Just a few Snap Shots from the weekend in no particular order . . .

71 comments
Pre-wedding. The fabulous guitarist playing, Laurie and Shelbie enjoying a soda, the rodeo grounds all decked out and ready to go. The back drop of the mountains - priceless.
Guests arriving. Some sat on stands and some sat on bales of hay covered in quilts.
Harvest items on my porch ready to take up to the rodeo grounds to decorate the night before the wedding.
Whitney and Tracey at the rehearsal dinner at my house Friday Night. Me in background.
Wedding day was beautiful with lovely weather and the scenery was priceless. Groomsmen, Justin, Bishop Cordner, Natalie and all the sisters.
After the "I Do", lunch was gourmet box lunches sitting on bales of hay in the rodeo grounds. Hay bales covered in quilts.
Looks like this was waiting for the wedding to start. We had popcorn and vintage type sodas while the family and friends waited for things to move along.
Soda bar with quilts hanging on the railings. The one on the left is a Pendleton Indian blanket given to Natalie and Justin by Natalie's coworkers. It is so pretty. Then her cactus quilt and the quilt I made from feed sacks that she picked from my stash as one she wanted for her wedding.
My niece and sisters talking behind the popcorn table.
A happy bride and delighted mom. I've never seen Natalie look more beautiful.
At the rehearsal dinner (60-70) people at my house! It went really well.
A great Merrill family picture post ceremony. Everyone there. This doesn't happen all that often. A photo to cherish.
Amazing carrot cupcakes made by my friend Laura and her daughter Leslie. Beautiful and Delicious. How can I thank them for so much work done?
The Bride and Groom's first kiss. The applique star quilt Natalie made for Justin and the wedding quilt I made for them. Sister Chelsey on the side lines.
175 box lunches. Made with help from loving family and friends. Thank you to all my friends for the help with everything from running errands, packing the lunches, decorating and just being there. In particular I want to thank my sisters, Flora, Laura, Leslie and Amy. I couldn't have done it without you. And also to my neighbors that pitched in Vicki (Chloe), Chirine, Robin and Mariellen. My daughters and their husbands were work horses. I couldn't survive without all my big super support system. Natalie and Justin both did so much and Justin's groomsmen did their bit to pick-up whatever I pointed to on the wedding day. We had such nice guests and friends. I could go on but I will stop and hope that I didn't leave anyone out.
And the 6 sisters all happy for their oldest sister. Shelbie, Whitney (due any day now), Laurie, Chelsey, Jamie and Tracey. I love this photo.

Whew. What a whirlwind. It is hard to explain how you can experience nearly every emotion possible within a few lovely crazy days. Thank you so incredibly much for your sweet well wishes and prayer for good weather (it was great!). Now I need to take a couple days to take a breath, catch up, and focus on what comes next.

Thanks go to everyone again for making it the most wonderful wedding.

-nanette
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71 comments

Francy said...

wow such beautiful children you have!

the wedding looks so nice. i love all the quilts. glad you had such wonderful weather.

Congratulations on the new son.

Tina said...

It looks like everything turned out so nice! Love all the quilts and other details. How wonderful that everyone was able to be there and you were able to get such cherished pictures of your daughters! Congrats to you and to Natalie!

Nedra said...

Everything looks so fun and (yehaw!) festive. I'm so glad the wedding and all the parties went well for you. Your daughter does look very beautiful, and so do you standing next to her. A special time for mom and daughter together.

Kim Walus said...

What a wonderful day for a wedding. I'm so glad the weather held out for your daughters special day. The pictures are wonderful and I especially loved the one of your whole family and the one of your girls. They are all so beautiful, like you!!! You should be very proud!!! Love Ya!!!

Di~ said...

Wow wee!! Awesome, everything! and so very very novel. I would have loved to been there! I love her cactus quilt! Hope you enjoyed it all!

PiecefulChaos said...

Wow, it looks like the wedding was a lot of fun! I love the theme and all the quilts on hay bales. With a new grandchild due any day I guess you won't have much chance to relax!

karen @ badlandsquilts said...

How wonderful... looks like you had a fab weekend an it is obvious how much your family cares for each other by the effort to make such a beautiful celebration.

Janet said...

What a special day and don't the quilts look great. Your Daughters and you all look beautiful and so happy.

Cathy @ CabbageQuilts said...

