Merri and Pete’s wedding weekend was incredible and I am excited to share everything with you guys today!
Merri and Pete have been together for nearly as long as Ryan and I have (nine years!) and since we all went to college together, I’ve had the chance to get to know them individually and separately and absolutely adore them as a couple. I feel like my girlfriends and I have been anxiously awaiting Merri and Pete’s big day for years and I am so grateful I could be a part of it.
Rehearsal
On Friday afternoon, guests were invited to join the couple for a beach barbeque on Siesta Key Beach. The weather was perfect and we spent lots of time eating brats, grilled mahi mahi and burgers before it was time to play volleyball on the beach. A little before 3 p.m., everyone said goodbye so we could head back to our rooms to change before the wedding rehearsal.
Since Ryan was still en route to Florida from Italy and wasn’t scheduled to arrive in Sarasota until 5 p.m., I got ready back at my in-law’s place with my sister and her fiancé. Before we left, I took a couple of pictures of Leslie and Ross since they wanted a few contenders for their wedding save the dates that they will be sending out within the next couple of weeks.
I love them! And how cute does Leslie look!? I gave her that dress for her birthday back in June (French Connection via RueLaLa) and I think it looks stunning on her!
Once we were ready to go, we drove over to the Phillippi Estate Park for Merri and Pete’s wedding rehearsal.
Bridesmaids!
The rehearsal kicked off at 4 p.m. and we walked through ceremony logistics for about an hour.
I was paired with Ross who was also a groomsmen in the wedding.
It was one of the most laidback rehearsals I’ve ever been a part of which made it a lot of fun!
The wedding party (minus Ryan):
Rehearsal Dinner at Andrea’s
After we ran through everything twice, we drove to Andrea’s for an intimate rehearsal dinner at the romantic Italian restaurant.
The rehearsal dinner began with a cocktail hour that included passed hors d’oeuvres.
Andrea, the owner of the restaurant, was born in Pallanza in Piedmont, Italy and his food is unbelievable! While I drank champagne, I sampled the bruschetta and rice balls (I’m sure there is much fancier name for that dish!) and both were fantastic.
The bride and groom:
The groom and the bride’s twin sister, Liz:
I loved every second I was able to spend with Merri and some of my very best girlfriends from college. Four of Merri’s bridesmaids (including myself) were Kappa Deltas at UCF together and whenever we are reunited it feels like we pick up right where we left off. I miss them like crazy.
At the very end of the cocktail hour, Ryan arrived! I was so, so happy to see him and he walked into the restaurant looking surprisingly energetic despite the time difference and the extra long flight.
We took our seats and were greeted with passed appetizers. There was definitely not a shortage of food at this rehearsal dinner!
The eggplant parmesan was my favorite passed appetizer and I went back for seconds. I can assure you that if I visit Andrea’s again, I will be ordering that dish as my entree. It was so cheesy!
Arugula salads came next followed by the main course.
I selected the homemade tagliolini pasta with shrimp.
You simply cannot beat homemade pasta and Andrea’s clearly knows how to do it right!
After dinner, Merri, Pete and her father gave heart-warming speeches and then it was my turn to read the poem Merri requested I write and share. I was nervous but I think it went well. I did my best to speak from the heart and I felt honored to share something with the bride and groom in front of their family and closest friends.
Once we were done with dinner and finished our wine (the restaurant did a phenomenal job selecting the perfect wine to pair with dinner!), we all drove to the Merri’s dad and stepmom’s house for an evening dessert reception.
Merri’s dad and her stepmother poured a lot of time and energy into making their backyard look incredible for the reception. I told them that it looked like a cross between a romantic bistro patio and an upscale bed and breakfast courtyard.
Guests hung out until a little after 11 p.m. I had fun chatting with everyone while I sipped on red wine and ate cookies and cannoli.
I loved the way the cookies had a little New York flare since that is where Merri and Pete live!
Eventually it was time to leave so we could all feel rested for the big day ahead of us. It was a great way to kick off one heck of a wonderful wedding weekend!
Wedding recap to come!
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Wow what a fun rehearsal dinner!
That looks like an amazing rehearsal and dinner! YUM! (I’m thinking the rice balls might be arancini. Rice balls with cheese in the middle, breaded and baked or fried. Hmm, I’m thinking those are going to be on the big game spread now! Thanks! HA!)
What an amazing rehearsal! Also, can I just say how gorgeous Leslie is?!! She looks so incredibly happy and so beautiful! I also love the idea of a dessert reception. That’s right up my alley! 😉
what fantastic photos!!! looks like you had a blast. the rice balls are technically arancini, but i think here in the US either is acceptable!!! either way, they’re delicious!
what a fun rehearsal day!! I love the idea of having a bbq during the day for a fun thing for guests to do!
The yellow dress was a great gift, Leslie looks fantastic. I would go with the second picture, you can fully see both faces.
That is my favorite, too!
Mine too! For some reason my eyes went straight to Ross’ crotch in the other two photos. I don’t know why or how to explain it, but I just couldn’t help it!!!
