After an incredible evening with the girls, MOH Jill and I changed into PJs and sat up in bed, talking about the week’s events, our futures and our pasts. We reminisced about our younger days and talked about how much Grandma Mary would’ve loved every minute of the wedding festivities.

With eyelids drooping, I crawled into bed, reeling with anticipation for the next 48 hours.

The following morning, Friday, June 11, we awoke to Dad and Philip returning from their overnight stay with Philip’s parents. (Remember…we shoo’d them away for the bachelorette party!)

They dropped off their overnight bags and drove over to The Factory to move chairs, candleabras, the stage and, in general, get things where they’d need to be for Philip and I say “I do” the next day. (Word on the street is that Mrs. Dial, Philip’s mom, made an amazing, hearty breakfast. Lord knows that’s our favorite meal of the day. Mmmm.)

After a quick bite for breakfast, the girls and I also headed The Factory to meet up with Dad and Philip. For the next several hours, we spent time arranging tables with centerpieces (which I’ll show later!), putting down chairs and placing candles all around Building 8.

Shortly after noontime, we returned back to our place for lunch and for a bit of downtime before getting ready for the rehearsal dinner that evening.

I took some time to get a few things packed for the honeymoon, then decided to go ahead and jump in the shower. Goodness knows my hair likes to be a pain sometimes…and this was NOT going to be the day it had a mind of its own.

Of course, as soon as I jump in the shower, my phone rings. While I’m in the shower, I miss two more calls. Once I get out of the shower, I call the first person back and, while on the call, miss yet another call. I was really starting to lose my cool. Not anybody’s fault. They didn’t know I was trying to get lovely for the rehearsal dinner. That should’ve been the point where I handed my phone over to mom and just asked her to handle any incoming calls…but I didn’t. So for the duration of me trying to dry my hair, line my eyes and figure out what darn shoes to wear with my dress, I was also juggling phone calls of friends and family trying to get into Building 8. Not a good combination of events for a bride who is trying to stay calm and unfrazzled.

Eventually I just stopped picking up my phone. I knew that if people were desperate enough, they would call Philip, my mom, Philip’s mom or my MOH…and the situation would be handled beautifully. (This is  something I really encourage brides to do. Don’t feel like you have to be everything to everyone and have ALL the answers. Everything pans out.)

That evening around 6pm, everyone who would be a part of our special day gathered in Building 8 to join for a delicious dinner homemade by Philip’s mother, sister-in-law and twin sisters. Holy cow, it was incredible – poppy seed chicken, killer potato salad, green bean casserole, delicious rolls and Philip’s mother’s superb banana pudding. Mmmm. What a meal.

Then it was rehearsal-time…and we rehearsed…and after the last run-through, I started bawling with the realization that I was about to become a wife. (This was the first time this had happened in throughout our entire engagement.)

Here is a photo of my parents and I after the rehearsal. (My dress was another lovely find from Heylee B.)

After wiping away happy/excited/semi-nervous tears, we cleaned up a bit and headed home. Philip and I each finished packing for the honeymoon and each interviewed with the delightful writer who shared our love story on AOL’s AisleDash wedding site. He then grabbed his bags and headed over to one of his groomsmen’s home for the evening so I could enjoy spending the rest of the night with my parents.

Realizing how late it was and how bright-eyed and bushy-tailed we needed to be for the next day, we each headed to bed to get in some good sleep. Once again I was reeling with anticipation. Although I was extremely tired…I could hardly shut my eyes without imagining the next day…our wedding. Finally tiredness got the best of me…and the wedding was one night’s sleep away…