Bridesmaid Luncheon/ Rehearsal/ and Rehearsal Dinner April 1, 2011

In the 3 months since Kevin and I have been back in the daily grind after our wedding and honeymoon, life has been a bit busy to say the least. I am obviously WAY behind on posting about the rest of our wedding weekend, but here goes my attempt to catch up...

Let me begin with the day before our wedding. It turned out to be quite a busy day as expected. There were a few things left to do, we had the bridesmaid luncheon, rehearsal, and rehearsal dinner. We started the morning with breakfast and coffee with the rest of our guests that had made it in town the night before (Suzanne, Annette, Jim, Ren, and Justin). Soon enough I was off to the airport to pick up an extra special guest...my cousin Meredith. She had flown in on an overnight flight from Colorado so my dad and I jumped in the car eager to meet her as soon as she landed. Once we returned from picking her up it was time to get ready for the bridesmaid luncheon. A few of my bridesmaids met us at our house and we piled in the car and headed to The Wilmington Tea Room where we meet the rest of the ladies. It was the cutest little tea and sandwhich restaurant located on the waterfront in downtown Wilmington. My guests included my mom, sister (maid of honor), Annette (god mother), Suzanne (bridesmaid), Anita (Kevin's Aunt), Daniela (Kevin's cousin), Karen (Kevin's step mother), Celeste Leich (bridesmaid), Brittanie Coleman (bridesmaid), Anna Crawford (bridesmaid), Meredith Sanner (bridesmaid), Ren Hucker (bridesmaid), Claire Flye (bridesmaid), Lindsay Morgan (reader). We were served tiered trays of yummy sandwiches, desserts, and fruit. And of course the tea of our choice in beautiful antique tea pots. It was a great way to kick off the wedding weekend with my favorite ladies.

My beautiful bridal party outside the Wilmington Tea Room

My bridesmaid from high school, Brittanie, has a tradition with her college friends that she was sweet enough to pass on with me. They pass down the head of a Ken doll to be placed in your bridal bouquet symbolizing that you have found the "PERFECT" man. I will post the card/poem that goes along with it in another post.

Ken...the perfect man!

Where's Ken?!?!

I felt incredibly honored to be included in such a special/sweet tradition. I can't wait to pass Ken to one of my best friends!

A few April Fools jokes later (I will fill this in on another post) we were all off to the Brooklyn Arts Center for rehearsal. It was a surge of excitement the moment I walked in and saw all of our closest friends and family all dressed up and there for us! We ran through the ceremony with the wedding coordinator Sara and our Pastor Jeff. Then we headed inside to show everyone where the reception would be and where the wedding party would be announced.

Soon enough we were off to the rehearsal dinner that was held at The Halyburton Events Center in Wilmington. Kevin's parents, aunt, uncle, cousins and a few others did an amazing job setting up the rehearsal with tents, centerpieces, tables, chairs, and more while we rehearsed for the wedding. The events center looked PERFECT, just what we wanted for our rehearsal dinner. It was the perfect mix of elegant but low key. We had a pasta bar that turned out AMAZING. Most of our guests went back for seconds. I had ECU themed cupcakes made for Kevin's grooms cake. There was a bride, a groom, pirates and purple and gold polka dots in chocolate, butter cream, strawberry and lemon meringue. Oh they were SO yummy. Thankfully we had a few leftover ;-)
Once everyone was done eating the speeches began. Kevin's step mom talked with some of our friends and family before the event and asked each one of them to come up with something to say. There were about 10 guests that all stood up and said incredible things about Kevin and I throughout our lives. The people that stood up and the speeches that were given reminded us again of how incredibly lucky we are to have each other as well as the incredible friends and family in our lives. We are truly blessed.

