Buffalo, NY Weekend: the play-by-play

NOTICE: This is another VERY LONG post with an insane amount of pictures....SO, dive in at your own risk. Side note: I think you will be glad you did :)

This past weekend Shane and I had the awesome opportunity to go up to Buffalo, NY for our friends, Brynn & Richard's, wedding. HayHay and Gigi came down to watch the girls while we were away. They flew down this time so the girls were super excited about waiting for them at the airport.....Every plane that came by (which were mainly Coastguard planes or helicopters) they would start jumping up and down and screaming, "there's Gigi and HayHay's plane!!! There it is!!! yaaaaaay!!"....to which I would have to reply, "No, not that one. Theirs should be here really soon." We repeated this for an hour (their flight was delayed so they got in later than they had planned). However, their enthusiasm never ceased throughout the wait. They were hard-core :)

S

Yay!! They're here!

On the plane to Buffalo!! Whoop Whoop!

Right after we arrived on Thursday we went to Brynn's house for a cookout and then we headed to the Buffalo Bills game! It was my first ever NFL experience so I was way excited. I knew it wasn't going to be super hardcore b/c it was their last preseason game, but it was still so much fun!

Walking to the stadium....

The almost-newlyweds!!

Of course they had to kneel next to the buffalo. Geeeez...they are so cool... :)

OK, funny story....right after the "kneel before the buffalo" pic was taken, Brandon (on left) said he was going to walk over to the ATM and he would be right back. A few minutes later we are all walking into the stadium (there were probably about 15 or so people with us) and Richard (the groom) decided that instead of walking all the way around to the other side of the stadium where our seats were on our tickets, we would just sit on the side closest to us since there were so many empty seats. Well, about 15-20 minutes after we all get seated Richard's phone rings. He answers it and then busts out in a nervous laugh (for those of you who know Richard, you know what that laugh sounds like) and then starts to apologize over and over. The caller was Brandon, who we had ALL forgotten about when he walked over to the ATM. He had been trying to find us for the past 20 minutes and of course, had walked ALL the way to the other side where he assumed we would be sitting since that was, in fact, where we were supposed to be sitting. He was extremely happy to find out that he had to walk ALL the way back around the stadium to where we were sitting :) and I'm sure he felt very loved since we ALL had totally forgotten about him. Sorry Brandon. We really do love you. AND it was so worth it just to see your face and your "expressions" when you finally made it over to us. Fun times :)

Pic with the crazies in the background :)

Brynn with her adorable little sis, Barrett...

The whole clan...

The quarterback, Levi Brown, played at Troy a couple of years ago....whoop whoop! way to represent the Trojans, Levi!

On Friday some of us went to see Niagara Falls. I had been back in college and Shane had been when he was in high school. Everyone else that we were with had never seen the falls before. Even though it wasn't my first time I was still so awestruck at the incredible beauty and power of the falls. It was amazing.

I mean it's just amazing how it starts off something like this...

and this....

And then eventually turns into THIS....

Can you imagine being the FIRST person to be floating down the river and discover THIS?? Geeeez.

Brandon, James, Shane, Ben and Katie....

WOW.

I SO wish we had had time to take this boat ride....

I mean, you really can't get much closer than that :)

Katie also has twins (2 year old boy-girl). It's always nice to talk with someone who totally understands where you are coming from :)

Let's be honest people....in the past couple of years weddings have taken us to some pretty cool places.....Canada, Washington D.C., South Carolina, New Zealand, San Fransisco, and Buffalo. How fun!

Majestic.

The boys...

That's kind of pretty. The bridge actually takes you over to Canada.

The Canadian side...

See the rainbow??

The whole clan

pretty...

You can take an elevator down to the bottom of the falls. Very cool.

Looks like it was hurricane weather down there :)

SO glad we decided to go up and see the falls. Amazing.

Rehearsal dinner time! It was at this really cool little restaurant along Main Street in the super cute little town we were staying in.

Awwwwww...

Only one more day :)

Me and the sweet hubby

Laura Jo and James striking a pose...along with half of Kristina's face :)

Cuteness

My TOTALLY YUMMY pizza. It may have been the best I have ever had...

Shane had steak pizza, of course :)

DEFINITELY the largest burg I've ever seen. WHAT??!

Brynn giving it a go :)

Love you, friend!

Bride and bridesmaids with me and Katie tacked on :)

Groom, groomsmen, the two dads and Pastor Black :)

This, my friends, if a flowery fro :)

Love this friend, too :)

After the rehearsal dinner the hubby and I decided to go on a walk through this completely adorable little town we were staying in. Look at this fun Bed & Breakfast...

Isn't it so cute?!

The big day is here!!
Brynn was just a tad bit excited :)

Beautiful Bride! This is a picture of her great-grandmother...

