee Bop we got to spend Sunday and Monday relaxing with my Dad aka Pop's and eating tons of
healthy unhealthy food! Monday evening we headed back home and back to reality.
It was such an amazing weekend!! Shannon and Robert thank you so much for allowing us to be a part of your big day, it was beautiful and so so so much fun! We love you both more than you will ever know and wish you many many years of happiness! Please know that we are here to support and love you guys always!
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