Palmettos and Pearls: Amy and Jon's wedding

Considering Amy and Jon have been officially married for almost a month now, I thought it was high time to finish my post on their wedding! I've been in South Carolina having a lovely time for the past week, so I have a lot to catch up on. It was a whirlwind of a week, and as usual, I didn't have enough time to see everyone I wanted to.

But back to Jon and Amy...Jon has been a dear friend to Richard since they started their respective residencies in 2007, and we were thrilled to get to know Amy when they started dating. We were there for their engagement, so it was great to be a part of their wedding weekend. Richard was a groomsman, and I read a passage of Scripture during the ceremony.

The rehearsal and rehearsal dinner were actually on a Thursday night, as the wedding was set for Friday. I have only been involved in one other Friday night wedding, a wedding I thought about as I drove to the church for Amy and Jon's wedding. The first Friday wedding was during the week of an ice storm in Spartanburg, and the power went out all over town. We ended up having Meghanne and Caleb's rehearsal and rehearsal dinner in the dark, lit by candlelight, and it was one of the sweetest, most memorable I've been to. Lo and behold, the power was out at Amy's church when I arrived, and we again rehearsed in the dark. It was a little warm, but all got accomplished that needed to!

The rehearsal dinner was held at the beautiful Chevy Chase Club, and though the power went out there for a few minutes, it thankfully came back on so that we could enjoy the July evening in the cool air conditioning.

posing with Amy, the bride, during the cocktail hour prior to the dinner

the ortho residents have all been great friends to Richard, the lone general surgery representative

When the ortho guys came to our wedding, they made sure to dress in their seersucker and linen, so as to fit in with the southern crowd. So it was only fitting that Richard pulled out his seersucker and bow tie, and white Bucks, for Jon.

I figure if Kate Middleton can recycle her dresses, so can I!

pretty place setting

Richard and the groom

Richard was one of the first to give a toast, after Jon's dad, and I think I was way more nervous than he was! But he did a great job mixing humor with sentimentality, making his wife extremely proud.

We were seated at a table with Amy's uncle, who also happens to serve as the US Ambassador to Austria. His stories were quite interesting, and we thoroughly enjoyed chatting with both he and his wife. Now we just need to plan a trip to Vienna!

The power came back on in the church for the wedding on Friday, and the ceremony was one of the most worshipful I've been a part of it. It was extremely personal to Jon and Amy and just a sweet service. I missed my cue to read at first because I was so caught up in what the pastor was saying that I forgot I was up! Luckily it was the briefest of delays, and I climbed the steps to the podium successfully.

gorgeous wedding party- the girls wore dresses from J. Crew, and the guys had blue and white striped bow ties and cummerbunds

The reception was held at the Congressional Country Club, where the U.S. Open golf tournament was held last year. Richard had been out for the tournament, but it was my first time being there. It was the perfect setting for a fun night of celebration.