Michael + Heather

On the first trip I took with JP's family to Hilton Head in 2010, my brother-in-law Michael and I traveled all over the island via bike. On one of our bike rides we talked a lot about Michael's future. Little did we know on that bike ride that the very next summer his future wife would be joining us at Hilton Head. And just two summers after our conversation, he would be driving to Hilton Head a newly engaged man.

We were so excited to celebrate the marriage of Michael and Heather on May 25 in Glouster, Ohio, Heather's home town.

Lake Houses
Because Glouster is a tiny town (population 1,791 according to Wikipedia), finding a place to stay wasn't as simple as staying at the local Hilton or Marriott chain hotel. My mother-in-law worked really hard to find everyone a place to stay, and she came through with flying colors. We all stayed in two 5 bedroom lake houses. It was perfect and beautiful!

Rehearsal Dinner
When JP and I got married, his parents through us a wonderful rehearsal dinner, and I knew Heather and Michael would get the same. I volunteered to help plan, and really my mother-in-law planned it all... I just was her assistant. Again because Glouster was small, it was challenging to find a place for the rehearsal dinner. After much search, it was decided to have it at a BBQ place in Athens (the closest larger town to Glouster). This place had an old house that had been turned into a event place. The rehearsal dinner was held in the large room on the second floor.

While the restaurant took care of dinner, we took care of dessert... a brownie sundae bar. The night before, several of us made the brownies in one of the lake houses.

 

The table decorations reflected Michael's ties to Arizona. Matt and I helped get the tables ready the morning before the dinner.




 Each guest got to take one home!

 

The bride and groom each had a hard plastic coffee cup to mark their seat to represent their shared love of coffee.

We did most of the setup in the morning, but there were somethings that needed to be done right before the dinner. So, while everyone else was as the rehearsal, JP's Aunt, Uncle, and cousin Colbie went to the venue to do some last minute things.



After everyone ate their meal, there was a time of sharing stories about Michael and Heather. It was a good time of honoring the bride and groom

Car Decorations
When JP and I got married, decorating the car was apparently an after thought. JP's groomsmen actually left the wedding to go get stuff to decorate the car. When they decorated the car they wrote on the paint with something (I'm not sure what) and to this day you can faintly see Just Married on the hood of the car.

JP and I wanted to make sure that decorating of the car went smoothly, so after the rehearsal dinner we went to the WalMart in Athens to get car decorating supplies. I think we had a little bit too much fun!

Journal
Here I am with the groom the morning of the wedding. As we were sitting on the deck of the lake house overlooking the lake, he was writing in the last pages of the journal that he wrote for Heather. He started this journal when they got engaged and wrote in it every day ending with the morning of the wedding. While the bride was getting ready with her bridesmaids, I was honored to be the one to take her this journal. Of course, she (and all her bridesmaids) thought it was incredibly sweet.

 Wedding!
Of course I went with the groomsmen when they went and took pictures.

In typical JP fashion, in order prevent himself from getting hot and sweaty (which he does sweat easily), he went to the church kitchen looking for a jug to fill up with water and take with him while they were taking pictures outside. Heather's dad came to the rescue and provided him with this.

 

 

The Car
After the wedding ceremony, Michael and  Heather went to take pictures before the reception. The groomsmen (and me) took this time to decorate the car. Once finished, the groomsmen were told they could not go into the reception until Michael and Heather returned. So, they went back and decorated the car some more. The longer they were gone, the more... we'll say creative... it got. Here are a few pics.

 

I love this following picture. They already had planned to have bubbles, but in addition, JP bought confetti fireworks. Although it was a pain to clean up afterwards, Michael and Heather were surprised by the confetti, and I think it made for some great pictures!




Michael and Heather left the wedding and headed off to an exciting honeymoon in the Dominican Republic. Once returning they have settled into their apartment where Heather will be starting grad school and Michael will be expanding his photography business (which by the way you should check him out... especially if you are planning a wedding. He is legit. www.michaelkaalphotgraphy.com)