Georgia Parties

Well, we have just about finished the Georgia portion of our trip. We are relaxing at home before we fly out this evening for Croatia. I have now met Courtney's extended family and her closest friends from Athens, Atlanta, and Michigan. I was touched at how quickly and thoroughly they accepted me as part of the family.

Courtney's parents, Pam and Gary, threw us a party at their home in Marietta on Friday night. The food was fantastic (authentic Cajun/Southern cuisine), and the company was great. Booze flowed freely, and people really enjoyed themselves.

We had some professional photos taken, thanks to Courtney's friend Shannah who is a photographer. We'll have those to share shortly. Here are a few taken with our point and shoots.

The next day we traveled to Athens, which is the town where Courtney went to college at the University of Georgia, and lived for 7.5 years of her life. She has made many friends there, so we decided to have a party there as well. This party was just for the "young" people -- no parents, aunts or uncles allowed. We started at the East-West Bistro, where we again had fantastic catered food, and the beer and wine flowed. Afterward, we headed out for "Athfest," which is a local music festival that happened to be on the same weekend. The party ended up at a bar called Little Kings, where everybody decided they wanted to buy the bride and groom as many drinks as possible. It wasn't a debaucherous night, but we definitely got a little silly. I have many great photos of that night, including series of photos we named "Annie are you OK?", "Mail-Order Brides", "We're Cousins!!", and "The Hat Trick." We won't post all of these right now, but here are a few of the more tame ones for your enjoyment.

Thank you

Now that our wedding is over, and I am married to the woman I adore, I wanted to send some quick "thank you"s.

Thank you to everybody for all your well wishes through email, our wedding website, and on facebook.

Thank you Courtney for coming into my life. I adore you, and I look forward to our adventures in life together. But you are much more elegant at conveying these sorts of things than I, so I am going to let your post to speak to that.

Thank you Loreen and Chuck for coming and making our wedding perfect. It would not have been the same without you guys. You gave us your love and emotional support the whole weekend. You lent us a hand and took some amazing pictures. You took us out to the best and most memorable dinner of our lives. You toasted us, drove us around, fed us wine, and held our sunglasses during the ceremony. Thanks for being there for us, and thanks for being such great friends as well as family.

Last but not least, thanks Mom and Dad and Pam and Gary for being such great parents. Thanks for bestowing on us all your love and generosity. Thanks for letting us get married our own way, and understanding when "our own way" meant eloping. Thanks for supporting us and allowing us to grow into the people we are. You are fantastic parents and we can't wait for the celebrations to come!

Here are just a few more of our favorite pictures from our wedding. Soon we will be posting some of our favorites from our trip. Enjoy!

We Do.

On Saturday, we were married in a sweet, simple ceremony in Cannon Beach, Oregon. The forecast had called for rain, but by the time we were to say our vows, the sun was shining and the beach carried a mist at its far corners. The photographer had staged Lloyd with his back to us on the knoll where we would soon become husband and wife. When I saw him there in his fancy pants and crisp linen wedding shirt, I had to resist the urge to run up on him and tackle him with glee. There he was - my best friend, waiting patiently for me to come make it official.

Patience figures prominently in our relationship. I am the wild one, the one who always walks 15 paces ahead, the one who gets easily overwhelmed and too readily distracted. Lloyd knows how to slow me down, how to calm me and how to set me back on an even keel. I have done my constitution an incredible favor by marrying this man. I am truly the luckiest woman in the world.

Our wedding day was perfect. We started with bloody Marys at 9 a.m. and grinned at each other over a plate of pepper bacon and eggs. Then we separated to dress for the occasion: Lloyd's sister Loreen came to our fancy hotel room to help me fix my hair while Lloyd joined Chuck, his brother-in-law, at their hotel about a mile away.

You know what's cool? I got a sister in this whole transaction. As an only child, this is pretty darned exciting for me. I could not have asked for a better sister-in-law. Loreen has everything I do not - the ability to cook a fantastic meal, to plant a mean garden, and to be even-keeled in that uniquely Giberson way. It was Loreen who curled and pinned up my hair, and who firmly reminded me how much I love her brother once I realized he had taken our only tube of toothpaste with him when he had left with Chuck.

And then, suddenly, it was showtime. I'll let the photos speak for themselves. If I could use the word "perfect" once again without your wanting to start taxing me for it, I would.

My favorite part of our vows went something like this: "In marrying you, I am becoming much more than I am."

Indeed.