Matt Finger got married!!!!!!

Those who know Matt, never really thought the day would come that he actually would get married. I'm not saying that in an ill way. He's pretty particular when it comes to the girls he dates (which is not a bad thing at all). But all of us weren't sure if that woman truly existed that he kept waiting for. Well, she does exist! Kristin Cuff walked into his life nearly 3 years ago and they fell in love!!! On Saturday June 5, 2010 Matt and Kristin were married!
Dave and I had the pleasure of witnessing the special occasion. Matt and Kristin fell in love in Savannah. They chose to have the wedding in that area. The special place was The Inn at Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, South Carolina - my new favorite place. If you ever get the chance to go, I highly recommend it!
The weekend was a really fun weekend to celebrate the joyous occasion and spend time with some of our dearest friends like the Wrays, Vanlandinghams, Benners, and Bhatia's. People we see but not as often as we'd like.
After hitting the beach all day on Friday, the four of us couples caught a taxi to the Inn for the rehearsal dinner. The rehearsal dinner was at Moreland's Landing which sits on the Intracoastal waterway. Once we got to the Inn, we were transported by a trolley and taken to the dinner. The scenery was so beautiful. It was exactly what you think of when you hear "low country." I kept waiting for Paula Deen to pop out some where and say, "Hey yall" (even though we weren't exactly in Savannah). :-) The food was amazing. Fried chicken, grits, beef brisket, and pecan pie. You can't go any more southern than that!
Saturday, we hit the beach again until it was time to get ready for the wedding. The guys played bocce ball while we ladies enjoyed some sun.
We arrived at the wedding in time for the 5:45 start. It was such a unique, but cool ceremony. They had a marching band come through the front door and exit behind the altar. There was a rabbi and reverend. The ceremony lasted about 30 min. After Kristin and Matt were announced husband and wife, they released butterflies from the steps of the chapel.
We munched on some delicious appetizers and cocktails for about an hour in the courtyard. Around 7:30, we were ushered into the ballroom. The word ELEGANT was the first word that popped in my mind. It had to be one of the prettiest ballrooms I've ever seen for a wedding. The tables were decked out with beautiful silver and crystal and gorgeous centerpieces. Luckily, Matt and Kristin placed the four of us couples together at the table for the 6 course meal which lasted a bit long (nearly 5 hours). There was an open bar on the deck along with an sculptured ice martini bar (the actual counter was ice).The entertainment they provided had a lead singer that sounded just like Michael Buble! Since he is one of my favorite entertainers, I was happy! As we lined up along the sidewalk outside the Inn, our sparklers were lit and we waited for the bride and groom to exit. There were also smores to make over the fire before we left.

Everything about this wedding was so amazing and special. It definitely should be featured in a magazine. It was a true southern, beautiful, and magical wedding weekend. Rehearsal Dinner

Callie, Courtney, Cassie, Me, and Ashley
Wade, Prashant, Mike, and Dave

Dave, Mike, Matt, Kristin, Prashant and Chris

Me, Callie, and Cassie

The cutest chapel in the world! Matt and Kristin came down the stairs to release butterflies. Then we were lead by a band to the cocktail area.

Inside the adorable chapel

Before the reception

I LOVED Kristin's dress!!!! I was trying to get some pics but never got a good one that showed how beautiful it was. She also looked amazing in it!

The GQ groom :-) I just caught him off guard.

The most exquisite orchid centerpiece

William (aka Will.I.AM) our taxi driver Friday and Saturday to all the festivities. He was so sweet. Saturday, he even came in an hour and a half early for his shift just to be able to get us to the chapel in time for the wedding.

Four Years Ago. . . .

I married the most wonderful, amazing, and brilliant man! May the Lord continue to bless us with
His unfailing love and love for one another. Happy Anniversary, Dave! You are truly loved by your two girls! :-)

Diana: A celebration exhibit

For those who adored Princess Diana, you might really enjoy the "Diana: A celebration" exhibit at the Atlanta Civic Center. Diana's brother, Charles Spencer (along with the Spencer family) decided to put an exhibition together and travel the globe as Diana loved doing.

I've been dying to go but something always seems to come up. Finally, the chance came and my Mom, Lexie and I jumped at the opportunity. The exhibit displays everything from Diana's family jewels, to her childhood mementos, family photo albums, correspondence, famous wedding gown, and to a lot of the beautiful couture evening gowns designed by famous fashion icons.