Wow, what fabulous pics and memories for you all! Looks like a wonderful wedding, your girls are stunning. A lot of work but so worth it, the quilts look fantastic hanging around. Thanks for sharing this beautiful day with us xo

Simone de Klerk said...

What a fantastic day you must have had! Thank you for sharing the wonderful pictures! And ... is you grandchild born yet?

Rae Ann said...

What a beautiful wedding! What a wonderful family!! I especially loved the picture of your girls. The soda bar, lunch boxes, and
cupcakes were such a clever idea! I loved the beautiful quilts that you made and hung as backdrops. They were stunning! You're very gifted to come up with all of this.
Hugs to You!

Betsy said...

beautiful wedding. Baby time is next!

Karen said...

how wonderful!what a beautiful family u have!!Congrats!

Kaaren said...

What an incredibly different and wonderful wedding! Awesome photos of friends and family.

Thanks for sharing and taking us there, Nanette.

dream quilt create said...

What a beautiful wedding, I have never seen one like that before, with the quilts, haystacks, more quilts, and the adorable lunch boxes and carrot cupcakes....yum! I knew you had a lot of daughters, but I didn't know you had seven! You sure are blessed! The harvest on your front porch looked great, you and your friends / family put in so much time. But then who doesn't when a child is getting married. Your home looks really nice too, your kitchen looked big enough to host everyone. Congratulations!

Jenn said...

I just think that is the neatest wedding! How unique and the weather was positively beautiful!!! Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful and unique wedding! I am so happy for you and your daughter that all went well. You have a stunning family. Alot to be proud of and thankful for.

Now on to being excited for the new grandbaby!! =)

melissa

Janet said...

Thanks for sharing such a special wedding! Looks like you all had a wonderful, happy time!

CuteStuffInside said...

Wahoo! That looks like one rootin' tootin' wedding! Thanks for sharing. I'd love to go to a wedding like that. Congratulations and best wishes to the bride and groom!

S.W.A.K.

Annette said...

You have a wonderful family. Natalie is a beautiful bride. She just sparkles.

Lurline said...

Have been thinking of you and yours over the weekend, Nanette - what an amazing time! So unique and beautiful!
Hugs - Lurline♥

Thimbleanna said...

Wow! Looks like a super fun wedding Nanette! Everything looks so beautiful -- love the gorgeous quilts, cupcakes, vintage pops and box lunches -- you guys are just tooooo clever -- how very cool!

And now...on to the next big event -- the baby. Hope you've had a little time to catch your breath!

carole ann said...

Looks like everything turned out ok for you, the weather and it certainly looks like a good time was had by all. Love that shot of all the girls sitting on the bales. Now just waiting for that baby to show up..........

Vicki @ DottyJane said...

That looks like such a fun time! So unique right down to the sodas and popcorn. I'm glad for you the baby didn't decide to make an appearance the same day!

Congratulations to all!
Vicki

Lynn said...

Thanks for sharing with us. What a fun, happy wedding it looked like. Beautiful family!

Purple and Paisley said...

oh my gosh, what a fun wedding! everything looks just beautiful! good job, you and everyone else, for pulling it off! ☺

MichelleB said...

How Fabulous! And what fun! It looked like it was a blast. And the boots of your girls! What wonderful taste! I want a pair of every single one - and I don't even wear boots!

Carrie P. said...

Oh, thank you so much for sharing such a lovely wedding with us. I really enjoyed seeing th pictures.
I am so glad you had perfect weather too.
The quilts look lovely hanging behind the happy couple.
Congratulations to all and now for the baby to come.

Elizabeth said...

What cute family. I love all the decorating with quilts!

Sherri said...

What fun! There are so many wonderful pictures...where to start?! I love the one of you and Natalie...and your family photo...and the one of the girls on the hay bales...and the quilts are wonderful! Didn't realize how large they both were! Now you can put up your feet and relax...no...SEW!

Lori Holt said...

