A Wedding in Carolina (finally!)

We traveled to North Carolina this week to attend the long-awaited nuptials of our niece to her beloved.

These two lovebirds - Raney & Josh - have been engaged for over 3 years!  

They really, really wanted to walk up the aisle 3 years ago, but a very wise pastor counseled them to wait until Josh finished college and they were in a better financial position, and they were wise enough to take his advice.  So you can imagine their joy when this day finally arrived!

It was a beautiful day for a wedding!  We like to think God showed up and blessed the day with some of the most beautiful skies I've ever seen....

Few things are more beautiful than a Carolina blue sky filled from one end to the other with fluffy, voluminous clouds!  And I loved that they were all shapes and sizes - such a delight!!!

Of course, these two grandchildren were definitely a more beautiful sight to this Grandma's eyes than even those clouds :*)

Reaghan and Adam dressed for their parts in the wedding

Their little brother Cooper was not in the wedding, so he was able to just chill - you can probably tell he does that very well .....

The groom was waiting outside the church - all smiles!

And his groomsmen waited there with him.  The rather tall young gentleman there on the right is our nephew Andrew....

What you can't see from this picture is that everyone in the wedding party was barefoot!

This was a Hobbit themed wedding!  Raney and Josh are both Christians and love the Lord of the Rings movies, and they wanted their wedding to reflect both of those things.  Their cake was surrounded by vines, with tiny Lego bridal figures and a castle gate on top...

And it was surrounded by lots of beautifully creative sunflower cupcakes....

These were too cute to eat!  Although, a few of the guests seemed to have no problem at all with eating them...

Ethan's cupcake matches his boutonniere!!!

Cooper was not a bit shy about biting right into the Oreo in the middle!

There were a few other yummy things to eat too - this huge vine wreath was really gorgeous...

Keeping with their theme, the inside of the church was very simply decorated with a lovely flower- and vine-draped cross as the focal point.

Can you tell how happy Raney was to be walking up that aisle to her husband-to-be finally?

Her mom, my sister Laurie, walked her up the aisle, and her joy and pride in Raney was evident in every step and tear shed along the way :*)

After the ceremony, there was lots of hugging and picture-taking, as is always the case after weddings.  I just LOVE this photo of the glowing newlywed bride with her smallest attendants....

At the reception, the newly married couple opened the festivities with a very touching foot-washing ceremony....

And I was able to finally present Raney with the quilt I made as her wedding gift.  I think she liked it!

I liked the idea of a wall quilt for them to decorate their new home, something they could see all through the day if they wanted.  And I decided to mount it on artist canvas as a piece of art rather than simply a wall quilt.

It can be hung on the wall or just stood casually against a fireplace or on a mantel - there are many options for a quilt finished in this way.

The pattern is by Zen Chic called You & Me.  I love its simple elegance and the modern color scheme.  I used a lot of fabrics that spoke to me of home and love - bricks, vines and flowers, even a few raindrops and snowflakes.  Mostly, I pulled from my scrap stash for the background, and you all know how happy it always makes me to play in my scraps, right?

I learned a new technique while working on this project too!  I printed out the label on my own soft gray fabric!  I've always hated working with Printed Treasures - the paper is hard to remove from the back, and the fabric is not white so that it often looks dingy to me.  This worked like a charm, and I hope to do a tutorial on the blog soon to show you how I did it.

When we walked outside after the reception on Raney and Josh's wedding day, I was charmed by this view of a full moon over the steeple of the church.  Once again, I felt our Father's presence and His shared joy in the day with us!

You may be wondering if this little guy helped me with the Wedding Quilt....

As they say, a picture paints a thousand words .... and Rocky was busy posing on all of his favorite quilts that day for his entry into the Pets on Quilts contest going on right now over at Lilypad Quilting!!! The voting will start soon, but he would love for you to "Like" his picture now and show him some encouragement  - you can do that HERE!!!

Hugs & Blessings!

Teresa

=^..^=