Though it was great to see all of these things that Diana actually wore, it felt a little morbid in a way and really sad. There was Charles's had drafted speech announcing to the public about his sister's death, the 4 page speech he read at Westminster Abby during the funeral along with the musical score of Candle in the wind sung by Elton John.

All in all, I suggest going to see it. It was a little bit of history I may never get to see in person again. The exhibit is in Atlanta until June 13.

Diana, Princess of Whales

The Spencer Family crown -1840

My Mom and I were drooling over this necklace. The 2 big diamonds can also detach and can be worn as earrings!!! 46 diamonds set in silver and gold.
Isn't this broach gorgeous?

Coronet for the Countess Spencer. Probably made to wear at the coronation of Edward VII

The Spencer tiara Diana wore during her wedding ceremony.

Believed to have been made between 1770's to the early 1800's.

Never really a big fan of this dress but it was neat to see it in person. It wasn't as 'poofy' as I thought it would be?

Over 1 billion people watched the royal wedding in 1981

You can't go wrong with a classic Chanel suit. Ahhh - what I'd do to have Karl Langerfield design me a couture Chanel suit!

This was always one of my favorite dresses. I can't get over how different the color is in person. I guess all those camera flashes really change the color.

This dress was worn the day of Diana's last public appearence

Charles Spencer's hand drafted letter to the press announcing the death of a princess

We had to get a picture with the princess. . .

It's official. . . . .

Our house is on the market as of yesterday. We bought another house about 3 miles from this one. It's a great house but we are refinishing/restaining the entire first floor hardwoods, master and catwalk upstairs. Then we are painting the whole house, and replacing the carpet in the guest rooms. Hopefully we will be moving in by the first of May. . . .

Our current home is for sell - sad and happy all in one. So many wonderful memories in this home. I hope that someone/or family can find happiness in this home as we did.

Our New Home!

Back - It needs some help in the landscaping department but my Mom and I already have an idea of what needs to be done. . . . This picture isn't the greatest but the backyard was the selling point. It's nice and flat!

First Birthday Party

*Again, late post*
We got to celebrate Lexie's 1st birthday party in Opelika.
Dave and I are in the midst of moving so we didn't really have a place to host Lexie's party (and she has to have a party. . . .). :-) My parents were gracious enough to host the party at their house Saturday, April 10.
Lexie and I drove down to Bama on Wednesday to help my Mom set up. Dave and his parents drove down on Thursday.
Friday we went out to my parents farm. The guys fished at the little pond while us ladies drove around on the golf cart.
Saturday, the party came and went. Boy did we all have a great time! I got to see so many of my childhood friends and their families. I didn't get to talk to all my girlfriends nor take pictures with them as much as I had liked. But it sure was so wonderful to see everyone. We even had a 3 week old join us. Precious, little Duncan Martin! I'm glad he was able to grace us with his presence along with his 2 sweet older brothers, Ford and Luke. Lexie got to meet a lot of other adorable kids like Tripp, Georgia, Walker, Kyndall, Jonah, Mary Evans, and Whit. Thanks for coming sweet babies! Lexie may not remember it but she enjoyed having you all!
Lexie started to get a little fussy during the party. I tried to put her down for a quick nap but she wasn't digging that idea. I hated to be a bad Mom and make her miss her own party. So I skipped the nap and decided to do the cake smash. She had a fantastic time with that! We all sang happy birthday (which I thought she might get real upset because EVERYONE was singing to her but she thoroughly enjoyed it) and then presented her own smash cake! It was so cute and she even offered me some of her cake. After all the excitement, she went on to take her 3 hour nap.
The rest of the weekend consisted of spending time with our wonderful family and watching the Masters. It could not have been a more perfect weekend!

Eating scrambled eggs at Stewart Farms

Grandma and Su Su letting Lexie drive the golf cart

Watching the dogs outside

Lexie's fantastic cake!
Laurel, me, and Say - 2 of my dearest friends (and oldest)!

Sweet Nicki

KareBear!

Sweet Baby Duncan!

I'm not sure about this. . . .

Yay! It's my birthday!

Can't walk and eat a pretzel at the same time

I love my Su Su

Family photo before the 'mess'

Trying to give me some cake

This is fun!

I'm making sure I get every last piece smashed!

The Mader girls - Lexie and Amelia are only 3 months apart. I see a lot of fun in the future. . .

The Mader Clan

Su Su and Papa John - Lexie is eying Dad's sunglasses