Thirteen months of planning led up to this day. I knew it was going to be one of the most important days of my life so I tried to memorize every second of it. I woke up early, quickly showered, and cleaned up my room. My hair stylist, Caitlyn, would be arriving at 8:00 am to begin setting up. Caitlyn is a stylist at Soluna Salon in Anderson who agreed to come to my house to do my hair as well as my bridesmaid's, my mother's, and my mother-in-law's. She was a busy girl, but she got us all done and looking beautiful with time to spare! It was so nice having her at the house and to not have to worry about driving to the salon. While each of us was getting ready, the others were in the floor painting nails, telling old stories, drinking mimosas, and laughing like crazy. I will never forget how fun it was to spend time with all of my favorite friends and on such a special day. I truly felt like a queen.
A dear family friend of ours offered to serve my bridesmaids and family brunch on the morning of the wedding. She knew we would be busy getting ready and preparing for the reception, so the offer to feed us was much appreciated! After we ate I had to head over to Merle Norman for my makeup appointment. My Maid-of-Honor came with me so we could leave from there to meet my Dad at the reception venue. We were allowed in the venue for a total of 10 hours, but I paid the extra fees to add a couple more hours since we would be doing all of the decor and set-up ourselves. My dad had already been to Greenville first thing to pick up the flowers, so he was ready with the truck loaded by noon. I decided to use some of my parents antique furniture to dress up the Arts Center and we borrowed a few buffet tables from family to cut costs. With all three of us working together, we were able to finish set up and decorating in just over an hour, giving me plenty of time to go back to my parent's house to finish getting ready. I have a type A personality, so I wasn't able to relax until I saw the venue looking perfect!
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