Leading up to the rehearsal, I hung back at the beach house we rented with Sophia while everyone was elsewhere setting up for the rehearsal dinner or working on the reception venue. She watched Moana and I continued working on my vows (read perfectionist). Eventually, Soph fell asleep and I finished up my vows just in time for my sweet friend Alex to arrive and keep me company. For over an hour, she and I got to spend time together just the two of us and it was so special to me. We both have such busy lives, so getting together and just talking rarely happens anymore. It was so nice to just lay on the bed and talk like we used to do for so many years growing up. Once Sophia woke up from her nap, I put on Finding Dory for her while Alex curled my hair. After I was ready, I got Sophia ready for the night while her mama was running errands, and we waited on a few more of my bridesmaids to get to the beach house and get ready so we could head to the church for rehearsal!
Once we arrived at the church, everything was a whirlwind. We were trying to run through rehearsal at least twice before needing to head out for the rehearsal dinner, and with the size of the bridal party we had, it was definitely an undertaking. However, with Monika Michelle at the helm, all things are possible. It was a surreal moment to see all of our people in one space. It was the first time ever our entire wedding party was together, along with our parents, grandparents, and special family members. This was truly the first time I felt like we were really getting married. All the emotions definitely started to sink in. I got so teary-eyed when my dear friend Victoria started playing the songs we had picked out for the ceremony (more to come on that in the ceremony post). These were songs that were so special to me, and to see people walking down the aisle to them was so exciting! Apparently, there is some superstition that the bride isn't supposed to participate in the rehearsal; she's supposed to have a stand-in. Well if you know me, you know I don't really believe in superstitions so, of course, I played the role of me 😂 (big shoutout to my cousin Rilee for offering to play the role of me though)! We got through rehearsal the first time with every person who was participating in the ceremony, and then we decided to do a second run-through with just the bridal party. We perfected the timing of the walks the second time, so I'm glad we decided to do it again. After our second run-through, we all headed off to Ocean Isle Beach for our rehearsal dinner!
Al's parents gave us the perfect rehearsal dinner! Throughout the planning process, they made sure to always include us in any decisions they were making. We went and looked at venues and ended up picking the Tiger's Eye Clubhouse in Ocean Ridge Plantation where Al's dad works. It was the perfect setting for what we envisioned. While we knew our rehearsal dinner was going to have more poeple than the average rehearsal dinner does, we still wanted it to feel like an intimate gathering, and Tiger's Eye gave us that feel. Al's mom and Aunt Natalie really outdid themselves on the decor. Lana and I, as well as Natalie and I, had talked a lot about making the rehearsal dinner fit with the weekend but making sure it didn't look the same as the reception, and it was exactly how I pictured it. There were so many details that I absolutely loved. I truly wish I had gotten more pictures. I don't think I took a single one of the decor, and I only took like five pictures with people.
When we arrived, we were stopped at the door by Pastor Robbie and Mrs. Debbie who gave us a wedding gift beforehand in case we got lost in the crowd during the night. They had a sweet canvas made of some of the memories Al and I shared together growing up in youth. It was so thoughtful, and it meant so much to us. Once we made it in the room, we decided to mingle a little bit with everyone before dinner started. It was nice to be able to go up to each table and speak to every person who took time out of their weekend to celebrate us. I knew the next night that same task would probably be impossible to accomplish, but I was so glad to be able to do it during the rehearsal dinner. When dinner was ready to be served, Al's dad stood up and said a few words of thanks to everyone for coming and then Pastor Robbie blessed the food. The meal was so delicious, and I'm glad after all those talks we all had about what kind of food we were going to eat that we ended up going with the menu we did. Once dinner was over, we cut the cake which was a sheet cake with one of our engagement pictures printed on it. Then, my sister Kayla lead us in playing the shoe game. Apparently Al and I know each other pretty well (or we're both just super honest). After the game, we watched a slideshow that my sweet friend Brittany made with pictures of Al growing up, me growing up, and pictures from our entire relationship. I asked her a while back if she would do that for us, and it was everything we imagined it to be. So many tears, people. And that was just the beginning.
Once the slideshow was over, I announced to everyone that we wanted to open up the floor for anyone who wanted to share some words or memories with us. When Al and I talked about doing this, we were a little nervous because we thought "Well what if no one says anything... awkward." However, that was not the case. We were blown away by the number of people who shared their hearts with us. Still to this day, one of my favorite moments of wedding weekend was the open floor at the rehearsal dinner. I may have threatened some of my bridesmaids into talking... (just Abigail lol), but we were truly moved to tears by all the incredibly sweet and humbling words of our dearest friends and family. At one point, my sister said she looked over and my DAD was crying... like what? He is not a cryer. I think for us, we often wonder if we're making a difference at all. We both are very dedicated to being good friends and sometimes we wonder if we've achieved that desire. The speeches at our rehearsal dinner showed us that God is always working through us even when we don't realize it, especially in the small moments. There are so many words that I need to write down that were said, but I will save those for our personal archives. But to everyone reading this who shared their love with us that night, please know that y'all touched our hearts more than we ever could have dreamed. We are surrounded by the best friends and family, and we are honored to have y'all in our lives.
Once everyone who wanted to speak was finished, Al and I stood to say a few words. Now, normally I am the emotional one and Al holds it together pretty well. But for some reason on this night, we switched roles. Al was 30 seconds into saying thank you to everyone and got choked up. I was like "What is happening here?!" We both said our thank yous to everyone and asked the groomsmen to stay behind for a little bit for Al to give them their gifts (fun socks and sunglasses anyone?). We also gave Al's parents their gifts from us, and Al gave my parents his gifts to them. Al's sweet parents were both so emotional when we gave them their gifts. We got them a combined thank you gift for hosting the dinner - an empty frame with a quote about parents and children. Al's gift to his dad was some fun socks, sunglasses, and a flask with "Best Man" on the front and the Cowboys logo on the back. His gift to his mom was a handkerchief with a sweet quote on it about sons. My gift to Al's dad was a handkerchief with a quote about him being my new dad. My real gift to his mom (besides the getting ready gift) was a bracelet with several charms on it and a little note about being Al's mom.
This perfect night wouldn't have been possible without them, and we are so thankful to them for making it so wonderful for us! They really spent a lot of time thinking about what we would enjoy and what would make us happy, and we appreciate that more than they know. We know the amount of time and energy it takes to put on a party that big, and all that effort didn't go unnoticed. Our rehearsal dinner will definitely go down in the books as one of our best nights ever!
We left that night with lots of kisses since the next time we would be kissing would be as husband and wife... pinch me! ONE MORE SLEEP until we were married, people! I couldn't wait to wake up the next day knowing I'd be going to sleep that next night as Mrs. Rising!
Stay tuned for the next post about our sweet wedding morning <3
Xoxo,
Mrs. Rising
