As many of you know, my son, Brandon, recently married on November 5, 2011, in Houston, Texas. As I think about the many events in my life for 2011...Brandon and Amy's wedding certainly tops the list. So, as the end of the year approaches and we near Christmas and New Year's.....I am reflecting upon the highlights of the past year, I wanted to share with you some of my special memories... Amy and Brandon's big day was truly a storybook wedding. Like all good stories, they have a beginning...so, we will start with a post on the wedding rehearsal...
We all met at the Church (November 4, 2011) where the wedding would be held on and, shortly thereafter, the rehearsal began. Brandon looked very handsome and happy as he watched his bride, Amy and her Father, Ziad Noshie, rehearse their walk down the aisle for the big day. Brandon's longtime best friend, Aaron Ross, was the best man who stood beside him....
Brandon's groomsmen also included his brother, Elliott, his best friend, Mike Raley, cousin, Brett Henneke, and best friends, Aaron Benjamin, and T.J. Darilek. A handsome line up of groomsmen. Amy had selected some of her very close girlfriends to be her bridesmaids. Amy lived in New York during some of her school years, and a few of her close girlfriends came from New York to be a part of her special day. My husband and I enjoyed meeting her lovely girlfriends....all very sweet and beautiful. Amy's neice, Blaire (second from right in photo) was Amy's Junior Bridesmaid and her sister, Alissa (far right) was Amy's Maid of Honor. Alissa was married in 2011, as well, so the Noshie family was twice blessed this year...
All the lovely ladies, quite by chance, wore black to the rehearsal, and it really looked wonderful that they all were in the same color as they stood together in the sanctuary.
The wedding coordinator of the Church went through a few details of the service with the bridal party and, soon, the rehearsal began. We didn't hear the readings or any of the actual service until the wedding day, of course. Their wedding ceremony was very meaningful and full of love....a wonderful selection of readings, music, and reflections on love and marriage by the Deacon and Minister.
Amy's lovely Step-Mother, Lydia, and I sat together at the Church and enjoyed watching the rehearsal. We could already see, we would definitely need to bring our hankies for the actual service the next day....November 5th, 2011. We were already getting teary-eyed as we watched Amy and Brandon rehearse for their big day. Our children hold such a big spot in our hearts. Weddings are filled with many happy tears as the parents watch their children marry the one they love and begin their lives together.
Amy's flower girl was a cute little girl named, Bella. Her rehearsal dress was the same exact color as Amy's. She was soooo adorable. Here she is with the wedding coordinator (black and white striped shirt) practicing her walk down the aisle...
That is her grandfather sitting over on the right side of the church watching. Amy and her Father are in the back of the church smiling and looking on....
Amy and her Father, Ziad Noshie, take their walk down the aisle for the first time. Amy wore the most beautiful wedding gown ever on her wedding day! You will see her gorgeous gown on the wedding day posting which will be upcoming... You can see the happiness and love on her Father's face as he escorts Amy on a practice walk down the aisle. Amy is carrying a bouquet made from the bows from shower gifts....
Amy and her Father join Brandon and the wedding party in the front of the sanctuary...
Everyone was having fun at the rehearsal...weddings are a happy time!
Amy and her Dad embrace. A special moment between the two of them...
What God has joined together....
Amy and Brandon with (left) Maid of Honor (Amy's sister) Alissa and Junior Bridesmaid, Blaire and (right) Best Man, Aaron Ross, and Groomsman (Brandon's brother) Elliott...
Amy and Brandon look so happy as they practice the recession. On the next night, they would be introducing them as husband and wife at this point...
Amy's sister, Alissa, and Brandon's best man and friend, Aaron, lead off the bridal attendant recession...
Next is Blaire (Amy's neice) and Elliott (Brandon's brother)...
Looking very handsome, Elliott.... Blaire is a cute gal, isn't she?
The rest of the wedding party followed...
Brandon's friend, Mike Raley, had broken his ankle in Colorado at the bachelor weekend. (You will see this mentioned and his x-ray on the wedding rehearsal dinner video posting.) The guys had taken a trip to Colorado to go white water rafting and camping. Mike twisted his ankle while hiking and thought it was just sprained. But, unfortunately, it was broken. He had surgery between the bachelor weekend and the wedding. At this point, he was just able to walk on his ankle some and still had had some protection on the ankle for support. I am happy to report that Mike's ankle is doing well and getting stronger each day... The pretty bridesmaid with Mike is Amy's friend, Marissa Baker, who lives in New York. The next groomsman, Brett Henneke, is Brandon and Elliott's cousin. Brett is escorting Amy's friend, Mary Hall. Mary is a sweet gal and lives in New York.
