Hollie's Wedding Collaboration!

We spent the last couple of weekends (aside from this past one) celebrating the joining together of Hollie and Mikell! Our parents {aka the bunko group} held the bridesmaid's luncheon, and it was so much fun! Hollie gave us the sweetest white button-down shirts to get ready in and beautiful pearl necklaces to wear with our dresses on her special day!

Above are all the bridesmaids and the flower girls. Aren't they precious?

Hollie gave them hankerchiefs that had the sweetest quote on them. Oh! And along with our gift she gave us a precious card, too. Made me teary, actually! 

It's so strange that we all graduated together, and we are all at different phases in life. Well, Megan and I are both still in school, so we are kind of on the same page. Laura is out of school and working, as is Hollie, but Hollie is now MARRIED! 

On the following Friday, Hollie had asked if I would take some photos of her in the church she grew up in. The church is full of beautiful stained glass, and paired with a beautiful bride made for a wonderful mini-session!

 On Friday, I had to end my helium videos by sending this gem! Because I knew she could probably use some comic relief after all the craziness around her! 

At this moment, Hollie was saying, "Julianna, can you believe it? Can you believe I'm getting married tomorrow?" 

No, sweet friend. I can't! As a matter of fact, I had tried to imagine how I would feel about the whole day, and I couldn't come up with anything at all. 

I would soon find out, though!

I love the symbolism of this photo. I love that she's in the door, standing in the back, as she would if she had gotten married there.

 I'm glad she allowed me to be part of the day where her dress treaded the same floors that her small feet did as a child walking into church in her Sunday best. The walls of this church have heard Hollie sing, laugh, cry, chat and love throughout the course of her lifetime. From VBS to church trips, from her first church service with Mikell by her side to funerals for people she has loved dearly, this place has seen it all. How incredible that it got to see her in her wedding gown, on her last day with her first last name.

That night, we had the Wedding Rehearsal. Obviously it was held at the same place as the wedding, and the venue was gorgeous! Everything was so whimsical, yet simple. Rustic, yet elegant. Hollie's dreams really all seemed to come true through the decorations. It was everything she'd ever expressed wanting to me.

Saturday was the day! We arrived at the annex of the church around 10:30 and we all got ready together! The whole family of the bride as well as some of the groom's family. All the bridesmaids in one place made for a fun morning of laughs, bonding, and spending time with Hollie in her last moment's as a "Lane".

I can remember when we were little playing "house". Playing like we were married to whomever we wanted to be, sometimes made up people, sometimes boys on the high school football team at the time. Little did we know, we would meet two boys who were over an hour away from us who would love us {individually} unconditionally.

wow! look how we've changed!

It's been such a blessing to go through this love with one of my best friends. I'm thankful that, no matter what, we have been able to work through differences and agree that our relationship means more than other silly things. I will never forget the nights we would spend at my house during Junior College trying to study for Chemistry, but simply being too giggly and love-struck to focus. Thankfully our teacher liked us! Ha! 

No amount of worlds can describe the excitement we felt for each other after our first dates with these two. She stayed with me both nights after her date and mine, and I don't know that we slept for talking about how they went! Little did we know, the boys spent a lot of time on the phone with each other talking about the same things! 

Anyway, Saturday went by really fast! I had a handsome date, and I'm so glad we got to go through these wedding festivities together! It was fun being by your side, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I love our story, and I love that we got to be a part of their story, too.

David and Nick spent a lot of the day together. Any time that I would come out of the area the girls were staying, I would see these two together. I'm glad they were able to visit! Nick even rode home with us from rehearsal and sat on the porch over at Matt's for awhile the night before the wedding. 

All in all, Hollie and Mikell's wedding was beautiful. Everything from the arch to the food setup inside the barn. I hope that The Lord blesses Hollie and Mikell in and through their marriage, and I'm so excited to experience them as a married couple now. I have a feeling they will have a ton of advice when the time comes for David and I. 

It's been a pure joy to know I have you as a friend. I would even go so far as to call you a sister. I have loved the meshing of our Alabama families with ours here in Mississippi. There's no one I would have rather ridden those roads to Livingston with than you, no one I would have wanted to call after every sweet message came through or another date ended, no one I can think of who would be equally as happy for me during an exciting time, no one at all. 

Not only have you been here through THIS season of my life, but every other season prior as well. So many of my childhood memories involve you and your family, and I'm so glad that we have each other. 

Here's to the next chapter in your life! 

Make the most of every moment!

Congratulations, Mr. & Mrs. Bonner!

We love you! 

10.5.13

"He who finds a wife

 finds what is good

 and finds favor from The Lord."

- Prov. 18:22