Dear Bahamas: Please come back into my life!

Three weeks ago today Geoff and I were boarding our little plane that fit 6 people to head to Cat Cay Bahamas. As I've expressed in prior blog posts, I have a teeny fear of flying. Flying in this plane was like none other that I've experienced. As embarassing as it is to admit, I was absolutely terrified - of course, I flipped out on take off....one second I was laughing from nervousness and the next I was just trying to find balance between my crying and partial hyperventilation. Oh yeah, I was a mess.

As soon as we landed on the island we saw Mary and 3 of my other sorority sisters (Megan, Andrea, and Lexi) who I haven't seen since 2003. Seeing them again made me VERY happy. It was so great to catch up with them and hear of the fabulous things they are doing these days. So much has changed in our lives over the past few years, but it felt just like old times hanging out with them.

After we checked into our room, Mary gave us a golf cart (there are no cars on the island - only golf carts) to explore the island a bit before the rehearsal festivities. After mere minutes in the passenger seat, I was squealing with excitement as this chicken ran in front of us. There were animals everywhere!

Geoff and I drove all the way to the end of the island and were able to spend a few minutes chilling in the sun and taking it all in of where we were. Man, it was nice.

When we got back everyone was showered and ready to hit the rehearsal. We got to meet Niall at this point - Mary's fiance. I can't tell you how very nice this man is....the whole weekend he was so concerned about everyone but himself - constantly checking in with us to make sure we had everything we needed. I truly couldn't be more happy for Mary that she found him.

We also got to meet a lot of Mary's family at this time - including Jane - Mary's mom. Jane took care of a lot of the details for the wedding weekend...and let me tell you....she is ORGANIZED. If I could have, I would have flown her to Charlotte to plan my wedding! Complete with her accordian binder with labeled tabs, she was all set for the weekend.

Here's a few shots from the rehearsal.

I like this shot of Lexi.

How cute little Mary is!

Mary and her dad practicing going down the aisle.

Mary and Niall....don't they look great together?

After the rehearsal we headed to the poolside BBQ dinner - it was so low-key and relaxing for everyone.

The cakes tasted SO GOOD.

Since we didn't get to do an engagement session with Mary and Niall, Geoff and I snuck them away for a few shots. They really surprised me with how comfortable they were in front of the camera from the get-go.