Oh Nanette...you made it through and with flying colors!
Everything is so wonderful, where do I start?
Your daughters are beautiful...just like thier Mom. What a unique and fabulous wedding.
All of the quilts in thier scrappy and colorful glory.
I love the boots and bandanas, Popcorn, soda pop and the boxed lunches.
I am happy that you had such a great family celebration and now, you will be a grandma soon.
I'm so happy for you all.
Love to you...
Lori

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Oh Nanette, I was thinking of you this weekend. Wow, what a wonderful job everyone did. It looks perfect. So many fun ideas, the soda, popcorn, cupcakes, love the box lunches. The decorations, especially the wonderful quilts. and the family, what a special pictures to remember such a wonderful time in you life. Now if Whitney can just wait until you catch your breath!! Go, relax, rest, it looks beautiful! Job well done! Hugs, Jane

Rhondi said...

Oh Nanette
It looks like a wonderful wedding! Such a beautiful location. I love how casual it is. So much nicer than these too fancy weddings that bankrupt everyone and so much more meaningful. The bride looks beautiful.
Hugs, Rhondi

Trisha said...

Yay! So glad everything went well. It looks like a wonderful, creative wedding and it does look like the weather was beautiful. Nanette, you have seven very beautiful daughters! Congratulations on getting through the wedding! Can't wait to hear about Whitney's baby.

jacquie said...

oh nanette what a wonderful day. it was so unique and fun...she'll always remember this day as will you. i love how it was so creative and personalized. on to the baby...life never slows down for us, does it?
i hope you enjoyed the day too!

Dawn said...

Hooray!! It looks like it was a spectacular day. Natalie looks radiant and so did you!! Your daughters are beautiful. It looks like all went well. Looking forward to baby news soon!! Grandma!

Dawn said...

Just got your email and had to come back and look again...sure enough...there it is!! I'm gald you like it. Love ya!!

Anonymous said...

V. here... Exceptional photos er actually exceptional Wedding!! love you & Natalie together. And all the "Just Family" photos. You are such an organizational guru! This comes off looking so effortless. Beautiful cupcakes, and boxed and tied lunches ( what was the menu?) The quilts and boots look so great. Hurray! So Many ideas! Thanks PS I love Pendelton's too. Somehow a collection started when my Dad passed away and my Mom gave me many.v.

Pat said...

What a GLORIOUS celebration....your pictures had me so excited as I looked from one to the next!!! You have an exceptional family with exceptionally good ideas....and this was surely a wedding to remember! I'm glad the weather cooperated as it just HAD to be outside......nothing else would have seemed right. You all did a terrific job...that's for sure!

Quilt Monkey said...

Congrats on a job well done! It looks like you all had a wonderful and fun time. Now get some rest! You deserve it! Thanks for sharing your day with us.

Mel said...

So glad everything went well!!!

It all looks so fun!

Great family and friends are priceless!

Suzanne said...

What a beautiful wedding...like the photo of all the sisters...that's the kind of photo to cherish!

amy smart said...

Nanette, Way to GO! I can't imagine how much work it was to pull everything off and you did great! I love all the quilts. Gorgeous. Hope you get a chance to catch your breath. And enjoy that new grandbaby!

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

What a wonderful celebration!! Congratulations all!

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

What a wonderful wedding!! Thanks so much for sharing all the pics of the happy couple and the family and all the festivities. The family photo of all of you is so nice, as it the one of the girls and the one of the whole wedding party was so cool. You had great weather, too!! Unlike a couple here in MN who had an outdoor wedding planned for Saturday and we got snow! And then this morning we got more snow and I thought it was fall. The lunchbox idea and soda pop was so clever. You are blessed to have such a wonderful family and great friends and neighbors!!

strawberrycream39 said...

You are truly blessed, Nanette! What a lovely family you have. Congratulations on all the wonderful events!

Jodi Nelson said...

OH WOW!!!! I love everything!!! What a fantastic day! I love the soda's, and the box lunches and the hay bales and the quilts and everything. Absolutely TERRIFIC!!! So glad you shared pics. What a awesome looking family you have too. Your girls are beautiful! Congrats! And can't wait to see the baby now! LOL ooxx

Robin said...

Many congratulations to Natalie, Justin, and your families! It looks like it was a perfect day! :)

Jodie said...

I'm so glad it all went off well nanette, you have out so much thought and time and efort into the day. Everyone looks thrilled.
Congratulations.

Calamity Jane's Cottage, Bonnie said...

Oh Nanette, that's my kind of wedding. Everyone looks so happy and having the best of times. Beautiful, now it's time for you to put your feet up and relax a little before the little one gets here. So glad you shared some photos.
Bonnie

randi--i have to say said...

