Since Blair asked...
Friday - After a long car ride, we arrived in Charlotte about an hour and a half before our first event, which was a cocktail reception at our hotel hosted by Jeff's parents. The highlight of the party was the Steeler's groom's cake for Jeff. He was so excited about the cake that he showed it to us as soon as we walked in the room. He was practically giddy. Melissa gave him her camera to take a picture of the cake since he's so tall and could get a better angle from the top, and he snapped off six pictures!
Saturday morning - The bride's friends hosted a brunch in the morning before the 4pm wedding. Jeff seemed a little nervous, like it was all starting to sink in, so we chatted with him about everything but the wedding to calm him down. Jeff's sister was there and I'd heard all sorts of things about her, so I asked Jeff's dad to introduce us. After a very brief conversation with her in which I realized why Jeff was reluctant to introduce me, I ran back to the kitchen for more food. Not much personality - he's not like his sister!
After brunch, we headed back to the hotel and Mike and I went for a run since it was nearly 60 degrees out. I walked/ran about 4 miles and Mike did 8. We ran together for 2 miles and then I turned abound and headed back. I saw Jeff and his best man coming back to the hotel to get ready, so we teased him about heading to the airport instead of the church. Kelli, would kill us if she knew! After the run, Melissa, Keith, and I headed over to the awesome mall next door for lunch. This is one of the nicest malls I've seen and if Mike had a job, I could have done some serious shopping!
Saturday evening or The Wedding: After figuring where to park, we headed into the beautiful old church. Nicole warned us right away to not take any pictures because the mean church lady already yelled at her for taking a picture. The lady also wagged her finger at Melissa for taking a picture too, even though she wasn't using a flash.
The wedding started and Jeff walked out front to wait for his bride. He looked a little flushed and nervous, but happy. The flower girls and then the bridesmaid came down the aisle. When Kelli took her place at the top of the aisle, Jeff broke out into a wide grin. Kelli practically sashayed down the aisle towards Jeff. During the ceremony, Jeff didn't stop grinning and his face turned redder and redder (two sure signs of his nervousness). We were proud of him during the vows - he spoke loudly and clearly, something we had teased him about at breakfast. When the pastor pronounced them man and wife, Jeff swooped in for the kiss, she leaned back, and he gave her a quick peck. The groom's side collectively groaned and giggled. I called out, "do over!" She didn't want to mess up her lipstick. We gave them crap at the reception and made them do it again - with similar results. Oh, Jeff and Kelli we hope you got the kiss right later that night!
The reception was in downtown Charlotte at a museum. The food was good and included a potato bar with mashed regular potatoes and sweet potatoes with lots of topping choices served in a martini glass. Mike enjoyed some huge, tasty shrimp and we also filled up on prime rib and roast beef. Since we were in another room from the main room, we practicaly missed the first dance and the cake cutting. Both times, we managed to run out to the dance floor area to catch the end of the activity. Soon, the reception was over and Jeff and Kelli headed out through the gauntlet of ringing bells for the honeymoon in St. John's.
Afterwards, we headed back to our hotel with our Jaycee table, parked the cars, and walked to a nearby bar for some margaritas. A good time was had by all.
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