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wedding

Honeymoon Horror Story

December 8, 2019 by 17 Comments

Grand Cayman honeymoon
Grand Cayman honeymoon

There is a lot of pressure on an engaged couple to choose a nice place to spend their honeymoon. I (Mr. Handsome) have been told that the groom usually makes the plans, presumably because the bride is busy with the all-consuming task of planning a wedding. Ellie really enjoys planning trips, so she offered to organize our honeymoon. I think she also secretly knew that if she left the task to me, our trip would likely end up in disarray. Either that or we would “accidentally” find ourselves on a five-day fishing excursion. Just kidding. Even I don’t enjoy fishing enough to put Ellie through that on her honeymoon.

So to give credit where credit is due, I must admit that my wife put together our romantic getaway to Grand Cayman. I wanted to be of some assistance, so I told her I would find accommodations for the night of the wedding.

Hoping to impress my wife of exactly six hours, I chose a sweet little bed and breakfast that was close enough to our wedding location that we wouldn’t have a terribly long drive, but far enough that we wouldn’t have to worry about pranksters.  The website advertised it as a “quaint, historic home” with a “seven course breakfast.” Perfect, I thought.

By the time we arrived, it was about 11:00pm. If by “quaint, historic home” the owners meant “dilapidated haunted house,” they were right on the money. Perhaps the description was wishful thinking. The bed and breakfast was complete with turrets, eerie archways, and windows that looked like frowning eyes staring at you. The only light was a small lantern hanging above the entryway, so we warily climbed the stairs and knocked. An elderly lady opened the door, squinted, and informed us that the guest entrance was around back. We made our way through the dark and somehow managed to locate the door.

We were greeted by the same woman, who had found an apron and mustered up a smile since we had last seen her. She welcomed us and showed us to our room.

“Don’t forget, breakfast starts at 7:00am sharp,” she announced.

“Umm, this is our wedding night, and we are exhausted from a busy day,” I told her gently. “Do you think we could come down a little later?”

“Certainly,” she replied, “lets plan on 7:15.” It wasn’t the type of response that invited a counter offer.

Thankful for the generous extra 15 minutes, we commenced to inspecting our room. It turns out that all the rooms had themes. With a collection of very interesting rag dolls (all with beady little eyes) lining the dressers and walls, my guess is that the honeymoon suite was the “demon-possessed doll room.” And I’m not talking about those sweet Precious Moments figurines. I’m talking about the dolls in horror movies that come alive after dark.

We surprisingly survived the night without being attacked, only to be woken at 6:30am by the breakfast bell. We pulled ourselves out of bed, wiped the sleep out of our eyes, and made our way to breakfast. “I am sure that this seven-course breakfast will be worth the lack of sleep,” I told Ellie, trying to put a positive spin on the situation.

Well the first course of the seven-course breakfast was peas. I kid you not, it was literally green vegetables. The second course was Kix cereal. “Good to start the day off with a kick,” our host stated. The third course was Life cereal, so our day could be “full of life.” The fourth course was a banana, and it was pretty small at that.

The fifth course was toast that was somehow both burnt and soggy. The jelly was good, which helped. The sixth course was a glass of milk or orange juice, but not both, and the final course was a bowl of scrambled eggs. Or maybe I should say scrambled egg–there definitely was only one per person. In the end, our seven-course breakfast contained less food than the average Super 8 continental breakfast.

There was another couple staying there, and during breakfast we tried to make conversation. It’s a tad awkward meeting someone for the first time on the morning after your wedding and trying to strike up a conversation. Thankfully they didn’t ask us if we had slept well.

Later that day, we found ourselves at my parents’ house for lunch. (That’s a long story, but I assure you that it wasn’t in the plans.) It ended up being a meal full of laughs, as we swapped stories with my sister and her husband, who had apparently stayed at the same bed and breakfast the night of their wedding two years earlier. They remembered the peas and demon-possessed dolls very well.

About a month later, we read in the newspaper that the bed and breakfast was going out of business. Can’t imagine why. They ended up converting it into a Halloween haunted house, which has apparently been doing marvelously.

Filed Under: Mr. Handsome Tagged With: bed and breakfast, Grand Cayman, honeymoon, wedding

Mr. Buddy at a Wedding

November 25, 2019 by 25 Comments

A few weeks ago, I was a bridesmaid in my college roommate’s wedding. The dresses were perfect–picture a floor-length, chiffon gown with capped sleeves in a color somewhere between sky blue and dusty blue–and didn’t break the bank.

The wedding was an hour way from where my mom lives, so not only did we have a free place to stay, but we also had free childcare. Little Buddy is still drinking breast milk, and he is almost 11 months but has no teeth, so it’s hard to explain what he can eat to caretakers. It was also going to be a really long day, and I didn’t want to leave him at my mom’s house the entire time. My mom was kind enough to come along as our “nanny.”

