they did it

they said

 "i do"

*three weeks ago this weekend my friend annie got married.

i already showed you the fun of designing flowers for the big day,

and now i've finally gotten around to some editing and here's the

wedding!

* a lot of my blog readers know annie. this is long- but fun... what an amazing day.

here's how it all started. we unloaded the cars and started

setting up at Saint Anthony Main Event Center.

the bride-to-be was smiling from ear to ear.

in the bridal room, a sweet reflection of annie

here's what the tables looked like before food~

miss annie is a graphic designer as well as a sought after photographer.

she's uber creative & designed all her own paper goods and they were spectacular.

girlfriend thought of so many special little details, like these

bows she made for the center aisle.

an alter bouquet.

(funny story to follow about it.)

one of annie and dave's little flower girls drew this for them and 

they proudly framed it and had it on the escort table.

annie is my former boss~ remember? she is and will always be one of my good friends.

we worked together- week after week for over 5 years and i was there for a lot of

disappointing first (and last) dates. annie had been married for a few years when

she was in her late 20's, but had been single for a loooong time. (and her dave had never

been married).

she was pretty content single too. she didn't think anything was really

missing. she had a great life, two amazing kids, a dog and a cat, a business she loved and

life was good.

every once in a while though, she'd get the urge to date. we'd talk about it and she said she

always knew when the time was right the good Lord would send her

the right guy. so in the mean time she'd go on match.com and have a date and then the next day

another hilarious story to tell me about some dude, who didn't turn out to be

anything like she'd hoped.

that all changed the day she excitedly called me in her office and said

"look at this guy"!

then she added~ "just look beyond the "gomer" shirt --- don't you see

potential?????  he's got such a great smile".

so they went on a date, and like she said in her teary vows...they both pretty much knew

after their 2nd date, that they'd be together forever. 

watching someone you care about fall in love and begin

 to write their story is pretty special.

****************

so here it is, about 2 years later and it's the day~

annie isn't much of a crier. i'd only seen her cry once~she's a happy,

easygoing lass. she was pretty sure she could get through the day without

tears. well guess what? that ended the minute her dad walked into the bridal room 

and got ready to

walk her down the aisle.

tip:  her makeup artist told her if she started to cry to lean forward so the tears

drip down. (less likely to ruin your makeup.)

niece marielos, annie and jessica

these two little nieces of dave's were enchanting flower girls

annie's daughter jessica was her attendant.

(can i just say that i love this girl)!

umm, yeah, how's that no crying thing working for you annie marie?

*her joy came spilling down her face and she got up front and 

still crying, lost one of her fab false eyelashes and then got the giggles.

: )

nelson, annie's son is on the left~ (he cried too)! 

dave~ the groom:

this guy digs her. he digs her a lot. he is funny and exuberant and the second she got

 up front he tried to grab her and go in for a kiss---um not so fast buddy.

i've described dave like this:

he's like a yellow lab puppy. if he was a dog, his tail would never 

stop wagging. he proved this again, while fidgeting up front 

waiting for his bride to walk down the aisle, he knocked over one of

the alter bouquets...it was a funny moment- until someone suggested

i go up there and help the poor guy. ( i don't like to be up front).  : }

yep, more tears. this girl who doesn't cry was overcome with emotion. it was darling.

wedding's over~ finally he can kiss her. 

jess and her guy tim

this is a bunch of annie's peeps. they are all photographers and

dear friends. these girls know how to have fun!

our meal was delicious and then there was the

dessert bar!

don't know what my problem was, but i waited too long to go for dessert and only got to try

two of these creations. makes my stomach growl just looking at the pics!

so then there was fun~

                                       and merriment 

and speeches

                                   and a photo booth

                                    and dancing. 

and i'll leave you with this image.

it's the new annie lang~ dancing by our table and giving us a 

"booty bump" for a laugh.

love this girl. love seeing her so happy.

congratulations to you both, dave and annie lang!!!

there is faith and hope and love.

but the greatest of these is 

love.

squeeze every bit of joy you can out of your weekend,

b