Amy's girlfriends were all very sweet and we enjoyed meeting them. Some of her bridesmaids were from New York where Amy and her sister, Alissa, had lived at one time... Brandon's next groomsman, Aaron Benjamin, is from Miami, Florida. He and Brandon attended University of Florida (Go Gators!) at the same time, but UF is so large that they never met each other until they both here hired by Exxon-Mobil and moved to Houston. Now, they are good friends. Small world.... Aaron is escorting Amy's friend, Jen Waldren. Jen is married and lives in Houston.
Amy's friend, Aimee Hirsch, and Brandon's longtime friend, T. J. Darilek, are next to take their walk. Brandon and T. J. met when we lived in Houston and Brandon was in late elementary school. T. J. and his family lived down the street from us in a beautiful neighborhood called Wortham Estates. T.J. and Brandon have been friends ever since that time and reconnected when Brandon moved back to Houston from Florida after college.
After the rehearsal at the Church, we all proceeded to the rehearsal dinner which my husband, Mark, and I hosted at one of my favorite restaurants in Houston.....Ruggles Grill.
I used to love to have dinner at Ruggles when I lived in Houston. The restaurant is located in an old historic home built in the 1920s and has been in existance for many years. I first discovered Ruggles when I was working at a large legal firm in downtown Houston....about three years before Brandon was born. Chef Bruce has owned and operated this restaurant for many years. He has a wonderful menu, and the restaurant has kept the same cozy ambience throughout the years. Why change something that works? :) Many celebrities have dined at Ruggles. Brandon and I had dinner one night there and had the pleasure of meeting basketball great, Clyde Drexler. Ruggles has expanded with new restaurants but the original Ruggles is my favorite. This is also where Brandon and Amy had their first date.....so, Ruggles was my top choice for the rehearsal dinner. Thank you to Ruggles....Chef Bruce and the staff for making our rehearsal dinner just perfect!
I have always loved the room that we had the rehearsal dinner in. There is a beautiful sky painted on the ceiling....
There is also whimsical figures on the ceiling as well. This has always been my favorite room at Ruggles....
Gerbera Daisies are Amy's favorite flowers so I chose them as the centerpieces for the tables. My Mother used to grow gerbera daisies in Florida. I love them, too...
I sat at a long table next to my girlfriend, Lori Harrington Burke, who lives in Houston. We have been friends for several years and became really close when we were both extras in the movie, Tin Cup, with Kevin Costner. We spent two weeks or so together on the set at a golf course in Houston which really bonded our friendship. Next to Lori, is my sister, Jeri Thompson Perry, whom I love dearly. She came to the shower and the wedding from Florida. I was so happy to have her there along with my neice, Jordan Hand. Next to Jeri, is my cousin on my Dad's side, Holly Thompson Lowe. I love her dearly, too, and was so thrilled that she travelled from Jacksonville, Florida, to Houston to share our special day...
Amy's Mother, Nancy, step-mother, Lydia, and Father, Ziad Noshie also joined us at our table for dinner. We enjoyed chatting with them during the meal. Amy has such a wonderful family. That is her Father on the right, followed by her Step-Mother and Mother.
My neice, Jordan, and her roommate, Kayla, came from Dallas for the wedding. Jordan (right) and Kayla attend college there in Dallas. Jordan wants to go into film after graduation. When Jordan is not attending class or studying, she spends her time as part of a ladies' roller derby team.
Amy, Brandon and the wedding party sat at a long table together. Brandon's Dad and the best man's Dad, Rusty Ross, also joined them at the table. Rusty is not in this photo as he was taking video of the event at the time. That is Brandon, of course, waving and Amy beside him.
Brandon and my girlfriend, Lori....
Brandon's Aunt Loretta and Uncle Dan (his Dad's brother) sat at the table with Amy's brother, Jeff, and his wife, Tammy, and their daughter, Blaire (Jr. Bride's Maid). Loretta and Dan (seated on left) are Brandon's God Parents. Loretta did one of the readings in the Church during the wedding service.
As I mentioned earlier, Brandon's groomsman, Mike Raley, had broken his ankle on the bachelor weekend. At the rehearsal dinner, Brandon presented Mike with an olympic medal he had made up for him. It was done in fun and had a wheelchair on the medal. He gave this to Mike for being such a good sport about being in the wedding with his leg support on. For the groomsmen gifts, each of Brandon's wedding attendants received some beautiful cuff-links that Amy's Dad, Ziad, created. Amy's Dad is a very talented jeweler. As I mentioned in a previous blog, Amy's family has a wonderful jewelry store in Houston, Texas, in the University area called Almaza Jewelers. Amy's Father has created many beautiful, award winning pieces. I love everything in their store! If you are ever in Houston, please stop by and visit Almaza Jewelers. (I'll put a link at the end of my blog.) Amy had a special jewelry gift for the Bridesmaids, too....a beautiful pearl necklace.
