The Easter Bunny and a Tennessee Wedding

Erin, Debbie, Dave, Mom and Uncle Bud at the reception

Last Friday morning, April 6, Dave and I set out for Nashville, Tennessee for my cousin Laurin's wedding. We made the trip in great time - 7 hours! We listened to great music all the way mostly of the country genre to get us in the right mood for Nashville. The day was perfect for driving, sunny and cool. Neither one of us had been to Nashville before, though Dave did drive by there once. I guess you never really know what to expect when going to a new place. Usually preconceived notions turn out to be at least partially wrong. I was pleasantly surprised at how "quaint" downtown Nashville actually is considering how well-known and important a place it is in the music business.

Dave and me in our wedding duds

When we arrived, it was pretty darn cold and windy. We even saw some snow flakes fall while we were out walking! Mom and most of our family contingency had arrived the day before (Uncle Bud, Aunt Tricia, Debbie, Eddie, Erin, Allen, Leslie, Morgan and Mom) and settled in to the downtown Nashville Hilton. Funny thing about expensive hotels....Nothing is included in your room rate! How ironic when you compare to cheap hotels/motels where things are included, like continental breakfast. The continental breakfast at the Hilton started at $10, which included one bagel, two small cups of coffee, 1 small carton of milk, and 2 mini boxes of cereal. Ha!

After we arrived Friday afternoon we had time to unpack, visit with family, walk around downtown in the freezing cold, take pictures in front of the old Ryman Auditorium, and have a snack in the bar. We made plans to go to dinner with cousin Donny, Mom, Dave, me, and two other Marlboro county family friends (and distant cousins) Margaret Ann and her son Robert. The place we chose to eat was The Merchants less than a block away which has an upstairs fine dining option or a down stairs more casual although not all that less expensive option. The food was OK, but not what it should have been for the money. Dave's meal of shrimp and grits was tasty, though.

Mom and me in front of the old Ryman Auditorium

After dinner we headed to the Cadillac Ranch, a typical country bar and dance club, to hold tables for the wedding party who were at the rehearsal dinner. The place could have been lots of fun. There was a band playing and people were line dancing everywhere you turned. Unfortunately, I have gotten more and more sensitive to cigarette smoke in my old age. On top of that my sinuses/allergies were still flared up from the pollen explosion in South Carolina. We stayed for about 2 hours I guess until I felt like eyes were going to swell shut and I could no longer breathe easily. The wedding party had yet to arrive so we headed back to the hotel. Just as we walked into the lobby we saw the bride and groom and entourage just as they were heading out to the Ranch. We visited for few minutes then headed upstairs to relax and detox.

After a long day of travels and activities we were ready to turn in early. We set up the precarious pull-out sofa for Dave, and Mom I fought our way into the bed (the sheets were tucked extra tight) and didn't know anything until about 8:30 the next morning. We scrounged up our not-so-free continental breakfast as mentioned earlier to tide us over until lunch.

Mom and I set out with all the other ladies to Franklin for the bridesmaid's brunch at a place called Lillie Belle's. We had a delicious lunch - chicken salad, fresh fruit, and cranberry congealed salad. For dessert, fresh baked scones with fresh whipped cream, lemon curd and raspberry preserves. And to drink, the most delicious almond-lemon iced tea. YUM! Such a cute place, too - An old Victorian-style house with all the frilly Victorian decorations. They even had a collection of old hats to wear for group pictures. We had a lovely, girly time.

Meanwhile Dave, Allen and Eddie attended a the more manly concept car show at the Convention Center right around the corner from the hotel. Then Dave told me that they enjoyed a very tasty lunch at Rippy's Ribs. By the time Mom and I got back to the hotel early in the afternoon Dave had already turned in for a nap. We relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. After a nice rest it was time to get dressed and head over to the wedding at the Musician's Hall of Fame.

Joey and Laurin

The ceremony was short and sweet. Everyone looked snazzy in their black dresses and black tuxedos. There was one bona fide celebrity among us: Brenda Lee. For those of you in my generation, you would probably know her from the famous song, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." Laurin has performed with Brenda for a few years now. It was very nice of her to come. After a few short minutes and a lovely musical benediction by none other than Uncle Bud, the ceremony was complete and then it was time to party!

The reception was also at the MHOF. Here we go again talking about food...But I have to say the food was GREAT: Grilled veggies, seasoned boiled shrimp, artichoke-spinach dip, gourmet cheeses, delicious fresh fruit display, Hawaiian chicken skewers, roasted new potatoes, steamship round with rolls and tasty sauces, and a pasta bar with 2 delicious choices, Alfredo and spicy marinara with sausage, peppers, and onions. We all thoroughly enjoyed food, beverages, and fellowship.

The band started up shortly. The lead sing did a pretty reasonable Rascal Flatts. Soon the bride, groom, groom's sister and various guests took the stage and started playing and singing. Joey is a bassist for Toby Keith and is a very talented musician. Turns out the musical talent runs in the family, because Joey's sister Jill has a lovely singing voice. And we also got to hear Laurin's beautiful voice for a few songs. Being in the music business, Joey has musician friends that are in famous artist's bands so we were also entertained by Toby Keith's drummer and some folks from Willy Nelson's band. Everyone had a good time either dancing, watching and listening to the band, or watching the other wedding guests (personally one of my favorite past times).

The groom had a great time on stage

Someone called "The Governor" who sounded very much like Willy Nelson

We headed back to the hotel when the band was wrapping up their show and the party was winding down. It didn't take long to get into comfy clothes and settle in for the night. Before bed Mom and I serenaded Dave by singing along to some old Gospel hymns sung by Allen Jackson. Before we knew it, Sunday morning had arrived and amazingly enough the Easter Bunny found out where we were staying and made a drop-off for me and Dave! We packed up and headed for home, but not before stopping by good ole McDonald's for the only cheap meal to be had in Nashville! It was another great day for traveling and we were home before we knew it thanks to Dave's skillful driving.

Laurin planned a great event and we had such a good time visiting with family and seeing a new city. We are happy they're finally hitched and wish them lots of love and happiness.