As many of you know, Andy and I were in New England for the weekend for Heather and Chase’s Wedding. Of course, Andy’s mom took the opportunity to celebrate our wedding too! I actually haven’t seen Andy’s family since we got engaged. His family came down the month before we got engaged and we both went to our own families for Christmas.

To make it even better, my parents decided to come too! Andy and I’s families hadn’t met yet, so it was about time. My mom has ALWAYS wanted to go to Boston so this was a perfect excuse. She’s seriously talked about a trip to Boston as long as I could remember! So, my parents flew into town and we all got together for lunch on Friday. The wedding we were attending was Friday evening, so we ditched our families for the wedding and they decided to go out for dinner together too!

Saturday was the party and my parents came for that all day too!  Andy’s mom and his aunt made a huge Italian style feast with meatballs, sweet Italian sausage, peppers and onions! A bunch of Andy’s family came (including extended family) and his friends. It was a really fun. We were very surprised how many people were planning on coming all the way to Alabama for the wedding. YAY!

To top it all off, it was a shower of sorts too. We got lots of unexpected presents! And who doesn’t love a present! Andy has a nice family and friends and they’re all excited for the wedding which makes me happy.

But, I’ve saved the BEST for last. Our cake. That’s right, we had a cake. Andy’s aunt Sandy is a baker and does cakes. She and I bonded over cake decorating when we first met and she taught me all sorts of tips and tricks. She’s made some really amazing cakes for decorating contests too. I just love it. Of course, Sandy can’t make our cake in Alabama (but trust me she’s looked into the logistics…haha!)  so she made us the most amazing engagement cake!!! Its white on the bottom shifting to an aqua and covered in sea life!!! AMAZING! Especially my cute little turtle in two fondant seashells. She made the turtle harder than the other décor so I could save it. Its sitting on my bookshelf now which makes me super happy. I don’t even have words to describe it so just look at the pictures. It was a great surprise and I’m so happy we got a Sandy cake at some point in the whole celebration. I honestly don’t think our actual cake will be anything as intricate. I just loved it!

Andy and I have been struggling with an idea for a rehearsal dinner venue. We're just not that familiar with a ton of restaurants, we don't want it to cost a zillion dollars and we want it to be enjoyable for our wedding party. In my eyes, this is a party for our closet friends and family who are doing so much to make our day special, so I want to do something they'll enjoy too!

There are quite a few restaurants in downtown Mobile but thanks to my insistence on having 7 bridesmaids, we need some space for a good size dinner. We're breaking "etiquette" and only having our wedding party and our immediate families. I know some people invite out of town guests but in our case that would be practically everyone And, its not just a budget thing, I don't want a huge event the night before out wedding... I want something intimate. I want this more private time with the wedding party and our family. So, sorry out of town guests, I guess I have no manners.

When we first got engaged (nearly a year ago!!) we began to toss around ideas. We definitely discussed one of our favorite places, Felix's Fish Camp. But, we figured it'd probably be pricey and hard to do since we never get in without a reservation! Well, we were very wrong.

As with everything wedding related, there are hidden fees everywhere. A place you think has food within your budget will end up charging you fees for a private room and other surcharges. Meanwhile, Felix's doesn't charge you any extra fees. In fact, you can choose a menu of 5 entrees, a few sides, etc and they print up custom menus for you. They charge a set price for those entrees that include tax (which is astronomical in Mobile BTW), gratuity, etc so the prices we initially saw actually included much more then we anticipated. Suddenly, Felix's was back on the short list. Moral of the story, do your research and things may work out better than you think!

Though, in a perfect world our rehearsal dinner would be even more casual. I'd love to have it in someone's backyard but sadly we don't live close enough to our venue nor do we have a house to host 30 people! Even if we had food brought in, it would have a different vibe than a restaurant. I just think an intimate backyard get together would be so fun! But, our restaurant has AMAZING service. We're impressed every time we go. Heck, the waitresses even write you thank you notes if you leave comments on a comment card. The food is good southern Gulf coast fare so I think it'll really fit with our wedding vibe and I know everyone will enjoy it. Felix's is on the Mobile Bay Causeway so it overlooks the water. I can't wait!

Where have you been to rehearsal dinner? Who was invited? I'm really interested because there seems to be a lot of variance in what people do!

mmm, I'm just thinking about the last rehearsal dinner Andy and I attended. It was Dan and Teresa's Italian Extravaganza. YUM!!!!!!!!!