St. Patrick’s Day in Savannah

Here are a bunch of photos from our trip to Savannah for St. Patty’s Day! Rather than delay getting this post up any longer, I’ll forgo the commentary and just say…we had SO much fun!!

FYI, ladies, if you ever go – bring red lipstick for smooching the cheeks of the guys in the parade. It’s a hoot! My favorite smooch was when Elizabeth and I ran up to a seriously old drill sergeant (who was being passed over for the younger army guys he was leading). We kissed both cheeks and made to scamper off, but he grabbed hold of both of us and said “G-damnit don’t leave!!” and gave us a hug and a laugh. It was completely unexpected, but really funny.

Running for our lives!!

Our friends Randall and Brandy convinced Jason and I to run in 5K race in Durhamtown Plantation, Georgia…being chased by zombies the whole way. Here’s the shirt I made. Like a total n00b, I didn’t realize that my race number would cover most of the message on the front of the shirt.

Go after that guy!! Not me!! (note Walking Dead playing on the TV in the background)

"No brain cells left...tastier brains that way"

The cleanest we were all day.

Randall had the genius idea to wrap duct tape around the tops of our shoes and socks in an attempt to:

a) Keep (some) mud out.

b) Keep our shoes attached to our feet.

We saw this guy going around the parking lot picking up abandoned shoes. There was a sign saying the shoes were going to be donated to underprivileged people…I hope they were cleaned first.

ick

It was so unbelievably muddy, it was nearly impossible to run/stay upright! You’ll see what I mean if you watch this video Randall took on his GoPro video, which was strapped to his head for the whole race. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZmY5wuy2HA&feature=youtu.be

Pool of mud water.

We did it!

Learning how to cook without recipes

Jason and I are both fortunate in that we come from families that are full of talented and amazing cooks. Many of our most favorite memories center around time with our families and eating delicious meals. And while I can follow a recipe like the best of ‘em, I am completely lost when it comes to knowing how to assemble a meal without specific instructions.

Even though we have an INCREDIBLE cookbook of family recipes that had been passed down from generation to generation that my mom had assembled as a wedding gift, I mentioned that I wished I knew how to throw together some ingredients and make a meal out of it (like all great cooks know how to do). Lo and behold, under the Christmas tree this year was a gift for Jason and I to take a cooking class, taught by Richard Ruben, at the Cook’s Warehouse that would teach us how to cook without recipes. Thanks Mom!

Richard started the class by explaining the items that you should keep stocked in your pantry, the pros of buying and freezing fresh herbs (rather than buying ground spices) and other helpful information. After that, we were divided up into groups and presented with a tray of random ingredients. We were tasked with inventing a two recipes using all of the ingredients on the tray. Our tray had: garlic, ginger, bok choy, coconut milk, shrimp, celery, raspberries and soba noodles. We decided to make a shrimp stir fry and Richard told us to make a custard. You could supplement your tray with the standard pantry ingredients, which was crucial.

The other guy on our team, and Jason cooking stir fry in the background.

Jason, bless his heart, was extremely patient with our teammate.

The best part of the stir fry was the soba noodles!

After you boil the soba noodles, add them to your wok and fry them up until they are browned and have a good crunch to them.

Set the soba noodles aside and cook the veggies in the wok. Add the shrimp last since that only needs a few minutes to cook. Then combine!

My custard! Made with egg yolks, coconut milk, brown sugar, strawberries, raspberries and blueberries. There wasn't enough time for it to set, but it tasted good!

The class in action!

Here's what everyone made!

Have we put our new cooking skills into practice? Jason does…I still follow recipes.

