Rainbow of Thanks

We got our thank you from Lars and Natasha! I LOVE it! It's rainbow (my favorite) and they included a few pictures from the wedding for us! They both wrote heartfelt notes inside for the wedding gifts and coming down to Tennessee for their big day. Here's the card as well as the three pictures they sent with it:

Thank you

Matt, Anthony, and I

The wedding party

The ladies and Lars

Holmberg Rundown

The Rundown

Ceremony
Venue: indoor
Type: Methodist
Colors: gray, mint, and green
Music: CD
Maid of Honor: Miranda (bride's friend)
Best Man: Greg (groom's friend)
Bridesmaids: 3 (teal dresses)
Groomsmen: 3
Flower Girl: no
Ring Bearer: no
Officiant: reverend
Programs: yes
Bouquets: floral
Boutonnieres: floral
Walk down the aisle: father of the bride
Bride & Groom position: standing in front of altar
First reading: Ecclesiasts
Second reading: 2nd Corinthians
Third reading: Psalm 143
Gospel: Mark
Vows: traditional

Reception
Venue: indoor
Attire: semi-formal
Music: DJ
Cocktail hour: no
Open bar: wine and beer
Guestbook: photo book with prompts
Escort cards: tented business cards
First dance: Wanted by Alex G and Runaground
Father-Daughter dance: Friends in Low Places by Garth Brooks
Mother-Son dance: My Wish by Rascal Flatts
Bride & Groom table: table with maid of honor and best man and dates
Speeches: best man, maid of honor, friend of bride
Centerpieces: floating candles
Table labels: numbers
Menus: no
Dinner: buffet (Southern BBQ)
Cake cutting: yes
Bouquet toss: yes
Garter toss: yes
Favors: no

Holmberg

Today was Lars and Natasha's wedding and it was just beautiful! Their ceremony was at 4 in the afternoon at the Rockhold United Methodist Church which is located on what was Lars's family homestead. His parents and his grandparents both got married at this church, so they were continuing the tradition. It was small (but air conditioned) and really quaint. The Methodist ceremony was performed by a reverend and was fairly short and sweet. Their wedding party consisted of the maid of honor (Natasha's best friend), Lars's best man (Greg), 3 bridesmaids (including Lars's younger sister), and 3 groomsmen (2 of whom are friends of ours as well). The girls wore mint dresses that they each picked out and were cocktail length while the men had on gray suites with green ties. They had beautiful mint, white, and pink bouquets and boutonnieres all which complimented Natasha's stunning dress. She wore a strapless ballgown which had a simple top of folded satin and a tulle bottom. Her hair, which is shorter, was styled beautifully around a rhinestone headband.

The reception was 40 minutes away in Kingsport in a converted bank called Banq. (Clever play on words there.) It was a small venue, very well-suited to the 60 or so guests they had in attendance. They had a DJ who was playing when everyone began arriving as well as a slideshow of their pictures displayed on a couple tvs around the room. We were seated with our friends Sam and Kevin and their daughter Ryleigh and Kevin and his girlfriend Kim. Dinner was served shortly after the bride, groom, and wedding party arrived after taking photos. They had a delicious southern BBQ buffet complete with pulled pork and other comfort foods. For dessert, they had a small cake and several different flavors of cupcakes. They provided an open bar of beer and wine of which they were able to keep the remaining alcohol. I absolutely loved their guest book! It was a photo book with different prompts in it instead of just space for signatures or comments. They had pages asking for date ideas, how you met the couple, advice for them, and what famous couple they would be just to name a few. Matt and I left a little early so that Anthony could get to sleep at the hotel, but they did do a bouquet and garter toss! Natasha's cousin Brooke (one of her bridesmaids and Anthony's biggest admirers) caught the bouquet and their friend Josh caught the garter.

It was a great day with some of my best friends and I couldn't be happier for the newlyweds! Congratulations Lars and Natasha! We love you!

And here are some of the pictures:

program (front)

program (back)

escort card

escort card

escort card

Ryleigh and Anthony

Road and Room

We're ready for our road trip down to Tennessee in a week and a half! We have booked our hotel room for the way down to Tennessee as well as the room once we're there. We have our car booked and our weekend at my cousin's planned for the trip home! We're so excited!

Heart and Soul

We got Lars and Natasha's invitation today! They are doing something similar to Margaret and Chris in that they are asking that guests RSVP online instead of sending in a card. Now Matt and I can start planning our trip down south with Kevin, Sam, Ryleigh, Jeff, and Anthony!

Mint Condition

We got the save the date for Lars and Natasha's wedding in August! It's incredibly cute and I especially love the background picture...I took it! Here's a peek at the double-sided post card:

Volunteer State

I've been talking to Natasha today, asking her about the wedding to help her plan as well as send her the Russell and Hazel planner. They have a date and a ceremony venue already: August 9, 2014 at Lars's homestead church in Bluff City, Tennessee! It's the first wedding that Matt and I will be traveling (further than a drive) for! That makes three weddings next year, with two in the summer! Thankfully, they're a little more spaced than the two we had this summer!

At Last!

One of my very best friends has finally proposed! Lars asked Natasha to marry him earlier today which has a kind of funny back story. Last weekend, Matt and I went to visit them in North Carolina, along with our other friend, Greg, and his girlfriend, Alanna. We spent quite a bit of the weekend ragging on Lars for not having proposed yet and asking him when he was. Meanwhile, he already has a ring and is planning on proposing! He played it completely cool!

I am so happy for these two, Natasha is a very lucky girl and Lars is lucky to have her! More details to come as soon as I know them!