Pre-wedding fun.

While our stuff was in transit from Lafayette to Baton Rouge, we had the good fortune to visit with Ashley's cousin, Allison, her husband, Jeff, and their two girls, Fable and Ever, for a few days. The Rodgers family lives in Olive Branch, MS, which is about 15 minutes from the center of Memphis (more about that later).

Fable REALLY wanted to be able to go to Courtney's bridesmaids' luncheon so we volunteered to have her join us on the hour-long ride to Oxford. Fable rode in the back with Eden, helping us keep an eye on her. She was a GREAT help!



So, Ashley, Eden, and I arrived in Oxford on Friday, August 8 in time for Ashley and Fable (Ashley's second cousin) to attend Courtney's bridal luncheon.

Courtney's aunts all brought their own or their mother's wedding china to use at the luncheon and also used Courtney's grandmother's brooches and earrings as the decorations on the napkin rings. Just before lunch began, each of Courtney's aunts explained the significance of their china pattern - Ashley reports it was a sentimental moment for everyone.

After lunch, Courtney's sisters (Ashley and Whitney ... no joke) presented her with a scrapbook with pages from all her bridesmaids and important family members and friends. Courtney loved it!! Strangely enough, one of Courtney's bridesmaids (a friend from her time at MC) was Ashley's intern while she worked at Make-A-Wish.

While the girls were at the luncheon, I got to spend some QT with Eden. Of course, Ashley took the camera with her so no pictures ...

After the luncheon, we all met up at the hotel ... a swanky place called the Downtown Oxford Inn. That's where Uncle BeBop (a.k.a. Boston) met Eden for the first time.

After a few hours of playing with Eden ...

... and getting our hair done by Fable ...

... we dressed Eden (in her stylish outfit from her Aunt Whitney) and headed to the wedding rehearsal.

Then, it was off to Off Square Books for the rehearsal dinner. Like the Big Truck Theatre, Oxford is also creative in naming its bookstores. Off Square Books is a bookstore that sits just off the Oxford square (which, according to the map located in the dining hall of our hotel, is "the center of the universe").

At the dinner, we drank wine, saw a slideshow of Courtney and Britton's lives, and gave toasts. It was a time to remember the seperate lives of Courtney and Britton and to celebrate their coming together. The highlight of the toasts was a "non-traditional" toast given by the groom to his best man (Ashley's Dad). In the toast, Britton said that throughout his life whenever he heard explanations of God's love for his children, he thought, "That makes sense," because he had always known that type of love from his Dad - unconditional and self-sacrificing. Once again, Britton won the award for the best rehearsal dinner toast just like he did last year at Whitney and Boston's rehearsal dinner.

For most of the dinner, Eden was in the front of the store eating, sleeping, or being entertained by a host of friends and family. She did quite well, especially considering we kept her out over an hour past her bedtime.

Of course she received nearly as much attention as the bride and groom, but we know in her heart she was very willing to share the spotlight with her Uncle Britton and Aunt Courtney during their very special weekend.