Nicole & Joe Get Married

This past weekend was a fun one - BBQ with family at home on Friday night, a pool day with the cousins at Matt's parents' house on Sunday afternoon...and a very special wedding in between. Nicole and Joe finally tied the knot!

The wedding was absolutely beautiful and the bride was even more so. I took about a gazillion pictures of all the details, so to spare you from a three page post, this'll be a two-part series.

On Saturday morning the whole crew of friends drove about two hours out into rural Pennsylvania where the wedding was to be held, at a gorgeous estate called the Pearl S. Buck House. We checked into the hotel amid a flurry of guests and busy groomsman, were provided with our little hotel gift bags and then got dressed for the big event.

It was an unseasonably HOT day and the ceremony was outside, so thank goodness we were served glasses of ice cold lemonade and iced tea as soon as we stepped off the shuttle and onto the grounds. Let me tell you, this place was beautiful.

Nicole wanted an outdoor ceremony and a tented reception, and she couldn't have picked a prettier spot. The estate has a large, old house surrounded by a couple of other old buildings, connected by cobblestone walkways and patios, alcoves with tables and archways into the garden where the ceremony was held.

Nicole walked down the aisle with both her parents and the ceremony was really sweet. Before we knew it, she and Joe were a Mr. and Mrs.!

Cocktail Hour

So cocktail hour is pretty much the best part of the wedding for any food lover. There were several different stations and a bunch of passed hors d'ouvres, but I was so busy eating and chatting away that I didn't take any pictures of my plate. I did enjoy a signature mojito, some cheese, olives and figs, and a plate of sushi and Thai noodles.

Yum. The cocktail hour was held in two areas, partly in a large grassy area and partly on a shaded patio.  I loved the look of cream colored linens blowing in the summer breeze covered with pink cocktails and bud vases.

After cocktail hour we all made our way over to the tent to pick out our name cards and get ready for dinner. Nicole and Joe had a wine theme, so all the table names were vineyards and our place cards were in wine corks. So cute!

Then it was a college girls picture with a bride, and onto the party (more on that tomorrow).

Congrats Nicole!