After the speeches we played a slide show that one of my former co-workers put together. It started with Kevin from baby to adult, me from baby to adult and then moved into our lives together. Needless to say after 7 years together we had PLENTY of photos together. It ended with the video of Kevin proposing to me on Paradise Island in the Dominican Republic. I loved that everyone was able to see that. To this day I still get the chills when I watch it and think of that moment when Kevin asked me to be his wife.

After the slide show the rest of the night was spent dancing and chatting. It was the perfect way to kick start our wedding weekend. Everyone was so happy and excited and I couldn't have imagined how great it would feel to have the most important people in our lives all in one room to celebrate our life together.

And the rehearsal begins...

My dad and I about to practice walking down the aisle!

Hours from becoming Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Hatcher

My lil and I...best friends!

Can't wait to marry this man

My father in law and I at the rehearsal dinner

Daddy's little girl FOREVER!!!

The AMAZING ECU Pirate themed cupcakes! See the bride on the right of Petey and the groom on the left :)

Suz, Dev, and I

My brother in law and I

Linds and Bre... best friends for 15 + years

Ren, Anna (the mama to be) and I

My bridal party at the rehearsal dinner

Next up...Our Wedding Day!

5x7 Folded Card

Sophisticated Stripes Father's Day 5x7 folded card

Shutterfly custom Valentines Day and Mother's Day cards.

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5x7 Folded Card

Happy Dad's Day Father's Day 5x7 folded card

Invitations, announcements and Valentine's Day cards by Shutterfly.

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Wedding Weekend Part I (Wednesday 3/30 & Thursday 3/31)

The weekend technically began for Kevin and I on Wednesday prior to the wedding (March 30th). We worked half a day and then began loading the boxes and boxes of wedding items we needed to get down to Wilmington. We were so fortunate that one of Kevin's contractors uses a long term rental and was willing to switch cars with us for the weekend in order for us to use his suburban. There is no way we would have been able to fit everything we had to get down to Wilmington without that HUGE vehicle. We had it packed from floor to ceiling with a small space left for Ellie.

Once the car was packed we were on our way to Wilmington. The 7 hour trip flew by for Kevin and I. Of course we were super excited to get down there, but we also had great conversations the whole way down about the past 7 years of our lives together and how it was all about to change...for the better of course!

Once we arrived we went straight to the house my parents rented in downtown Wilmington, which was super cute and huge. It was only a mile from the wedding venue which was another added bonus. At that point my mom was the only one in town. My dad stayed back in Raleigh for a few extra hours to pick up Devin and Dwayne from the airport. It was nice to have just our family in the house for the first night.

The next morning after little sleep (I had been a bit anxious and wasn't sleeping great) I popped up and went for my usual early morning run. I decided to head towards the water because I would pass The Brooklyn Arts Center on my way. I hadn't seen it in about 2 months so I was dying to see how much had been done since we'd seen it last. Unfortunately when I got there no one was there yet so the doors were locked. However, I hadn't seen any of the final product for the courtyard (which is where our ceremony was to be held). I walked around back and was in complete awe of the how it turned out. I loved every little detail from the shells in the cemented ground, to the beautiful landscaping, as well as the gorgeous steps. Let's rewind a little and go back to when we first looked at BAC they showed me the courtyard that consisted of an open area with scraps and a dumpster, one of the reasons I wasn't too sure if I could see myself getting married there. I could not have grasped how beautiful it would turn out. On one of our visits Rich (he runs BAC) took me out back and showed me the winding steps over to the side that I was going to have to go down. I made a comment about how accident prone I was and that it may be a challenge to get down those winding steps without falling or tripping up. I guess I also commented that it would be odd to come out of a door directly behind the guests and then to have to walk over to the side, go down those steps, and then walk back over to where the guests/aisle would be. Well... Rich definitely listed to what I said and had beautiful grand steps built so that when brides walk out the door they can go straight down wide, non-curvy steps. I thought that was really neat that he listened and wanted to do something about it. To top it all of he had done a little more than just build the steps. Now let's fast forward back to when I was out for my run and stopped by the BAC to look at the courtyard. I walked around and looked at every detail knowing in two days I would be back to walk down that aisle and marry Kevin. To the right was a cute little bench. I looked closer and there was a plaque on it with someones name. I didn't know the name but thought it must be someone special to BAC. Then I walked over to take a look at the final product of those steps they had built. I looked closer and there was a plaque on the steps as well. I looked even closer and realized MY name was on them.