While I got ready and took pictures with the wedding party, Little Buddy played in the church nursery with Grandma. Mr. Handsome went to the local movie theater to see a matinee, which worked out great because it gave him a little bit of “me time,” and it gave my mom some much deserved grandma time. Rather than make Little Buddy sit through the ceremony, she kept him in the nursery during that, as well.

The reception was in a very laid-back venue. The bride did all the decorations DIY, with help from family and friends, and it looked beautiful.

I was nervous that Little Buddy would struggle to make it through the evening, but he did great. There was a short dance towards the end of the night. Little Buddy danced with Grandma in the back of the room for a little while, and then Grandma brought him to us and sat down so we could dance with our son. The music was all very tasteful, and the atmosphere was calm and family-friendly. There were several other kids on the dance floor, and Little Buddy enjoyed watching them jump around.

The send-off took place promptly at 8:45, so we were able to head out before Little Buddy got too tired. I was so very pleased at how well he did. He recently started a “cling to mama” stage, so it was nice to have him in the same building so I could go give him a hug and reassure him every hour or two. It was also lovely to see him enjoying time with his Grandma.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: DIY wedding, wedding

Lending a Hand

October 24, 2017 by 22 Comments

A few weeks ago, my mother-in-law and father-in-law were visiting Nashville for the weekend, so rather than go to our church, we all decided to go to church with Mr. Handsome’s brother and his wife.

After the service, we chatted with a young woman and her mother. My mother-in-law and the young woman’s mother really hit it off, and it wasn’t long before they were talking like they were lifelong friends. (We were all a bit confused at first, but when we found out that they both have seven children and are/were homeschool moms, we understood their instant bond.)

It just so happened that this young woman was getting married in Nashville the following weekend, and her mother was stressed out because she is from the East Coast and was having trouble finding people to help out at the DIY event.

My mother-in-law non-nonchalantly said that she would see if any of her children would be able to lend a hand, and the woman was ecstatic. “That would be wonderful!” she exclaimed.

My well-meaning mother-in-law called over my brother-in-law and his wife (the ones who actually attend the church and would probably know many of the guests at the wedding) to see if they were free the following weekend. They were busy, so Mr. Handsome and I volunteered to help.

The following weekend, we arrived at the church, and the mother of the bride was being pulled in 1,000 different directions, so she asked another helper to take us to the kitchen and show us what to do. Well, this person took us to the kitchen and then admitted that she had no idea what we were supposed to do, so she handed us a list and left.

To make a long story short, we did a lot of improvising, as we set up the appetizers and dinner buffet, met the baker and showed her where to put the cake, and (after the ceremony was over) instructed the guests where to line up for dinner.

We had a bit of difficulty figuring out the drink situation. The labels on the two dispensers said Sweet Tea and Strawberry Lemonade, but the huge walk-in fridge only contained Kiwi Lemonade (didn’t even know that was a thing) and Unsweetened Tea.

If you live in the South, you know that serving only Unsweetened Tea is simply not socially acceptable. We changed the labels and filled the drink dispensers, hoping that the well-meaning hosts, who were from the North, wouldn’t be chewed out by all the sweet tea loving guests from the South.

The mother and father of the bride were very appreciative of our help and even gave us a gift card to Olive Garden. When we had finished our duties, we sat down to eat the fabulous food, which was from an Indian restaurant.


The highlight of the evening, which turned out to be a lot of fun, was listening to one of the guests tell us the bride and groom’s love story. It turns out that the groom is completely blind, but he is a successful lawyer in Washington D.C. and can do everything but drive a car. (Isn’t that incredible?)

Rather than coddle him, his parents had pushed him towards greatness by refusing to allow him to make excuses for himself. The guest, a college friend of the groom, told us a story of a time when one of the groom’s bed sheets had ripped while he was away at school. The friend suggested the groom call his mom, who had purchased the sheets, and ask her to order a replacement. The groom laughed and told his roommate that he knew exactly what his mom’s response would be: “Just take a taxi to Kohl’s and buy yourself a new set.”

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: homeschool, Indian Restaurant, kiwi lemonade, Kohl's, lawyer, Nashville, North, Olive Garden, South, strawberry lemonade, sweet tea, unsweetened tea, Washington DC, wedding, wedding cake

East Coast Christmas Wedding 2

January 12, 2017 by 22 Comments

On Sunday, I posted photos from my brother-in-law’s rehearsal dinner and wedding ceremony. You asked for more snapshots, so here are some from the reception immediately following the ceremony.The cake was made by Mr. Handsome’s cousin. She is in her early 20s and is a professional baker. Her cake is out of this world. I asked if she wanted to share the recipe, but she said she wants to keep it a secret. Boy would it be wonderful to have though! (The cupcakes I posted to my Facebook page were also made by her.)

I took these pictures before guests arrived because I knew you all would want to see photos of the tables. My sister-in-law did a wonderful job.

Just under 200 guests attended the wedding.

Mr. Handsome is the oldest in a family of seven kids, and he was the best man. His speech was top notch. The perfect balance between funny and sentimental.

