thank you

As we wrap up our thank you cards we want to reiterate on our blog how thankful we are for everyone that pitched in, helped plan, support, and celebrate with us! Our day was perfect and we wouldn't have wanted it any other way!

A HUGE thanks goes out to our parents. So many things happened because of you guys and they wouldn't have happened otherwise. The time, effort, money and sweat that went in to making our wedding happen meant so much to Rod and I. 

From the flowers, fixing up the Camaro, building the arbor, enduring allergies to cut and drill sycamore branches, to an absolutely PERFECT rehearsal dinner we would like to thank the Blacks, the best in-laws a girl could ask for!! I am truly thankful to have such an awesome second family that has been there for Rod and me through so much. We thank y'all for all of the support, advice, sushi ;), and time that you have invested into our lives. We love y'all!!

From the moss covered letter "Bs", just as I imagined the pine tree slice centerpieces, burlap table runners, travel time, and moral support we want to thank the Meagher's! Rod and I are truly thankful for all of the time you guys invested in our special day. The look and the feel of the wedding was complete with the items you guys helped make. We love y'all and are so thankful for you guys and all of the support you guys offer to us each and every day. 

I would like to especially thank Rod's groomsmen for getting up early on Saturday (after a late night Friday) to help set up all of the awesome decorations. You guys made my dream come true and everything looked absolutely amazing and I am so thankful for you guys. Rod and I both are thankful for all of the time, effort, traveling and patience you put into our special day. I know Rod had an amazing Bachelor party and is so thankful for each and every one of your friendships. We love y'all too!! :)

My bridesmaids... you guys are awesome! Rod and I are so thankful for all that you guys invested in our special day, from traveling to planning showers and the bachelorette party, everything was so perfect. I am so thankful for each and every one of you! I'm sure Rod is too for you guys keeping me sane a lot of times :-). We thank y'all for being such great friends and for being so helpful and supportive. We love y'all!!!

Andy Grant, our officiant. We thank you a ton! You came out after a stressful week at work and did such a great job and we are so honored that you were able to marry us. It meant a lot to me as you being a close co-worker for the last 3 years. We are so glad that you were able to share that moment with us and we will treasure it forever. Thank you!!

Now, last but CERTAINLY not least, probably one of the biggest thank you's goes out to Sheila Nobles, Rod's aunt and our day-of coordinator. You were perfect!! You made the day go without a hitch and we definitely could not have done any of it without you. You implemented all of my dreams and ideas perfectly and kept everything running so smoothly. We are SO thankful and can't even put into words how much we appreciate the stress and time you put into our day. A big thanks goes out to Eric and the girls as well because I know they were running around helping a ton too! You guys are awesome and we love y'all so much!!!

honeymoon: day one

We got to our hotel at The Westin after the wedding at Bridge Street Town Center in Huntsville. The room was perfect and we couldn't be more thankful to Steve and Danielle, Giselle, Lauren Ploetze, Lauren McCaul, Danica and Jackson, Jenn and Nick who pitched in to give us that stay at The Westin!! We loved it! The view was perfect and the stay was definitely NOT long enough, because we had to get up at 4:15 am to make our 6:10 am flight! Booo

We made it through security and everything ok. The guard made Rod throw away the can of bug spray he had in the carry-on. We think he didn't realize it was less than 2 oz..but oh well. We then had breakfast and waited on our plane! We landed safely in Charlotte, NC and then walked through the huge airport to our connecting flight. Rod began to feel a little sick, but we got some Dramamine. While Rod slept, I just read a magazine, listened to music and reminisced of the wedding day. Our friend Cherish took an awesome photo that Rod and I saw just before taking off of my dad walking me down the aisle and then Rod and I walking back down the aisle. I swear I stared at it the entire flight pretty much. Haha

We arrived at the Punta Cana airport around 1pm. It was made out of a thatch roof with huge ceiling fans. There were locals right outside of customs playing some music, caribbean of course! 
Customs was easy, we paid $40 to enter, got our bags, and then got bombarded by guys wanting to help us with our bags. We continued walking, however, checked in with our tour company "Prieto Tours". They were so nice and we boarded a bus and waiting about 10-15 minutes and then we were on our way! The bus driver would honk his horn at everything!! (it was mostly to let people know he was there) The roads were all paved which surprised me after visiting Belize a couple of years ago. He drove so close to several guys on dirt bikes. Some of these dirt bikes had 3-4 people on them!! No one really followed traffic laws at all.

