Ralph's with Mary and dinner at Emeril's... BAMM!

I must say, when our Mary came to visit us this past Christmas, the excitement had already started with our family.  She was newly engaged and in the throes of wedding planning!  I was sitting in the living room with my mother and two aunts and we immediately began planning the bridesmaids luncheon!  We wanted to do this for Mary and for my Aunt Diane.  FYI, planning a party from a place 12 hours away... ain't easy, but I must say that it was beautiful!!

The luncheon took place at Ralph's On The Park...

Super cute and the food was delicious... seriously wish I had a plate of shrimp and grits (for a late night snack)!  The atmosphere was the perfect to celebrate Mary and say thank you to all of the women who have been loving her so well and helping her so much to prepare for this wedding!!

We had champagne on the balcony... yes, we were all outside on the balcony, and the room was decorated like a fancy tea party.  My Aunt Lauren handmade all of the napkins and even had Mary and Kyle's monogram on them (hello, in the south we like stuff with our names on it), and my Aunt Cathy helped arrange the flowers for the tables.  Momma and I worked on the sweetest brides table for when you walked into the room.  It had pictures of Mary and Kyle, their wedding invitation, a family picture of all of us, and a wedding picture of my Aunt Diane.  We wanted to remember her.

Y'all, the day was a long one!  All I really wanted to do that night was crawl into the bed, as you can see, I had 3 little people that wanted to be in the bed with me!

Instead of bedtime, we went and enjoyed a family dinner at Emerils!  Y'all, I died and went to food heaven!  It was phe-nom!

Oh, so far it had been such a fun trip, and just to think, it was only Friday!  We still had the whole wedding day to enjoy

The rehearsal with a bit of picture overload...

After our time spent at the pool, the real fun began to heat up!  We were off to the rehearsal dinner, and I must say.... it was fabulous!  The venue was right on the water and we were surrounded by yachts (seriously, New Orleans people... are we working more than 2 jobs)??  The evening was lovely, but what I was most glad about is seeing so many people I love most in one room!

me and my man friend... isn't he handsome (man friend, do not get embarrassed I only have about 10s of readers that will see this (most of them are family)

mom, dad, Moss, my cousin Mimi, and Red

wee ones

you know I had to document this... our first time in a UBER!  Bray was less than thrilled and went to sleep!

oh these sweet faces!  I love that if there is a group of children they will immediately bond and be friends for life!  They had such a good time running and playing!

daddy, Alle (my cousins girlfriend... isn't she lovely?), and Bryan

Uncle Charles, Aunt Lauren, and Morgan

Moss and my Uncle Scott (father of the bride)

One of my most favorite memories of Uncle Scott is him singing Sledgehammer, you know, by Robert Palmer).  I do not know why he was singing it, but I remember him being very good at it and thinking that he could possibly go on the road and tour with Mr. Simply Irresistible).  So strange the memories you hold onto as a child.

Mimi, Morgan, Joani

Moss

I think that they look nice together....

family picture... at a bar?? (SMH)

Mary in the middle (the bride) and her soon to be MIL

cousins!  Sadie, Charley, Katie

Moss and daddy

cute couple

love them

Bryan and Carter

my little love

my cute boys

All in all, the night was so much fun.  The best part was listening to all of the speeches, and hearing how much Kyle and Mary are loved.  We heard from family, friends, the people that introduced them... it was just the best.  There were laughs and tears!

We were missing my Aunt Diane (Mary and Bryan's mother), but I have no doubt that she was watching from heaven and loving every minute of it!

I know she is so proud that Mary has found Kyle, they are a perfect fit.