When I awoke on the morning of our wedding, this was my view. The front portico of Rosemont Manor where Matt and I would, later that day, be married in front of our best friends and family. The plants were covered in case of a frost, and the sun was just beginning to rise into a beautiful clear sky. Thank you, weather gods, for not raining on our wedding day. We got so lucky.
I was up so early because I had plans for a little fun “me time” that morning with a couple of my best girlfriends. We were going for a run! I mentioned this idea in one of my posts awhile ago to see if you all thought that it would be crazy to run on the morning of the wedding, but you all replied that it was a great idea! Those who had done it on their wedding day said they loved the chance to have a little special time with their friends before the craziness of the day set in.
So I decided to go for it! I invited my UNC grad school girlfriends who are runners (they were staying on the property in one of the big cottages), as well as anyone staying in the main manor house with us that was interested. Here I am with my UNC ladies! And yes, I totally wore my “The Future Mrs.” shirt from my bachelorette party on the run. It just seemed appropriate. 🙂
One of my bridesmaids, Turner (far right), and one of my best friends from college, Lu (in the hat on the left) were also on board. We got silly and took some fun photos while waiting for my blogger buddies Theodora and Meghann to join us from one of our wedding hotels nearby!
Meghann and Theodora came in town the night before for our meet and greet and had plans for a longer run on Saturday morning so they decided to come over and join us for a little while before continuing on on their own. Apparently when they woke up that morning there was ice on their rental car’s windshield – given that Meghann lives in Florida and Theodora lives in NYC with no car, hilarity ensued, hence them being a little late. 😉 Lol!
When everyone was assembled, off we went! It was cold but a beautiful morning for a run. I want to give a shout out to my friend Lu, on the far left in the picture below. She’s just starting to get into running and I’m SO proud of her! She said she knew she wouldn’t be running “fast” with us but still was motivated to get out there and start and end with us. Keep after it, Lu! You are awesome! 🙂
We ran for 30 minutes – just enough time to enjoy some chatter and clear my head, but not so far that I’d be worn out for later. I’m so glad I decided to do this. I’d really recommend it to any of you who are runners and getting married! Perfect way to start our big day.
We came back, showered, and gathered in the manor house for breakfast. There were supposed to be two seatings (first the ladies, then the men) for breakfast, but everyone ended up showing up around the same time, and my matron of honor, Jenny, came in and said “Um, Anne? Matt is standing out in the other room and isn’t sure if he’s allowed to come in and see you, but he’s really hungry.” Lol. Poor Matt! I’m not one for superstition (and it wasn’t like I was dressed and ready yet, anyway – I definitely didn’t want him to see me in my dress before the ceremony, but I figured what was the harm in saying hi that morning?), so I went out and brought him in to eat with us. He made me this creation as a thank you. 😉
I also enjoyed some fruit and yogurt. The breakfasts on site both days were delicious! After we all ate, Matt and I said goodbye, the boys headed off to go golfing and the girls and I (and my mom, Matt’s mom, and my grandmother) walked over to another building on the property to start getting ready! It was nice to see Matt the morning of – we were both really excited about the big day. 🙂
Stay tuned – more to come!