I had selected a special poem to read to Brandon and Amy at the rehearsal dinner. I love to write my own poetry for milestones in the lives of my children or read one that I love...
Amy's Dad presented Amy and Brandon with a couple of beautiful jewelry pieces that he had lovingly created for them...
You can see the happiness Amy's Dad has on his face. Parents love to give to their children. Amy's sister, Alissa, shares the moment...
Hugs to the loving Dad...
And a hug from Brandon....
That is Alissa's husband, Aaron, on the left...
Amy and Brandon share some special moments with her family. That is Elliott, Brandon's brother, on the far left and Amy's step-mother, Lydia, on the far right...
Amy and Brandon looking happy and radiant...
Amy and Brandon.... Amy with the beautiful ring created for her by her sweet Father. As I shared in an earlier posting, her Father worked with Brandon to also create Amy's gorgeous engagement and wedding rings. Her Dad also created the wedding rings for Amy's sister, Alissa, when she married. What a treasure.....to have wedding rings designed by your husband and made by your own Father!
Brandon's handsome cuff-links created by Amy's Father... Beautiful!
My girlfriend, Lori, looking gorgeous in her coat...
I love my cousin, Holly.... So happy she was able to join us from Florida for the rehearsal dinner wedding!
Chef Bruce who also is the owner of Ruggles Grill, came out to chat with us during the rehearsal dinner. He loved the story of my long history with the restaurant....discovering Ruggles in my mid 20's when I was a legal secretary in Houston and then, later, introducing Ruggles to my son. Now, 30 or so years after I first fell in love with the restaurant, we are at Ruggles celebrating the wedding of Amy and Brandon with the rehearsal dinner! Thank you, Chef Bruce and Ruggles, for making our night very special and for being a part of our lives for the past 30 years. I enjoyed meeting your family, Chef Bruce, too, on the night of the rehearsal dinner. We hope to celebrate many more special events at Ruggles in the future....hmmmm----future baby shower in a few years maybe? :)
Our dinner at Ruggles was so delicious! Everything was just perfect. Brandon and I LOVE the veggie selections they serve with your main course at Ruggles. It is a little sampling of many different delightful vegetables. So good!
After dinner, there is always an amazing selection of tempting deserts. I also love their cappuccino after a nice meal...
Thank you to Ruggles and also a special thank you to Brandon's best man, Aaron Ross, for your assistance in putting together a wonderful memory slide presentation which was played at the rehearsal. (View this entire video/slide show set to music on a previous posting.) Also, thanks to Aaron's Father, Rusty Ross, for all the photos and videos that you took. Our night would not have been as special without you! Thank you to everyone who attended and helped to celebrate and toast Amy and Brandon. It is wonderful to have family and friends to share in a special moment. No moment is complete without those that you love. Amy's beautiful Mother, Nancy, is sitting at our table on the far right...
After a wonderful evening of conversation, hugs, music, poetry, a wonderful slideshow filled with photos from Amy and Brandon's childhood and a video of the proposal and bachelorette/bachelor weekends, and toasts to the happy soon-to-be married couple, it was time to say goodbye for the night. The next day, November 5th, 2011, would be the big day.....the wedding!
We will always remember the fun rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner at Ruggles... (link follows blog posting)
Thank you to my handsome husband, Mark, for hosting the wedding rehearsal dinner with me. You have been such a great step-father to my two sons and a wonderful husband to me. Thank you for the love and support you always grace us with. By the way, my husband and I celebrated our own wedding anniversary just three days after Amy and Brandon's wedding. Thanks for 14 wonderful years, Mark!
I hope you have enjoyed sharing my memories of Amy and Brandon's wedding rehearsal and dinner that followed. The next day would be the big day.....the wedding! I will be sharing many photos of this beautiful day in an upcoming post. Congratulations to Amy and Brandon! We wish you a long and very happy life together! We love you! xoxo
Thanks for visiting my blog, and I hope you have a beautiful day! xoxo Kim
Here is the link to Almaza Jewelers... Almaza Jewelers and the link to Ruggles Grill... Ruggles Grill
Hope you visit both these sites to read more information about two of my very favorite places in Houston! Have a great day! xoxo