Filed Under: Ceremony/Reception, DIY Wedding Tagged With: professional baker, rehearsal dinner, wedding, wedding ceremony

Family Photo Wall

January 6, 2016 by 23 Comments

 Mr. Handsome and me with his parents and grandparents

When I married Mr. Handsome, I was blessed to become part of a large, close-knit family. My brother and I only have five first cousins, all of whom are older and live far away. (I was honored that most
of them made it to our wedding!)

Mr. Handsome, on the other hand, has six younger siblings, one of whom (Anne) is married with one daughter. On his dad’s side, he has 11 first cousins and 16 “first-cousins-once-removed.”

On his mom’s side, my husband has seven first cousins. (Only one is married, and she does not yet have children.) We expect both sides of the family to grow exponentially in the coming years.

My grandparents are elderly and unable to travel, and my husband’s paternal grandparents are deceased, so his maternal grandparents were the only ones to attend our wedding. We call them “Gram and PopPop,” and they are just wonderful. They have treated me like one of their own since Mr. Handsome and I started dating.

Gram recently started a photo wall in her basement and has set aside space for five pictures of each grandchild’s wedding and future family. (The wall is still in its early stages, as her youngest grandchild is only 10 years old.) Gram emailed these snapshots to me a few days ago:

Our section of the wall, featuring five wedding photos
Anne’s section (right) contains wedding photos and a picture of her 17-month-old daughter

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: cousins, extended family, family photo wall, large close-knit family, wedding, wedding photos, wedding pictures

Wedding Pictures

October 24, 2015 by 16 Comments

A number of readers have asked that I share more photos from our wedding day. Here are a few of my favorites. The first one was taken as Mr. Handsome and I walked out of the church after the ceremony, and the last two are from a photo shoot we did with our photographer at a local park.

Filed Under: Our Wedding/Honeymoon Tagged With: day, Ellie and Mr Handsome, wedding, wedding photographer, wedding pictures

Displaying our Wedding Vows

October 23, 2015 by 20 Comments

Soon after our March 2015 engagement, we decided to write our own marriage vows. (Click here to read them.) We wrote a rough draft together, and then we each took that draft and made the vows our own.While decorating our rental house after the wedding, I wanted to display our vows in a place where we would see them every day. What better place than above our bed? (I considered hanging them in the living room, but that seemed too public.)

Instead of paying a pretty penny for professional framing, I purchased two pieces of blue cardstock paper at Jo-Ann for $0.20, printed our vows in a fancy cursive font, and placed them in 8×10 picture frames from the Bed Bath and Beyond clearance rack. What do you think of my arrangement?

Filed Under: DIY Home, Home Decor Tagged With: Bed Bath and Beyond, Jo-Ann, marriage vows, wedding, wedding vows

DIY Wedding Food

September 14, 2015 by 26 Comments

After I shared photos of our DIY wedding reception, a few readers asked what was on our menu. The main dish was barbecued pulled pork, courtesy of Mr. Handsome’s aunt and uncle. Then we had a friend with a catering service provide Parmesan chicken, macaroni & cheese, mixed veggies, glazed carrots, and Caesar salad with homemade dressing.

We served the food buffet-style, and everything was delicious. I would love to get my hands on the recipes! There were tons of leftovers, which our families enjoyed while we were away on our honeymoon….

For dessert, several friends and family members put together a spectacular sweets table. Once again, everything was delicious, but Mr. Handsome and I only had time to try one or two types of cookies.

We also rented two soft-serve ice cream machines (one chocolate and one vanilla). There aren’t many places that rent them out, so we were grateful when Mr. Handsome’s two brothers offered to drive three hours to pick them up the day before the wedding.

Early on in the planning process, we decided that we wanted either ice cream or milkshakes instead of cake, but we didn’t want to have to bother with coolers. Soft-serve machines were a great solution because the ice cream stayed nice and cold. They were only a few hundred dollars to rent, and the ice cream mix was cheap.

We had sweet tea, strawberry lemonade, regular lemonade, and water available in drink dispensers. (These drink dispensers had a center compartment for ice, which was great on a hot, summer day.)

We also had a canoe (borrowed from a friend) filled with ice, water bottles, soda cans, and containers of sparkling juice. (We found that idea on Pinterest, of course.)

We kept the food under a tent that was purchased for our wedding and future family get-togethers. It was used three additional times this summer, so I would say it was worth the money

Filed Under: Ceremony/Reception, DIY Wedding Tagged With: catering, catering service, DIY weddding menu ideas, drink dispensers, ice cream mix, milkshakes, Pinterest, recipes, sweet tea, wedding, wedding buffet, wedding decorations

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EllieMr. Handsome and I married four years ago and moved to Nashville, Tennessee. Between recipes, photos from our travels, money saving tips, DIY suggestions, post about our daily life with our son, and more, our lifestyle blog features a little bit of everything. Read More…

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