Pretty girls!

Stunning

Brynn with her mom and dad

The fellas....

The VERY happy groom :)

We love you, Brynn :)

The Bridesmaids praying for Brynn right before the ceremony started...

Shane praying for Brynn

Game time!

Here comes the bride!

I love seeing Richard's face when he sees his bride for the first time :)

The wedding site was SO beautiful...

The vows...

Prayer of blessing. I LOVE this picture.

It's official!! Whoop Whoop!!

Introducing Mr. and Mrs. Fontes for the very first time!!

Reception time! The best man and the maid of honor....

The happy couple :)

Speech time from Mr. Armstrong...

and from James....

and from Barrett...well actually Barrett gave her speech twice...well sort of....she actually had written out her speech and it was super sweet. I had read it earlier that day. She was extremely nervous about speaking in front of everyone so she had decided to write it out to help her. Well, when it was time for her speech, she couldn't find her piece of paper. She got up there anyway and all she could get out was "Brynn," and then she teared up and couldn't say anything else so she motioned for Laura Jo to come up there and say something....so Laura Jo shared how sweet the speech Barrett had written was, etc. and then they sat down. Everyone thought it was so sweet how Barrett couldn't say anything b/c she was crying. Well, about 5 minutes later she found her speech! SO, she got back up there and read it and it was SO great. Both times she was up there was so special to Brynn and Richard but she was so glad she found her speech b/c she had worked on it so hard and she really wanted to be able to share those things with them. She is just TOO adorable!

My sister-in-law, Julia, flew from Louisville to be the photographer for the wedding. She is fabulous.....fabulous family member, fabulous friend, and fabulous photographer. SO glad we got to spend the weekend with her and I can't wait to see all her amazing pics from the wedding!

I remember very few times where Shane is nervous about being in front of people speaking. Well, weddings are the exemption. He gets super nervous when he is performing weddings. I love how he really portrays the much bigger picture of what the wedding represents and really challenges everyone with those things, but also how he makes the ceremony very personal to the particular bride and groom. I thought he did a great job during Richard and Brynn's ceremony.

Love this guy :)

He changed up our normal "wedding picture pose" on me :)

Weddings are always so fun because you get to see friends you don't get to see very often. Kristina is one of those friends. She is in her first semester at RTS in the counseling program that Shane attended. We are so excited about what the Lord is going to do in and through her life. It was SO great to see you, Kristina!

OK, so the food was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Here is the filet mignon, pototoe and veggies we had for dinner. OH MY GOODNESS. It was delicious.

Shane was just a TAD bit excited :)

Oh, Brandon....this picture just sums up the weekend for me:) We need you and Jen to move back to Mobile. We miss ya'll!

Their cakes were so cute! The left was carrot cake and the right was chocolate. And they both were DIVINE.

Best carrot cake I've ever tasted for reals....

Dougie Fresh and Bette....love these two!

We were feeling pretty darn good after that unbelievable food...

We love Richard and Brynn!! Whoop Whoop!!

Shane making a special shout-out to Colleen...our dear Canadian turned Redneck friend :)

First dance....

Precious

Brynn dancing with her daddy...

THEN the party really started!!

Do it Mr. Armstrong!

Julia working her skills...

The girlies having some fun...

Richard's mom had herself a good ol' time :)

"Chard" (as Barrett calls him) and friends...

Shane and I used to swing dance alot back in the day...I mean WAAAAAAY back in the day. Well, look out....cause we still got it!!! :)

What?!

Full Nelson and Half Nelson :)

I mean it just doesn't get much better than singing along with some of the 80's greatest hits...

Yes, I tied Brynn's wedding dress in a knot. It worked. You're welcome.

Shane just saw on ESPN that Georgia was up 7-0. He was pumped. Too bad it was downhill from there :(

and the dancin continues...

At one point I look over and Julia is lying on her back in the middle of the dance floor to get some priceless shots....I mean, you gotta do whatever it takes :)

Brynn and her little sis breakin down yet again :)

I ain't gonna lie people....it was one of the funnest (is that a word?) weddings/receptions we've been too. We had a BLAST. Sad that it had to come to an end. I'm sure Richard and Brynn were not so sad :)

So, look who we all run into at the airport the next day!? Yep, the newlyweds were on the same flight with several of the bridal party members. We pretty much hung out with them a good portion of the afternoon in Atlanta airport. It was hilarious. I mean, doesn't everyone want to hang out with their friends the day after you get married?!?!? :)

Well, there ya go folks...the play-by-play of our weekend in Buffalo, NY. Way fun times. Congrats to the Fonti (as Brynn would like to pronounce their name). We love you guys. Thanks for letting us be a part of your journey and your wedding. We are so glad you live in Mobile!! yay!