We soon (about 30 minute drive) arrived at Majestic Elegance Resort, our resort! The entrance had beautiful flowers and manicured bushes everywhere. It was so pretty! The resort was huge. The lobby has these huge eccentric metal chandeliers with ornate woodwork and decorations all around. 

We had to check our bags and then were introduced to Dario, our butler! He walked us around and showed us everything. We went into a private check in where he put these nice brown braceletes on us that said Majestic on them. These were so we could enter private pool areas, certain rooftop bars, and the elegance club lobby. He had us wait in the Elegance Club lobby because they were fixing something "with the computer" with our room. We really think it was because they were decorating our room for us! We also got an upgrade with our room. It came with a rooftop area with a jacuzzi tub outside! Dario walked us up to our room and on the door was a honyemooner's banner. The room had a huge king sized bed, a seating area with champagne. There was a fully stocked fridge with beers, waters, Dominican chocolate and sodas along with different kinds of liquor on the server. 

Rod and I let everything soak in and then we walked to the Sea & See restaurant which sets on the beach and had gorgeous views. We ate a snack and came back to the room to find fruit and a letter addressed to Mr. & Mrs. Black!! It said we were going to be provided with a bridal breakfast and romantic dinner on the day we choose. 

That night we ordered room service spaghetti and went to sleep early. That getting up at 4am was no fun!!

6 days

SIX days until I am Mrs. Rod Black!!! SIX days at this time we will be in Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic! Things have been a little crazy lately, so Rod and I are definitely ready for some relaxation time. We cannot wait for the wedding to be here and celebrate with everyone we love!!

See you all so soon!!!

a little reminder

There's a little something that we still need

It's really simple, just your RSVP

Just click the link, it's postage free,

You don't even have to leave your seat!

The wedding is almost 2 weeks away and we have to know who all is coming so that everyone will get to enjoy our caterer's AMAZING food!!

Click the link below for an easy RSVP form!

R.S.V.P.

We love you all and can't wait to see everyone!

-L & R

happy birthday, 'merica!!

Happy Fourth of July everyone!!!

The video above is from 4th of July in 2010. I ran the Peachtree Roadrace that morning and we went to a Braves game that night! Rod and I are so thankful for the freedoms that we have in this country. We encourage everyone to keep America in your prayers and get out and be involved and vote!!! Do not take your freedoms for granted. There are soldiers every day fighting to keep our freedom so the least we can do is get involved and support our country and never forget what we were founded on. Thanks to everyone who is fighting or has fought for The United States of America!

Awkward pic..haha but it was one of the only ones of the whole group!

 

    

    A lot has been going on in the past month! June 22-24 Kristina, Brittany and I rode down together to meet my sister, Summer, Louisa and Rochelle in Orange Beach, AL for my bachelorette party! We had a blast! They threw me an awesome lingerie shower, we had a great meal (I had oysters) at Shaggy's of Orange Beach and ended the night at Florabama and Waffle House! The next day was a full day of relaxing on the beach. Tropical Storm Debbie was trying to roll in, but she only provided huge waves for us that day, and extra strong sun rays, as all of us were burnt in different places. That evening we walked around the wharf where we discovered a lot of the places have closed down, we then went and listened to some awful kareoke at Live Bait until the back opened up and we danced away to "Hip Kitty"... (80s cover band).

My sister planned it perfectly and I cannot thank her enough along with all of my bridesmaids who chipped in and helped out. It was perfect, I had a great weekend and it meant a lot to me that all of you celebrated with me!!

      The next weekend was a shower for Rod and I in my hometown, Albany, GA. It was so great to see everyone from growing up. It made me feel old because some girls I babysat when they were 5 were there and are getting their licenses now!!! Holy Cow...

