Wes and Kristin Meeks

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Two weekends ago, Ryan and I ventured back over to the south to go to be a part of Kristin Thomas and Wes Meeks wedding. I mentioned it in this blog as something I was looking forward to and it is hard to believe it has already come and passed.
Kristin has been one of my dearest friends for so many years now and I was ecstatic about being a part of her wedding and her story.


I'd like to introduce you to Mr. & Mrs. Wes Meeks. I love this picture because their joy to marry each other is so apparent. I took this at their rehearsal on the lawn where they would get married the next day.

I got to be the one who tied the bow on her dress!

Kristin and Wes reconnected (they had known each other when they were much younger) when Ivy was about 6 months old. Kristin, as I vividly remember, wanted nothing to do with any kind of dating. Wes did not relent though. He says that he knew he was supposed to be with her and I believe him. I remember when Kristin first told me about Wes and how they were kinda dating. I remember wanting to tell her to be careful, but something stopped me. Kristin is like a sister to me meaning we have been through various break-ups and hard times together. I wanted to protect her, and know she was in good  hands.  I have always felt this way with Kristin, but something about Wes made me feel very peaceful. It was as if God was saying, "Hey, I've got this one. Trust me."  And that is what I did. The Lord had such a beautiful plan in the works for Wes and Kristin and the 3 beautiful children between them.

These precious boys are Wes' boys. On the left you have Landon, the kind-hearted oldest brother and on the right you have Tristan, who is a very charming little mess. These boys adore their little sis Ivy and they all act like they have always been together. It is priceless. Like I said, there is a beautiful story being written here.

This is my personal favorite picture of these 3 little rascals taken this winter after a snow day in Chattanooga.

This precious little girl is Ivy Jewell. She is Kristin's gorgeous two-year old firecracker. This was her fairytale dress for the wedding and she looked perfect in it.

This is Landon with Ivy at the rehearsal dinner. This picture is not staged at all. She just walked up and he grabbed her hand and started talking to her. Precious.

I had the pleasure of making all of the flowers that the bridesmaids wore in their hair, the flower for Ivy to wear, and a flower for Kristin to wear at her reception. I also did a little artwork for the reception that I will show a picture from in a little bit.
The weekend was such a blessed event as so many people got together to bless these two people and the beautiful family they were creating.

The place where they got married was amazing. It is called the Fillauer Lake House and it is a historic old house with a large lawn, tons of trees, a lake out in front, and a barn that seems to be right out of an Anthropologie catalog. I will let the pictures speak for themselves.


You will notice that I am the third bridesmaid from the let who can't get it together at this moment.




This is the front of the barn as you are walking in.



This is inside the Fillauer barn. Please note the doors fastened to the walls on the left.  It was gorgeous from the lighting to all of the items you would find hanging here or there. It had so much personality.

I thought this cake was so neat looking. It was different flavors on different levels and it was all fabulous. Yes, I did try both kinds. Delicious!

This is the back of the barn where it opened up to more seating outside

I love this picture. I made the flower that Kristin has in her hair for the reception.

This was the area where you walked into the barn to sign the guest book.



This is the painting I did for Kristin and Wes for the reception. Kristin had seen a similar idea to this on etsy with this same quote and wanted one like it for her reception and to later put in their home. The colors ended up fitting very well into the rustic feel.



I wish I had gotten a better picture of all the kids that day, but they were running around having a blast being kids. I did get this one of Ivy walking around probably trying to avoid the swarms of people who wanted to talk to her and pick her up. She was a champ to put up with all of it. Especially at the independent age of 2.

 

It is hard to believe that it has been 10 months since we were the ones getting married. Time flies.

Another very special part of this weekend was getting to travel with my parents to Chattanooga. They love Kristin like their own, just like her parents treat me the same. Dad served them their first communion together in the ceremony, something he was very honored to do.

It was so fun to have mom and dad with us during the weekend even if the majority of the time we had together was in the car or with lots of other people.

Ryan and I spent Easter Sunday with his family. It was wonderful for all 8 of us to be reunited to eat Sunday lunch after church, then all fall asleep for an afternoon nap in the Simmons living room. Those are the moments I really appreciate being so far away.

This last little picture actually has nothing to do with this post, except to share a painting I recently did. I haven't done much painting at all for several months, but I was asked to do this one to contribute to a silent auction. I asked mom to help me pick a quote and I love that she picked one from Bittersweet. I've converted her and dad now too. This quote represents such a wonderful life motto.

I hope to write more next week as we prepare to spend the summer in Nashville!