Charleston and Christi and Taylor’s Wedding

Last weekend, Jason and I went to Charleston for Christi’s wedding. I was really excited about the trip because I’ve never been to Charleston before, and everyone talks about how fabulous it is there – and Charleston did not disappoint! We got a late start and arrived into town Friday evening. Christi and Taylor had arranged for their friends to stay in a huge house for the wedding weekend. I totally forgot to take a picture of it, but here’s an image of the house from the web:

Here's a video of the whole place: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HImk_6JN6Ps

There must have been 30+ people staying there and it was so much fun! Christi and Taylor have a great group of friends. Friday night we went out to dinner at the Hominy Grill with some people who weren’t at the rehearsal dinner. Our dinner was so delicious! I ordered a Big Nasty Biscuit, which is basically fried chicken, bacon and gravy on a biscuit, so over-the-top and yummy. They serve boiled peanuts while you are waiting for your food to arrive, and it was the first time a few of the people we were dining with had tried this Southern food staple! After dinner, we met up with the bride, groom and the wedding party at the Blind Tiger Pub. There was an awesome bluesy band playing and the outside courtyard area was so pretty!

On Saturday, we had some time to walk around Charleston, I love it there!

Patio at Kudu Coffee & Beer - quintessential Charleston

On to the wedding! First of all, I thought this part of the invitation was so cute:

Love this!

The ceremony was held in a beautiful church in downtown Charleston. Below is a shot of the wedding party (awkward photog skills on my part, but I was trying to be discreet) – there were 12 people on each side!

12 bridesmaids and 12 groomsmen!

There was an old timey movie marquee next door to the reception site that welcomed guests to the wedding – very cute. The reception was held at the William Aiken House - my terrible photos don’t show you how pretty it was, but the reception was gorgeous!

A view from the outside, walking in. This photo does not do it justice!

I wish I had gotten a photo of the bouquets, they were so pretty!

The band was great, we had so much fun dancing!

It ended up raining that evening, but it didn’t even matter. There was plenty of coverage outside with the tents, and the entire house was open too.

The whole event was a wonderful! It could have been straight out of a bridal magazine, there were so many lovely touches – from the photobooth to the candy/dessert bar to the flowers and decor…

This was a good idea in theory...we couldn't manage to execute it right though...

The groom & bride! So cute. Christi looked beautiful!

Each wedding cake tier was a different flavor, and every piece was served with a mini cake candy - adorable!

All in all, it was a beautiful wedding and reception, and we had such a fun weekend in Charleston! Congratulations and best wishes, Mr. & Mrs. Clark!!

Love ya, Ma!

I need to write a special thank you to a very special lady – my mom. She made Kelly and I’s marriage so wonderful. She treated our wedding party to an  incredible rehearsal dinner at 5 & 10 restaurant in Athens. I wish we could have invited everyone to share in the delicious food.

Mom also helped Kelly and I plan our ceremony. It wouldn’t have been the same without her ideas and thoughtfulness. And her reading in our ceremony touched our hearts and we really felt the love.

So, thank you for everything, Mom – love ya!

Jason

And thank you again!

Hi everyone! Mr. Jason Cooper of the Coopers here! I’d like to echo my wife Kelly: THANK YOU.

We had such a wonderful wedding, and it’s because of our family and friends. Being with all of y’all that day meant more to me than anything. I realized I am part of something truly special. I feel that nowhere else on this Earth have so many wonderful people gathered together.

I’d like to single out my Mom, Barb, Twig, Tish, and Clay for putting together such a wonderful ceremony. In my limited wedding experience, the ceremony was always something you sat through so you could go to the reception. The shorter the ceremony the better. But I was swept away by the power of the words spoken on that altar. It gives me goosebumps to think about it even now.

I’d also like to thank my groomsmen. They kept me grounded, and made sure that I had fun! They are a great group of guys. I can get all mushy on them here because I know none of them are blog subscribers.

Dane, my brother and best man; Stephen, who I’ve grown up with (we didn’t start growing up until 22 or so); John, who is against marriage but got my back anyway; Israel, the wild man on my side; Chris, who’s always there for me. And I’d like to thank Steve Rutledge and Anthony and Graham and David Martin and Tom Tubesing for joining us on our wild ride in Chicago for my bachelor party! Love you guys!

Thank you!

I’m back! I had grand plans for this blog leading up to the wedding, but can see that I simply gave up trying to update it since September.