Rich had named the steps after me. I couldn't believe it. To most it may seem like no big deal, but to me it meant a lot. From the day I called Rich sobbing hoping he had some amazing venue I could use (right after we were canceled on by Orton Plantation) he was so good to us. And to think he named the steps the "Bre Gurley" steps and that plaque would be there forever. I was pretty excited. I made sure to take a few pictures with my i-phone and took off for the rest of my run

You can sort of see the plaque behind me in this picture

Once I was back to the house I couldn't wait to share the news about the plaque on the steps. My dad was up at this point so I showed him and he was just as excited as I was.

I spent the rest of the morning getting things put together for the wedding weekend. A lot of it had to stay packed up so we could get it down to Wilmington. I started by putting together the hotel bags. They turned out so cute. They were little navy bags with a B&K sticker on the front. Inside they had a map of downtown Wilmington, directions to the rehearsal dinner as well as the wedding from each hotel, a water with our B&K logo, crackers, candy, gum, pretzels, chips, etc. As everyone began waking they began helping. We ran out of maps so Dwayne jumped on his skate board and wheeled on downtown to grab us a few more. I thought it was so cute.

Once we were done putting a few other things together we had to sort everything into where it was to be delivered. We loaded the car and headed off on our pre-wedding errands. First stop was the Brooklyn Arts Center to check out the final product inside :). WOW is all I could say. It was incredible. It truly made me realize that "everything does happen for a reason". I would never have picked an indoor location, but this was perfect. It was rustic, and beautiful, with some outdoor aspects as well as indoor. And...we were the FIRST to get married there...how cool! My whole family was in awe. We couldn't wait to see what it would look like on our wedding day. Once were were done there my mom, sister and I headed off to meet Claire and get our nails done. We all got manicures and pedicures. It was so fun to sit and talk about the upcoming days with such special people all the while getting pampered. Once we were done there we headed off to make a delivery of wedding goodies to Salt Harbor Designs. They were doing all of the floral, table set-ups, favors, etc for us. We brought them the programs, lemon topiary, favors (flip flops and koozies) and a few other items.

Once we were done there we headed down to see my cousins, aunts and uncles that had rented a house on Wrightsville Beach. We spent the rest of the evening hanging with them eating crab cakes and other goodies and playing with the dogs on the beach. It was such a fun time being surrounded by all the people I love for such a fun occasion. Later that night we headed back to the house to wait on the arrival of the Fishers as well as Ren and Justin. I couldn't wait for them to arrive. I knew it would begin to feel like it was my wedding weekend as more of my favorite people got there.

Below are a few pictures of how the Brooklyn Arts Center @ St. Andrew turned out... we could never have imagined it becoming this breathtaking!

This is main room where our receptions was held. The DJ set up in that alcove in the center and up and to the right is a HUGE balcony overlooking the entire room. You can see the combination of circular and rectangular tables for our guests. The windows are the original stained glass windows.

This is the area where we had the buffet set up

The house next door is where the girls got ready. This is a comfy little living room in that house where we lounged.

This is a beautiful emblem of the BAC on the floor.

To the left is the Brooklyn Arts Center and to the right is the little mansion house we got ready in and spent the day. Behind the house is the courtyard where the ceremony took place.

This is the emblem on the doors into the BAC

Next up-Rehearsal Day...

