Tis the season...

... for weddings.

Six weddings, to be exact. (See what I did there?)

This weekend Alex and I closed up our wedding season with not one but two weddings in Huntsville. We started off with a bang at a rehearsal dinner at The Ledges Friday night (fancy-schmancy to the extreme: cocktail hour, four-course meal, champagne toast... although, I poured mine into Al's glass when I realized sparkling grape juice was an option because, as it turns out, I'm 5). Saturday, we went to a noon wedding at First Presbyterian in downtown Huntsville.

Let me tell you, being late has it's perks. We walked into the vestibule just as the bride and her maids were lining up, so we were ushered up to folding chairs in the balcony. Seats closest to the exit = quickest exit. And you know what quickest exit means? First in line at the reception buffet, that's what. And we just happened to choose the tent that, unbeknownst to us, was next to the building that housed the cake... so once again, first in line, and this time for lemon pound cake with fresh raspberries and whipped cream and, in a fun twist on the groom's cake tradition, blackberry and peach cobbler with vanilla ice cream. We couldn't have planned it better... and of course, we enjoyed being part of Laura's special day.

We had approximately three hours to kill before our 6 o'clock nuptials-- not ours, per se-- so I took drug Alex to Ulta, where I checked out every make-up sample available... including a lip gloss akin to what you might see on Barbi. And yes, it stayed with me for the rest of the evening. Alex dutifully played on his phone and tweeted his displeasure.

We arrived early for the six o'clock wedding, feeling certain that our luck wouldn't stay with us twice in one day. This wedding was First United Methodist in downtown Huntsville. Both churches were truly stunning and, although I love my church, I couldn't help but yearn for a church as old and traditional as these (my church was quite possibly just as old and traditional at one time, but it burned down the year before we moved to Guntersville... so the current church is large and modern, but still beautiful... but I digress).

We returned to the Ledges for this wedding's reception-- the previous night's rehearsal dinner had been for the noon wedding, which neither of us was actually in-- and we were once again impressed. This country club sits atop a mountain that overlooks the Huntsville skyline. And the address is Castle Down Drive because the clubhouse itself is, in fact, a castle. The cakes-- I'm becoming quite the wedding cake connoisseur-- were terrific, which is not always the case with wedding cakes but Saturday we had great cake karma. This time, the bride's cake was traditional vanilla, but not the stiff, dry kind you might encounter occasionally. The groom had two cakes: one chocolate, one caramel, both incredible. The band played MoTown, and we danced the night away overlooking Huntsville. Not too shabby.

Weddings are really the perfect date, we've decided. We get to dress up, have a nice meal-- or two-- and lots of cake, and dance until we're on the brink of socially unacceptable sweatiness (and sometimes usually we toe that line).

And as far as wedding dates go, Saturday made numbers five and six for Alex and me. We've really mastered this whole wedding date thing: I hold the table, he brings the bunch; I wear the heels, we dance less awkwardly; and sometimes, our outfits even coordinate.

So we've seen it all this summer... Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal, Methodist, indoor, outdoor, dry, full bar, no music, great bands, high church organs, and acoustic guitars.

I know Alex worries that when wedding season ends our date nights will suddenly be less appealing to me; I know I'll wonder why he doesn't wear a tie to drive-thru Chick-Fil-A on our way to rent a movie, for sure. So I'm sad to see this delightful-- and free!-- season of dating and dancing and dining come to an end-- once again, it should be noted that I have been genuinely pleased to be a part of every big day we've went to; I won't go into it, but I give Alex a sentimental talk about how we "were just part of the biggest days of their lives so far... have you stopped to appreciate that yet?!" after every wedding.

So I'm already excited about the out-of-season weddings ahead in October and March, that I know of right now, and hope that a few other unexpected ones might pop up-- is that selfish of me? Probably.