Happy Thursday Blog: My Rehearsal Dinner

The day before my wedding was rainy, windy, and cold. I knew I couldn't do anything about it, so I tried my hardest not to even think about it. I met my mom and sister so we could have manicures and pedicures together, which was a nice, quiet start to the wedding weekend. After that I drove back home so that Jesse and I could drive down to the hotel together as we would be leaving together on Sunday (as husband and wife!!).

Fast-forward a couple hours and Jesse and I were on our way to the Naples Beach Hotel and Golf Club. We checked in to our rooms and I dropped my stuff off in my room before we started the rehearsal. Unfortunately, it was sprinkling with rain when we arrived. We waited for everyone to arrive for the rehearsal. The rehearsal made everything become real. We were finally getting married. Our event coordinator, Melissa, went over all of the logistics and made everyone feel comfortable. The Naples Beach Hotel really treated us well the whole weekend!

Our extended families then joined us for our Rehearsal Dinner which was also at the hotel, in the chickee hut by the beach bar. It was decorated very beautifully with orchids submerged in water. We had chosen an Italian themed dinner in honor of our Italian honeymoon so we were serving sangria and Italian beer.

Jesse's father said a sweet welcome speech and then his sister gave a nice speech about my family welcoming Jesse so easily. Jesse's second groomsman, JP, gave a great speech about his relationship with Jesse and he thanked me for not only accepting Jesse's passions, but embracing them. Then Jesse and I thanked everyone for being there.

We enjoyed the Italian food afterwards, but then the wind started picking up and making everyone cold. Everyone had a great time at the dinner, but started to leave to get out of the cold. I said my goodbyes to Jesse and we took our last picture as Miss and Mr! It was a truly wonderful day and we loved having that special time with our families.