Weddingbee Blog

Last we left off, it was noon and we had just finished our rehearsal, but our welcome dinner wasn’t until 5:30 p.m. We didn’t want our out-of-town bridal party to have to sit around in their hotel rooms with nothing to do, so we planned a casual rehearsal BBQ/pool party at Mr. Jelly’s parents’ house for the in-between time. But first, Mr. Jelly handed out his bridal-party gifts: personalized Rawlings baseball bats. Each bat had the guy’s name and title and our wedding date. The guys loved them (and even got to use them later that night)!

From there, we headed to Mr. Jelly’s parents’ house, only 20 minutes from our venue. Even though it added more work to our wedding weekend, the BBQ was great because it gave us even more time with our closest friends. We chowed down on hamburgers and hot dogs, and Mr. Jelly spent most of the time socializing with our friends. I, on the other hand, had other ideas:

I once heard somewhere that guests will only stay on the dance floor as long as the bride is on the dance floor, so I decided to test this theory with the pool. I cannonballed it into the pool, thinking that everyone would surely follow. Well, it turns out the only person to join me in the pool right away was my four-year-old nephew, Ringbearer #1. It didn’t matter, though; I had a blast playing in the water with him all afternoon long. And of course, Mama Jelly came around to reapply my sunscreen every 20 minutes, for fear that I would get dreaded tan lines the day before the wedding.

Though it took them a bit longer than expected, other people decided to join me in the pool as well. These other people ended up being Mr. Jelly and his brothers, who all pushed or wrestled each other into the pool somehow. Ah, brothers.

Don’t worry; that’s not the bride being pushed into the pool. It’s actually Mr. Jelly’s brother’s girlfriend.

The flower pup and Ringbearer #2 got to hang out, too.

We had so much fun playing in the pool that we almost lost track of time! Before we knew it, it was already 4:00 p.m., and we had to get back to our hotel rooms to shower and get ready for our welcome dinner.

*All photos in this post courtesy of our talented and awesome friend Andy of Ax2D Photography

Missed a post? Catch up here:

• It’s Pinot Butter Jellies Time!: Week Before the Wedding
• Pinot Butter & Jellies: Practice Makes Perfect