SD Wedding - country style

Today I packed my bags & headed north with my little brother for a road-trip to South Dakota to attend a good ol' country wedding. Unfortunately Shane couldn't get out of work & Steve's wife had a bachelorette party weekend at the lake to go to so it was just him & I which ended up being a lot of fun! 

One of Steve's childhood friends, Jordan (aka: "Red") was finally getting married after dating his wife-to-be (Katie) for almost 10 years so it was definitely time for these two to make it official!!

The wedding was being held on Jordan's mom's farm outside of Sioux Falls so my brother & I got a hotel & made a quick little weekend of it. We got up there around supper time & headed over to my other brother Chris' house to visit him, his wife & my adorable nieces & nephew. We all ended up going out to eat to Buffalo Wild Wings & then called it an early night.

The next morning my brother & I did a little shopping at the mall located right next to the hotel & then met up with my parents for lunch. Afterwards, we all headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

It was a 4pm wedding & when we pulled up to the farm it was thee cutest country wedding that I ever did see. All the little details were so adorable & perfectly done for a "country wedding" theme & I have TONS of pics to share. Jordan's sister Jade was their photographer so some of these pics are from her collection & the rest are the ones I took. I'm sure you will be able to tell the difference between hers & mine :)

Above was the sign at the beginning of the driveway & the beautiful farm house where the bride was getting ready.

As we parked & walked up to the grassy area where the wedding was being held we saw hay bales made into seats:

A Jenga game on the gift table which served as their guestbook:

 

Where the wedding was to take place:

The drink station - mason jars with chalkboard paint on them so you could write your name on the glass:

The tent where we will gather to eat, drink & dance:

Next best thing to wedding cake? Wedding cupcakes - in 5 different flavors:

And no country wedding is complete without serving a roasted pig for pulled pork sandwiches:

And the much anticipated ceremony:

Releasing of the balloons as the bride walked down the aisle:

It was a beautiful day & an even more beautiful wedding! I was so amazed by all the little details that I didn't capture any pics of me & my family other than this cute pic of my nephew Lane & his orange mustache!

My brother & I ended up leaving super early Sunday morning & was back in KC by noon. Even though it was a really quick trip, I SO enjoyed the time spent with my brother & my family.

Game Night

Tonight was the June gathering of the girls for game night over at Jilly's house. Unfortunately it ended up being a smaller group than usual due to an email "snafu" but was still fun & an enjoyable evening none the less. 

 

As always there was a great selection of snacks, drinks, conversation & many stories & laughs shared by all. 

Thanks Jilly for a fun & relaxing evening :)

Headed North

On Thursday, I headed north to South Dakota to spend the weekend with the family on the farm. My brother Chris & his family along with my sister Jen & her family were there for the weekend so I was able to get in lots of "Aunt Hedder" time :) 

Unfortunately, my little brother Steve wasn't able to join us as he had started CRNA school & also had to work over the weekend. He, Meghan & Caleb were definitely missed.

The majority of the weekend was spent playing outside with the kiddos, watching them feed & pet the sheep, watching the horses, running through the sprinkler, playing in the kiddie pool...

...cooking, eating, visiting with extended family, watching sunrises/sunsets on the deck & snuggling with my niece Jensen - it was definitely a good time.

The main reason we were all gathering for the long weekend was to witness my niece Jensen's baptism at church Sunday morning. On Saturday evening, my sister & her husband hosted a BBQ for our enitire family as well as Ben's extended family.

There was about 26 people gathered at the farm & it was a beautiful night for hanging out on the deck & catching up with everyone.

On Sunday, we all met at the church for 9:30am service & the baptism of my niece Jensen. There was also one other little girl being baptized so our family stood on the right while her family stood on the left. 

My mom had just recently returned from a trip to the Holy Land in Israel & while there she managed to collect some water from the Sea of Galilee (where Jesus had "walked on water" according to the bible). The water was used to baptize Jensen which made the service all that much more special. Jensen also was able to wear the baptism dress & booties that my sister wore 34 years ago.

I was very proud to be chosen to sponsor Jensen & be her "Godmother" :)

After an awesome weekend spent with family, everyone headed back on Monday morning to return to their normal routines. It was definitely nice to get to see everyone & spend some R-n-R on the farm.