World of the Wilsons: Wedding Weekend-Rehearsal Dinner

The wedding party, family, and friends all gathered at Savoie's restaurant for the rehearsal dinner. Ginger and Linda had decorated the room beautifully and the food was so good. Our out of town guests got to experience true Cajun food, a first for many of them. Josh met us at the restaurant and Eli was so happy to see him. We found a table next to Ginger, Linda, Caleb, and Kailey, but Eli wasn't entirely into just sitting. Josh and I did tag team parenting for a little bit and then realized that Eli was perfectly safe in the company of family, so we just let him walk around and "visit" with everyone.

Joshua, Andrea, and the parents of the bride and groom sat at the head table and all the other guests sat in front of them. It was so much fun to see them enjoying every minute of their celebration.

The happy couple

All the guests

The decadent chocolate cake Mom ordered from her friend, Lisa

The favors that each guest received that night.
It told the story of Joshua and Andrea's engagement in a poem. The short version is Joshua hid Andrea's engagement ring in her chocolate dessert. She was supposed to wait to open it at the end of their dinner, but she jumped ahead and opened it before and was completely surprised at what she found-the ring! She said, "Yes!" though, obviously :)

For weeks leading up to the wedding, my dad and my brother, Caleb had been working on a slide show for Joshua and Andrea that told the story of their friendship, courtship, and engagement. Something went wrong though and for some reason they weren't able to play it for the guests. It broke my heart because I knew how hard they both had worked and I wanted all the guests to see the show. It was so good and so moving. They went to Plan B and Dad just left the slide show on the computer and let Andrea and Joshua see it before all the guests did. As you can tell from their faces, they loved it! My dad is going to get me a copy of it and I'm going to put it on the blog so everyone can see it so be watching for that.

After Andrea and Joshua viewed the slide show, it was time to EAT! YUM-O! We had seafood gumbo, chicken and sausage gumbo, pork loin, grilled chicken, steamed vegetables, and lots more delicious food. We all loaded up and went back to our seats. Eli didn't eat anything, of course, despite everything I did to convince him that the food was yummy and good. I ate a few bites and then got up to take some pictures of my family.

MawMaw and PawPaw, my dad's parents for North Carolina

Mercedes and Dalton, my Uncle John and Aunt Tracy's kids

After we ate, Joshua and Andrea handed out their gifts to the wedding party. Eli was very excited to open his. He loved ripping the paper out of the bag. Andrea did really well with his gifts. She got him a Buzz Lightyear car and a LeapFrog Tag Junior Toy Story themed set. I was probably just as excited about the gifts as Eli was!

Thanks for the great gifts, Aunt Andrea!

Thanks, Uncle Josh!

After Eli opened his gift, it was time for me :) Josh knows I like to document everything, so he played along and took pictures of me with each of my gifts from Andrea. I got a pair of silver flip flops to change into at the reception the next day.

I got a monogrammed jewelry organizer. I really needed this!

I got a flat iron case.

And last but not least, all the bridesmaids got matching earrings and necklaces to wear with our dresses at the wedding the next day. Thanks, Andrea!

Eli's mess after he opened his gifts

After cleaning up the aforementioned mess, we all enjoyed taking pictures, visiting, and celebrating Andrea and Joshua. It was a wonderful night full of celebration!