Anyways, the shower was thrown by my mom's longtime friend- Rachel Dorough, my sister, childhood friend- Diane Dorough, and my Godmother- Ann Anderson. It was a clock themed shower! The invitations were designed by Katie's mentor in Auburn, Anna with Viv-Vah-Chey Designs. We loved every  minute of it! The food was great the decorations were great and the fellowship was great! Rod and I appreciate the love and support shown for our upcoming marriage! It means so much to us. I wish we could spend more time with our Albany friends and family. We love and miss you all so much! 


xoxo-L

On the way back home I decided to join the pups in the back!

butterfly kisses

This post is in honor of my Padre's birthday!! I am so thankful for my dad and the impact he has had on my life. He always has insightful words to say and I will never forget a lot of the sayings and wisdom he has instilled in me over the years.

I will never forget as a kid he would tell me to pursue whatever I had a passion and a talent for and I truly believe that has gotten me to where I am today. He has always encouraged me to put in my all into everything I do, and I have seen that in him in the way he handles his forestry business and the way he serves in church and Kairos prison ministry. He has shown me characteristics that I desired in a future mate (and have truly found), as someone who took such awesome care of my mom and grandpa when they were sick, who works so hard to provide even when times were tough, and who leads our family in prayer and sets a Christ-like example. I truly respect him as a man and as a daddy and I love him so much!!

The picture below is from our unforgettable trip to Belize in the summer of 2010. I can't believe it has been two years now. That trip was breathtaking and will stay in my memory forever. I had such a great time hiking, touring, and relaxing with my daddy on this trip. The waterfalls were breathtaking, the Mayan ruins were phenomenal, and the history I learned of the Mountain Pine Ridge was awesome! I met some great people like Peter and Melina and George who were so kind and giving. It was such a great time and I'm so glad I got to spend it with my dad!

I love you daddy, Happy Birthday and I'll even go ahead and throw in a Happy Father's day too!! Thank you for always making me feel like your little princess. I'm so thankful for you! We will see you June 30th weekend when we are in Albany for our shower and we can celebrate then!!

xoxo,
Daudre'

double digits

This engaged couple right here is now in the countdown phase of double digits!!! Perfect timing because wedding festivities are just beginning! I have a wonderful bridal shower being thrown by my lovely bridesmaids in Madison this Saturday! I am so thankful for such sweet friends and I don't know how to thank them enough! I am so happy that they get to share this time with me because each and every one of them is quite special to my heart.

I also get to try on my dress in my size for the very first time! Everything is starting to feel so real and it's awesome! Summer sent a picture of herself in her bridesmaids dress and heels for our wedding and I couldn't stop smiling and almost teared up. I'm really worried I'm going to be a sobbing mess the day of!!! I get teary eyed at Say Yes to the Dress episodes... WHAT THE HECK AM I GOING TO DO THE DAY OF?! hahaha

Anyways, so to celebrate this double digit countdown, I will share exactly where Rod and I were 99 days after we met.  (yes, I counted, and reminisced)

Rod had been on a trip to Ole Miss for a cross country meet that he had to work as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Alabama. Oddly enough it was the day Auburn played Ole Miss at Auburn ("heart attack Auburn"pulled out a win).  I was in Nashville working my very first conference. I remember this weekend like it was  yesterday and it was the sweetest thing ever! He rode on a van (or bus?) back from Ole Miss and then hopped in a car and surprised me in Nashville!

Throughout our relationship we relied on "iChat" to see each other since we were miles apart. Well, Alyssa, my boss at the time, and I were going to go grab a bite to eat and see if we could get in to the Avett Brothers concert. Well Rod kept being like "hold on I'm almost back to the house and I want to see you on iChat because I'm going to bed early" or something like that (didn't click with me). So, I wait, and he gets on iChat with his computer camera facing my hotel room door number! I was ecstatic. It was perfect and I was so excited to see him! We then all grabbed a bite to eat and tried (and failed) to get into the Avett Brothers concert, but it was still a great night!

Oh, did I mention it's Mother's day this Sunday ANNDDD my birthday was a month away from yesterday??!?! Yeah, so definitely a crazy awesome week to be so thankful for and excited about!

-L