Rowland Down the Aisle

My beautiful cousin, my best friend, my go-to person for the past twenty-five years got married on March 19, 2016.

We waited for the day for ten months, and it came and went too quickly! This beautiful girl is officially Mrs. Rowland!

Alex and Audrey Anna (for the rest of this entry, you will read her name as Audrana), met while attending Itawamba Community College in Fulton, MS. I'm not entirely sure how friendly they were, but I'm fairly certain they didn't really know each other (she'll correct me if I'm wrong on that one). That was back in 2008-2009. In 2014, just a couple months before giving birth the Vaught, Audrana called me and told me that she was dating this guy, Alex.

I will say, and I know she'll agree, in my heart I knew from the beginning he was it. I knew he would be her one.

I finally got to meet him just a few days after Vaught was born in September when they stopped by our house to visit. He was polite but quiet. In given time, I grew to love him the way you want to love your best friend's boyfriend. By May, they were engaged, and Audrana asked me to be her Matron of Honor.

She was Maid of Honor in my 2013 wedding, and I was so ready to take on my role as her Matron and make this time as easy and special for her as I possibly could.

The months flew by and finally it was wedding weekend!!

We started with a bridesmaid luncheon on Friday morning at Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo, MS, where Audrana and Alex would be married the next day.

Her gifts to us were a beautiful pair of Swarovski crystal earrings and a kimono for getting ready the next day!

After the luncheon, the bridal party got our nails done. We practically took over the salon!

Wedding rehearsal began at 5:30 at the church, followed by a rehearsal dinner at the Tupelo Country Club, where the reception would also be hosted the following night after the wedding.

I crashed on the couch at her parents' house that night, and we were up by 8 the next morning, ready to get the wedding day started! Audrana and I ran around Tupelo doing a few pre-wedding errands between 8:30 and 10. We had to get her pedicure fixed, grab some false eyelashes, and of course hit up Hardy's for breakfast.

My hair and makeup appointment was with my friend Sara at 11:30 in Saltillo, and I made it to the church right on time at 1PM!

Thanks for making me look and feel pretty, Sara!

The wedding was at Harrisburg Baptist Church in Tupelo. It's an enormous, beautiful church, and it could not have been decorated more beautifully.

We had so much fun getting ready and hanging out, laughing and talking with Audrana. It was surreal that she would become a MRS in mere hours!

 

I mean it when I say I've never seen a more beautiful bride. She absolutely glowed in her dress; she was perfect!

I loved watching her mother, my sweet aunt, button her up and get her ready. I could tell she was so proud!

 

A few hours before the wedding, Audrana and Alex shared a "first look." I totally cried.

 

I'm a BIG advocate of first looks; that way, we get pictures out of the way and can get straight to the reception after the wedding (FOOD).

 

Praying over my cousin and her marriage before the ceremony was probably my favorite part. I loved getting to share this moment with her.

 





 

The wedding started promptly at six, and I know there's never been a more beautiful ceremony. It was sweet and simple--truly a worship service honoring this holy covenant. I loved how I got to be a part of "giving her away" as matron of honor. I got to stand beside my best friend as her dad gave her away to Alex; I've never seen it done this way at a wedding, and I really loved getting to be a part of that.

The reception was hosted at the Tupelo Country Club, and I really wish I'd gotten more pictures! By this time though, I was hangry and tired and just ready to kick my shoes off! We had so much fun dancing and visiting with everyone.

I'd not seen Vaught since leaving Friday morning; I was so happy to see my baby boy again!

I'm not sure if I've mentioned it on my blog, but Audrana and Alex are his godparents, and I love seeing how much they both love Vaught!

I love, love, love this girl so much! She is truly another piece of my heart, and my life would be incomplete without her. Congratulations, Mrs. Alex Rowland!