T'is the Night Before the Wedding Poem

It's been quite busy since we returned from our wedding and honeymoon. We traveled to Charlotte for my dear friend Anna's baby shower. We've gone to Winston-Salem to pick up things we couldn't get back from the wedding. We've had lots of visitors and we've even attended another wedding (Brandy and Joe's). Needless to say, that would be the reason I haven't had a chance to blog about our amazing wedding weekend. I am going to do my best to get back to it before I forget some of the wonderful details of the weekend.

I'm going to start with the speeches that were given. Kevin's dad began and then a half a dozen or more friends and family around the room all stood up one at a time and gave a wonderful speech or story about Kevin and I. I couldn't have imagined the great words everyone would have had for us that night. It truly set the mood for the evening. I wish I had a video or had written down what everyone said as it was all so special to us. However, I was able to get Kevin's mom to email me her speech. It was one of a kind and really neat the way she presented it. At first we were kind of looking around like what?!?! Soon enough we understood where she was going and she definitely had me in tears. I am so incredibly fortunate to have a mother in law that I simply adore. And after this speech I believe she may feel the same about me :)

She titled it- T'is the Night Before the Wedding Poem

T'is the night before the wedding and all through this room

All creatures are stirring, especially the groom

He is about to discover what his mother will reveal

His penchant for older women, he can no longer conceal
As the story unfolds, he lay naked on the floor

Beside him laid an older woman, with a body to explore

When out in the hall there appeared such a clatter

As the door swung open he cried “What’s the matter”
His mother appeared, about to discover4 year old Kevin and his 6 year old love

In his playroom he was, surrounded by toys
Doing what comes naturally to all little boys
She helped them get dressed, and gave an embrace

Trying to conceal, the smile on her face

She knew one day her little boy

Would become a man, searching for another pretty toy
As all mothers do, she hoped he’d be wise

And choose a bride with close family ties
She loved her two boys, but longed for a girl

But God knew better in His wisdom of pearl,

Be patient she thought, other plans

He must have for a little girley

Little did she know, He was preparing a Bre Gurley
Now, her prayer has been answered and satisfied she is,

A grateful thank you to the Gurley’s she gives

For all of their efforts to create a child with such love

She is truly grateful to the Gurley’s and to the Almighty above
With her long golden hair and a smile to die for
Bre Gurley is more than I could've hoped for
Her beautiful spirit and personality
Have won the hearts of our entire family
My son is intelligent, so I need not worry
His choice was wise, he chose a Gurley
Finally, in an effort to make the past right

I promise Kevin and Bre I will not open their door tomorrow night.
Wishing a joyous time to all

And to all, a goodnight

So creative!!!!

I've included a few pictures from our wedding as there are so many I am going to have to post them in multiple blogs...

Our handsome groomsmen

My beautiful bridesmaids
The trolley that took us from our wedding
The scrumptious cake, invitation, and our very special rings
Love my HUSBAND :)

This was taken down by the water as the sun was setting

My absolute favorite...this one totally caught the moment of pure bliss we were in <3

A Sample of My Bridal Portraits

The photographers from our wedding were finally able to post a blog on my bridal portraits. I had them taken back in October because I wanted to have them outside and they need a few months to get the portrait back. With an April wedding I knew February would be a little cold for an outdoor shoot. So...they've been waiting awhile to reveal these pictures. We had so much fun!

Bridal Portraits in Downtown Wilmington, NC

No longer... Soon To Be The Hatchers

I am ecstatic to announce that we are officially "The Hatchers"! April 2nd we tied the knot and had the most amazing day of our lives. On April 4th we left for our Honeymoon in St. Thomas and St. John for 10 magnificent days. Both events will take some time to fill in so I will try and get those posts out soon. Since we've returned things have been just a bit busy. For now I wanted to share a blog post from our amazing photographers in which they posted some pictures from our wedding. They turned out incredible and we can't wait to see the rest, but for now visit Piner Photography Blog Post to see a snap shot of the best day of our lives :)

Stay tuned for Wedding Weekend and Honeymoon Posts