Once There was a Girl on Rocky Top

I’m receiving a lot of excitement that I’ve finally posted new blogs following two months of inactivity—but, my sister is wondering why I didn’t blog about her recent wedding (hence the reason I haven’t had much time to blog). Normally, I don’t like to blog about places I travel simply because this blog is about living in the City. I also try to shy away from mentioning full names to respect people’s privacy, but since she asked for it…..

September 15^th one of the busiest years of my life ended (and that’s only coming from the perspective of a bridesmaid). My middle sister, Megan, got married in our hometown in North Carolina. During her 10-month engagement, we celebrated in true Southern fashion. From engagement parties to dress shopping to wedding showers to a cross-country bachelorette party, this past year has been an amazing one for my entire family.  

I began writing this post and found myself practically writing a novel. So much happened during the wedding weekend that I’ve decided instead to write my Top 10 highlights from the Skidmore/Simmons wedding weekend:

1)      Hair Salon: Getting ready at the hair salon with Megan and her bridesmaids was the perfect time for us. My sweet grandfather brought us applesauce donuts from Barber’s Orchard and mimosas, and we all spent hours laughing together while we got pampered.

2)      Drinking buckets of beer on the golf course: Following our trip to the hair salon, we spent more than an hour taking photos. We didn’t want to lose our buzz, so we ordered buckets of beer at the Club and continued the party on the green!

3)      The wedding photographer: Our old friend, Dani Rose, was the photographer for the weekend. For someone who’s so intimately a part of the wedding, it was important to our family for it to be someone we knew and felt comfortable around. Dani was such a blast…and she drinks on the job ;)

4)      Watching Sam do the worm: I began babysitting Sam when he was 3-years-old, and yet, he’s the same awesome kid just in a bigger body! He entertained the crowd at the reception busting out the worm on the dance floor. So funny!

5)      Avery walking down the aisle: My niece is exactly like her godmother (Me), and she has the sassiest personality of any little girl I know. In true sassy flowergirl fashion, she strutted up the aisle with her tongue hanging out, batting her eyes at everyone sitting down.

6)      Matt’s speech: My sister’s husband, Matt, finished off the rehearsal dinner speeches with a tribute to Orange Country. Touching on NC State’s embarrassing loss to University of Tennessee the previous week, Matt discussed how he listened to Rocky Top play over and over again. One line stuck out to him: “Once there was a girl on Rocky Top, half bear the other half cat. Wild as a mink, sweet as soda pop, I still dream about that.” He then explained how this line said it all—he does dream about that, and he was happy to say he found her and was going to marry her the next day.

7)      You got Iced: In the middle of the reception, two our friends—twins, nonetheless—got onstage to explain they had gifts for Megan and Matt that couldn’t wait to be opened. With the couple in the center of the dance floor and surrounded by guests, they opened the bags to find a Smirnoff Ice waiting in each bag. They got down on their knees and chugged those gifts (Matt had to help Megan)…as the young folks had to explain the joke to our elders.

8)      My dad’s speech: To kick off the reception, my dad welcomed the guests and touched on a few of his favorite stories. In particular, he noted that he was proud to say he not only had three daughters, but now also had two sons. Unfortunately, he turned the tender moment into a punch line by stating that I was the last to get married, and rumor had it that I was joining the convent.

9)      Gas station trip: The wedding party rode in a trolley to and from the wedding, and on our way to the reception, we decided we needed more beer. We made a quick pit stop at the gas station for Megan and Matt to run in and grab a case. It really turned out to be a picture perfect moment—bride and groom with a case of Bud!

10)  Rain storm: Following dinner at the reception, a huge rain storm came out of nowhere. Although the reception was outdoors, the event was protected by a massive tent. When the storm blew in, I was worried everyone was going to leave, but it had the opposite effect. Instead, everyone put on glow stick necklaces and danced for hours!

As much fun as I’ve had helping to prepare for this wedding, I’m now looking forward to a less exciting year moving forward.

If you’re interested in looking at all the wedding photos, you can click this link.