We started out the we
dding weekend on Friday, October 3rd. My parents, niece and I tr
aveled across the bridge to Kent Island to decorate and get ready. The ceremony and rehearsal were at the historical, 19th century (and supposedly haunted) Kent Manor Inn, so we found our rooms, got settled, and headed to the garden room to decorate for the reception. We had some fun decorating, since there were a fair amount of guys helping, who were obviously too manly to know how to hang tulle, garland and pink flowers. Somehow, we got everything done and it looked absolutely gorgeous and ready for the next day!
Then, we all headed over to Hemingway's for the rehearsal dinner. It was a really delicious, light dinner. I chose soup and crab cake sandwich and even now, I remember it being awesome! After dinner, we all headed back to the inn, but no one was tired yet. Sonia wanted to double check the reception area one last time, so we sort of, er, broke in to the garden room, to ease her mind. We wandered the hotel for a little while, peeking in unoccupied rooms and enjoying its beautiful features.
As we wandered, we found a door to the bell tower at the top of the inn. It's rumored that the bell keeper hung himself in the tower many, many years ago and still haunts the inn today. So of course, we had to go up! After you brave the tower (and yes, it was fairly creepy up there in the middle of the night) you can write your name on the wall leading up the steps, which of course I had to do!
Finally, we headed back to the bridal suite and all crammed in and went to sleep. The next
morning was the big day
! The bridesmaids and the bride all got up super early to get our hair done on the other side of the island. After we were all looking good, we headed back to the inn to get ourselves and Sonia ready! Her dress was strapless, lace, and little form fitting so she needed some help getting in. Once she was in, though, she looked gorgeous and simply bridal. The ladies and I took about a billion pictures right up until we were told it was time! The bridal suite was really nice because its back porch opened up to the ceremony area, which was overlooking a lovely little creek off of the Bay.The ceremony went off
without a hitch. Well, almost. As we were leaving the bridal suite and walking toward the altar and the aisle leading up to it, my youngest niece got a little nervous. She absolutely refused to walk down the aisle by herself. Of course, my brother was concerned, not only for his daughter but also about getting his future wife down the aisle. So, he headed on back there, picked her up and carried her down the aisle. Luckily, though, my dad had popped up and coerced her far enough away from Sonia that th
e surprise of the reveal to the groom wasn't ruined.After that, it was smooth sailing. After about a million MORE pictures, we had a delicious lunch in the garden room, which was
even more beautiful in the day light. It was a huge, circular room, covered with windows and french doors. We had a great time drinking, eating, and dancing. So much so that we didn't want it to end! My brother told me that the bridal party was going to go out to Howl at the Moon, only my favorite bar ever, after the reception. Of course, we stayed in our full ceremony gear, Sonia and her big white dress included. It wa
s the first time I had really gone out with my brother, since we have a 9 year age difference. I must say, it was a good time!
Thinking about all the fun we had that day made me feel a little happy and a little sad. It was a great weekend, and I felt so close to my whole family. You could definitely feel the love. It was sad, though, to think that we haven't really done anything that big or fun since. Either way, Sonia and Stephen are still happily married and even just bought and moved into their first home. I couldn't be happier for them!
