What a fun and full week it was hanging out with my family and prepping for my baby sister’s wedding!  Two of my sisters and I (along with all 5 of our kids) drove up to Friona, TX about a week before Maddie and Jarad’s wedding, so we could have some family time before wedding prep officially began.

This whole wedding was quite the family affair.  My mom had planned out the entire week and decided what needed to get done each day without feeling too much stress.  We all had a specific job but then worked together on different areas too.  Staci was in charge of the cakes and got started on those on Tuesday.  She had 15 individual cakes to make with 2 different flavors.  I have never seen so much butter, eggs, sugar, and cream cheese as I did that week!

The flowers arrived on Wednesday, and we began making our plan.  I worked in a flower shop in college and have done the flowers (bouquets, boutonnières, etc.) for all of my sisters’ weddings.  We had buckets of eucalyptus, olive branch, roses, and baby’s breath filling every refrigerator, and if you’ve ever been to my parents house, you know she has a few!  My oldest sister, Amy (who was also the official wedding coordinator) and I worked on boutonnieres on that first day to get an idea of what we wanted.

We all worked together to decorate the church on Thursday and the reception site on Friday.  We had our own area to work on, Anna and Seth (my brother) on the food table, Staci was finishing up cakes, all the bridesmaids were setting up tables and centerpieces and putting the last touches on the drink and gift tables.  It all came together beautifully.  Friday night I finished up the last bouquets.  We were ready for the big day.

Saturday couldn’t have been a more beautiful day.  Sure, the decorations, flowers, and cake were all beautiful, but the love felt that day was the most beautiful part.  Not only the love between Jarad and Maddie, but the love of our family who came together and worked hard for our baby sister’s special day.

Jarad and Maddie were so calm and collected (other than a few tears of excitement from Maddie) leading up to their first look.  The smile Jarad had on his face as his bride walked around the corner of the grain elevator was just priceless.  I doubt he even heard the train that went blaring by on the other side of the elevator at the same exact moment.  He was seeing his bride and she her groom, and it was obvious that nothing else mattered in the entire world.

Jarad, I couldn’t have picked a better match for Maddie.  She doesn’t only glow when you are in the room with her but also when she just talks about you.  Welcome to this our big, crazy, full of love family!  Congratulations Maddie and Jarad!

And just for fun because it really was a family affair…

The Creative Team

Wedding Dress: Terry Costa Bridal

Tux Rental: Tankersley’s Clothing

Florist: Brenda Turrubiarte

Photography: Brenda Turrubiarte with second shooter Carolyn Wiseman (aunt of the bride)

Planning: Maddie Murphree and Rhonda Murphree (mother of the bride)

Bride’s Cake: Staci Brantley (sister of the bride)

Groom’s Cake: Groom’s aunt

Ceremony Site: Bovina First Baptist Church

Reception Site: Bovina XIT Recreation Center