I think this looks great! All of the love that went into planning this wonderful event is obvious.

My daughter is getting married in December and I am going to show her this post. She would love something like this. She is my "casual" girl she is trying to avoid going overboard in her wedding planning. She wants something special, not something expensive and impersonal, you know?

My favorite part is that you decorated with quilts. Perfect!

Randi
http://ihavetosay.typepad.com/

em's scrapbag said...

Sounds like a wonderful day. I love all the family pics. And all your quilts wow what a great way to decorate!

Jan said...

Awwwwwwww, how wonderful Nanette. The photos were awesome and the day looked like everything the happy couple dreamed of! Here's wishing them many wonderful, happy and healthy years together :)

sallgood said...

Looks like a wonderful day for your family! I know what goes into a wedding and reception, so I hope you have some time to just rest now! (Oh, until the baby is born any day now, right?)

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Nanette, it looks like a perfectly delightful wedding in every way. Lots of really unique ideas (which I would expect from you) :), great food ideas and wonderful quilts everywhere! Just beautiful. Hope you are getting plenty of rest and recuperation after such a job so well done!

pratima said...

Aww... this is just wonderful! Such a beautiful day... The backdrop is breathtaking and I love how the quilts are adorning the venue. Everyone is looking so beautiful...
Kalyan and I wish the lovely couple a world of happiness, joy and laughter.

Thank you for sharing these warm and wonderful moments, Nanette :) Hope you are taking it easy and resting well.

Niesz Vintage Home said...

Wow! What a wonderful wedding!
Love the quilt backdrop and the food and drink table.

Did you notify the media, because this should be in a magazine.
It looks like you had beautiful weather, too.

Fabulous...just fabulous!
Now, rest up. :)

Kimberly

Donnelly said...

What a great idea for a wedding! How awesome! I love the soda bar and popcorn, how fun. This wedding looks like so much fun. Thanks for sharing.
Have a great day!

Gayle said...

Now that is a truly wonderful wedding day!

CJ said...

Thanks so much for sharing photos of the day. It really looks beautiful decorated with all the quilts. The girls look great - love their boots! Such fun ideas with the popcorn,sodas, box lunches and CUPCAKES! The weather cooperated too. Blessings to the married couple. :D

Patty said...

The wedding looks like it was a lot of fun! I sure am glad you had a lot of help with it; having family and friends really makes a nice difference in persons life.

Calli Makes Do said...

What a wonderful wedding... and I'm so happy the weather cooperated. I love weddings where you really see the personality of the bride and groom. It looks perfect!

calicodaisy said...

Wonderful! Thanks for sharing all the photos. It looks like it was a great event.

happy zombie said...

I'm so weepy reading your post and looking at the photos. Oh Nanette...

What a beautiful family.
What a beautiful wedding.
Beautiful friends.
Beautiful quilts.
Beautiful food (I LOVE the box lunches).

Everything... so darn beautiful and loving. THIS is what a dream wedding is.

Purple Quilter Queen said...

What a fun wedding! Thanks for sharing such great pictures. Now for the arrival of the new grandbaby! Two joyous occasions within weeks of each other. How awesome! Please share pics of the new baby when he/she arrives. Jenn

Momoo said...

Thanks for sharing the wedding photos. I know a number of us who follow your blog enjoyed sharing the day vicariously. So glad you had beautiful weather. The mountain backgound was perfect for a western themed wedding.

Wanna-be-Cowgirl (aka Emily) said...

Super fun Nanette! And So Creative!

Eileen said...

What a beautiful and very wonderful day. I am so happy to see your whole family together at such a lovely occasion. But I am betting you are so glad it is over. I'll try to catch up with you in a bit. I've been busy too.. but only about one tenth of all that you are doing. You are probably a grandma by now too.. I'm going to go look. :-)

Cassie@You Go Girl said...

This post brought tears to my eyes, Nanette. What a beautiful family. Lots of love here, for sure.

XOXO-
Cassie

rachelmp said...

What a beautiful wedding. I love the photo of all your girls together. So blessed.

Candace said...

Everything turned out so wonderful, Nanette! You're right - Natalie is a gorgeous bride! I love your family photo, the decorations, setup, box lunches - the weather looks to be just perfect - a wonderful day, meant to be!
Cheers to the bride and groom!