But looking back through the blog posts from 2011, I’m really glad I had documented the wedding planning process as much as I could. And I’m also thankful that I was able to censor out the stressful and frustrating parts of planning a wedding. Hopefully, with time, I’ll remember only the fun stuff!

Now that we are married, Jason and I are going to use this blog to document our lives together. We’ll do our best to keep it interesting but will not be offended if you unsubscribe at any time…

But before that, I’d like to reflect back on the wedding for a few posts. First of all, THANK YOU to everyone for coming and for sharing in such a special day for us! It meant a lot to see all of your shining faces.

And wow, what a great wedding it was. We absolutely, positively could not have put on such an event without the wonderful group of people who were involved, in particular:

Gayle Skelton. My hero!! You were SO kind to take time out of your busy life to attend wedding meetings, dress fittings, and did a truly amazing job running the show for our wedding day…and then jetted off to manage another event that Sunday. You were the calm voice of reason and showed your professionalism and expertise in the midst of chaotic organizing (and in the face of flat-out rudeness). I don’t know what I would have done without you!

My favorite memory with you that day was when you and I were up in the top room of the Thompson House, waiting for my turn to walk down the aisle, and I was completely freaking out. And you told me stories about other weddings you had managed to take my mind off of my nerves. (You really need to publish a book!) You were such a lifesaver then, and always. No matter what happens, I will remember you forever!!

Cathy Conway. From trekking up to Athens for multiple wedding meetings (and providing expert advice), to creating the most delicious menu (with the absolutely wonderful team at Avalon Catering) I’ve ever had at a wedding, you were such an important part of our wedding day! And my mom and I have said it a million times, but I will say it once more…knowing that you were handling such an important part of the reception alleviated so much stress leading up to the big day.

My favorite memory with you was right after the ladies arrived at the Thompson House. We opened (yet another) bottle of champagne, and you made the greatest toast! I wish I could recall what you had said exactly, I think it was something like:

“May the best days of your past be the worst of your future…” it was perfect and really lovely!

Tom Brodnax. The photographer who was everywhere! We have so many wonderful photos to look back on to remember our wedding day. I don’t know how you managed to capture so many candids, but there are some special photos that we are so thankful to have.

My favorite memory of you is when we were sitting at a table at the Thompson House in a planning meeting, trying to figure out where to place the cake at the reception. Attilla the Hun was arguing with us about it, and you flat out announce (in that glorious Southern drawl) “that painting is most hideous thang I have eva sean.” (implying that the beautiful wedding cake should not be placed anywhere near it.) The look on Attilla’s face was priceless.

Brother Twig. My uncle, the “minister” (ha). Thank goodness you were the calm, cool and collected one, and did a beautiful job guiding the wedding ceremony. My favorite memory with you from the wedding is when the train went by*, of course.

*FYI: after thorough research, we discovered that the train schedule for the tracks behind the Thompson House is not posted anywhere. But every vendor we talked to who had done weddings at the THG said that at least one train went by during the ceremony. So, we knew a train would come…we just didn’t know when.

Aunt Tish and Uncle Clay. Let me put it this way – if we didn’t have my Aunt Tishie, none of you would have gotten wedding favors OR hotel gift bags! I’m so thankful for the gift of the lovely bottle of Champagne that Jason and I will toast with on our first anniversary, and that you were both a part of our ceremony. You were both such an influential part of my up-bringing, that it felt right to have your blessing in our marriage. I loved the day-after BBQ – the food was yummy and it was a great opportunity for Jason and I to spend some time with people, since we were kind of hectic on the wedding day.

Mom. My beautiful, thoughtful, super-organized, loving, wonderful mother. Last on this list, but certainly not least! There more than one wedding-planning meetings and decisions where I felt completely overwhelmed and indecisive – I was (and continue to be!) so grateful for her wise and insightful guidance. From running multiple trips to Athens, handling the millions of details (so I wouldn’t stress), arranging the most unique and delicious bridesmaids/ladies luncheon to walking me down the aisle with Dad and reading a beautiful blessing at our wedding ceremony, to baking a delicious and lovely wedding cake – our wedding would not have been the event it was without my mom!