Winter Lodge Wedding

My nephew and his precious bride got married a few weeks ago and it was one of the sweetest and prettiest weddings I’ve had the pleasure of attending! Family weddings are just so much fun, and even sweeter when they’re for people you’ve watched grow up. These two are perfect for each other and I believe my nephew was the happiest groom I’ve ever seen.

They chose the Lodge at Monte Sano State Park in Huntsville, Alabama for their wedding venue and it could not have been any dreamier! They had a lovely vision for the wedding and with their ideas plus my sister’s event-planning skills, it came together so nicely. My sister, Allison, recruited her friend as director and decorator, and then the rest of our family all pitched in where needed with food prep, decorating, errands, etc. It was so much fun to work together on this!

The inside of the lodge had some serious castle vibes with stone walls, massive ceiling beams, bold chandeliers, heavy draperies, black iron door hinges, creaky floors….oh, I could keep going! Details, gorgeous details everywhere!

The banquet room was perfect for the rehearsal dinner on Friday night and then for the reception on Saturday.

For the rehearsal dinner, Allison had made her homemade lasagna ahead of time to go with salad, garlic bread, and my mom’s legendary chocolate peanut butter cake! Lemonade, fruity water, and hot wassail were served as well.

The next morning everyone pitched in to transform this room into the reception room! Y’all, my sister took home every white tablecloth after the rehearsal dinner and stayed up till 1:30 in the morning washing and drying them to put back on the tables Saturday morning. What a champ!

The reception room was so enchanting!

(My son-in-law hung those lights from the beams!)

The bride and her sister planned for each table’s centerpiece to display photographs from the couple growing up, meeting and dating, plus a romantic quote from some of her favorite authors. Any Jane Austen fans out there? (Me!)

I have to point out in the photos below (right) that the bride, who is now a chemist with her masters degree, is pictured in her kitchen lab at an early age–how cute is that!

The morning of preparations flew by and before we knew it, it was time for the guests to arrive! Guests entered through the double doors adorned with wintry cypress branches.

The sign-in table greeted everyone as they entered.

The ceremony was held in the main room.

This was the pretty wall where the bride and groom said their vows. My brother-in-law officiated the ceremony.

Lots of wintry details!

As soon as the ceremony was over, the reception, which was a family effort, was ready for guest. And when I say “family effort” I mean grandparents all the way down to the youngest 9-yr-old cousin. I think we’re going to have to start a family wedding business!

You might recognize the forks, plates, cups, etc from my daughter’s wedding. We had plenty leftover to pass on to this next wedding.

The bride and groom chose Italian meats and cheese, nuts, assorted crackers, grapes and apple slices, Oreo truffles (made by other nephew’s wife) and more of my mom’s chocolate peanut butter cake.

The beverage tables offered lemonade and fruity water, and air pots of hot water were ready for hot tea, cider, and cocoa, perfect for a chilly day on the mountain.

My sister picked up honey at Publix and they only had honey bear containers available. Well, the night before the wedding, while we were still cleaning up from the rehearsal dinner and it was pretty late, I guess we were both tired and giggly and silly and thinking of funny ways we could display these bears when my sister laughed and said they could be a bride and groom. So, the next morning my daughter found a sharpie marker and snatched some tule and baby’s breath from the decorations, and viola! Bride and groom honey bears! Aren’t they cute!

For the wedding cake, the bride and groom ordered cheesecakes from Sam’s and the topper belonged to the bride’s grandparents from their wedding! So special!

And another special touch was that the bride surprised her new husband by sneaking in his favorite jellybeans to be served at the reception.

While everyone was in the reception area, the room in which the ceremony was held was being cleared for the couple’s first dance. These two have taken ballroom dance classes together and they have gotten really good!

When it was time to see them off, the groom had a basket of paper airplanes by the door for everyone to throw for the departure. Hey, when you grow up in the Rocket City and your dad is an engineer who works on helicopters, you naturally develop a love for aviation!

And there they go! So cute and a fun idea!

As the day closed, I noticed the sun setting over the mountain behind the lodge. What a beautiful ending to a sweet beginning. These two are going to be very happy!