The wedding festivities began Wednesday before the wedding with family and friends arriving into town from South Dakota, Minnesota and even Hong Kong! We had a great time visiting with all of Justin's family and getting to know his friends and it was wonderful to see so many of the Bilton family members and friends too. James and I hosted a BBQ (with James' famous smoked brisket) on Wednesday and then we enjoyed a wonderful casual supper at Katherine and Justin's new home on Thursday. Friday began the "real" wedding festivities with the Bridal Luncheon at my home hosted by my mom and I. My dad was a saint and helped tremendously with all of the food and even stayed right up until we were ready to serve. I can't thank my parents for all of their help, James was instrumental in getting the house ready and I borrowed half of Carol's house I think to pull the luncheon together. In the end, it turned out beautifully! We went with a silver, white and pale pink color scheme and snowflake theme for this traditional southern ladies luncheon and everything really tied in well together. Here are a few pictures of the luncheon:
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| The Invitation |
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| Dining Room table- I used white antique linens, silver (a combination of mine and Carol's) and a silver snowflake ornament for name cards |
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| The Flower arrangements- I did them myself (shocking!) and used white hydrangeas, cream and pink roses. I wrapped the vases in silver organza and added an accent of silver snowflakes in the arrangements. |
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| I stayed with the theme for desserts and had an assortment of small bite sized white desserts including Katherine's grandmother's famous 7Up pound cake made into mini cupcakes. |
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| And the BEST petit fours in town from Steins! Cute little pink hearts and white flowers. They were delicious! |
Friday evening was the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner and it was a lovely evening! The dinner was held at St Pete's Dancing Marlin in Deep Ellum.. it is not only a true Dallas establishment, but is a personal favorite of ours. Pete and his staff did a wonderful job and the entire evening was perfect.
Saturday brought the BIG DAY! Everyone looked beautiful, but Katherine was absolutely STUNNING! She always looks like a million bucks, but on Saturday, February 16th there couldn't have been a more elegant, graceful and happy person in the world (well, Justin was pretty happy too!) I had gotten a sneak preview of the bride at her bridal portrait, but there's just something so very special about a bride on her wedding day. It took a lot of effort to not bawl like a baby when she walked down the aisle (darn pregnancy hormones!)
The wedding ceremony was perfect and then the real party began at the Mansion. The decor was amazing.. so classy and fun and the flowers..oh, my!! Everything looked absolutely wonderful and after all of the talk about the feel that Katherine wanted for the reception, it really was perfect. And since I couldn't have any champagne to celebrate with them Saturday night, I am reserving the right to celebrate with champagne next February 16th! :)
Katherine and Justin truly are wonderful for each other and everyone in the room Saturday night could just feel the love between them. We wish them many, many years of love, laughter and living happily ever after!! Love you both very much!