Lol!!!!
wow. after reading about that rehearsal dinner i can only imagine how wonderful the wedding was! look forward to the re-cap!
I love Leslie’s dress! That color is so pretty. The rehearsal looked so nice! I love how the backyard looked. Very romantic 🙂
Wow, you weren’t kidding when you said there defiantly wasn’t a shortage of food! It all looks so yummy! And Omg that backyard! It’s so pretty :). Looks like a lot of fun 🙂
That all looks amazing! My favorite part has to be those awesome heels Merri wore to the rehearsal!
Aren’t they amazing!?!? I said the same thing!
Looks like such a fun – and not stressful – rehearsal!
Did Ross go to school with you guys too? Is that how he met your sister? 🙂
Ross, Ryan and Pete were all in the same fraternity. 🙂 Ross met my sister through me and Ryan. 🙂
Looks like you had so much fun!! I love the picture of your sister and Ross holding hands (although they are all cute!). My favorite part of the whole rehearsal? The big apple cookies…adorable!
Wow, if that was the rehearsal, I can’t wait to see the wedding & reception — everything/everyone looks amazing! The NY cookies were adorable 🙂
What an amazing weekend (so far…)!!!
My best friend/roommate from university is actually marrying my brother in law next summer. It kind of reminds me of this whole situation you had over the weekend. Pretty exciting!
You all look luminous!
What a gorgeous wedding! Also, I love your dress and the dress your sister wore for her engagement photos! Both are so fun and fashionable!
Wow, Ryan is keeping busy I see! 😉 What a great way to start off the festivities! Rehearsals are usually really formal so it’s great that Merri and Pete kept it fun and lively!
Love all the small details they put in! What a beautiful couple 🙂
I bet that backyard looked beautiful at the reception from what I can see in the pictues! Merri and her twin look SO much alike! Wow!
I love the look of the backyard! It looks like a little New York Bistro. I was waiting to see boats pass by in the background 😉
That dessert reception looks so good! what a fun idea to keep the night going, I’ll have to fill my dad and step mom in and give them a hint for my wedding rehearsal!!
Arancini! They are delicious! You all look like you had a wonderful time!
Julie, what a nice recap! Your pictures are always so beautiful. The ones of Leslie and Ross are stunning. What camera do you use? Would love to know your secret : )
Were they arancini balls, by any chance?
Everything looks beautiful and I’m so happy for them!
I think so! Whatever they were, they were fantastic!
I love love love your stunning red dress! Where on earth did you get it!? It seems like you had such a beautiful weekend. 🙂
Thank you, Brianne! It is French Connection but I got it over a year ago on Hautelook.com!
I loveLeslie’s dress! I’m so excited for them both, and can’t wait to see more about their wedding details. Thanks again for sharing so much.
How fun! I love your sisters yellow dress, so pretty!
wow, merri & pete’s rehearsal dinner and dessert reception look fabulous. i especially love the NYC themed cookies – what a fun, personal touch! =) i’m glad you had an amazing wedding weekend!
The photos of Leslie and Ross are beautiful! I love the second one! It looked like a beautiful rehearsal, I can’t wait to see the wedding recap. Congratulations to your friends!
It sounds like you had a very busy weekend. Can’t wait to see the wedding pictures. With as much detail as the Rehearsal Dinner was, I’m sure the wedding was even more beautiful. As for the pictures of Lesli and Ross, I’m voting on the second one, since you can see both their faces really well. Their smiles bring out their happiness, shows so much love there. Too cute!
i’ve noticed that you are in a ton of weddings. I can only imagine how fun it must be
Oh my gosh you have been to some seriously amazing weddings this year. The bride and groom look so happy in all of these photos and even though the food and everything looks great that’s definitely the best part.
WOW! What an awesome looking rehearsal day. I was in bed by 10:30 on mine. haha. We did a really early rehearsal dinner. But i love the dessert reception idea. Good to keep in mind when my friends get marries 🙂
Great pictures! Looks like so much fun…can’t wait for wedding day recap. Also, Leslie and Ross are such a beautiful couple – I’ve loved reading your blog and seeing their love for one another grow – the pictures you took of them captured that perfectly!!
I love those theme cookies! What a wonderful touch!
Looks so fun! I love your dress!
I agree, I think the 2nd picture is so cute for a save the date card!
I loved your hair for the wedding.
Arancini are the rice balls.
Like the second picture of ross/leslie ….
Ah that looks like so much fun! You’re lucky to have such a great group of friends like that, I bet the whole weekend was a blast. And I LOVE your dress!
Looks like so much fun!! Love that red dress you had on!
Looks like one big party! I love the idea of having a beach barbecue with everyone before the rehearsal dinner. It keeps things very laid back. I can’t wait to see the wedding pictures!
How precious is your sister and her fiance? They need to pick the one where he’s holding her up! So cute!
That’s a great picture of you and the girls!
SO classy, romantic and beautiful! What an amazing way to begin the weekend!
Oh my god a the dessert reception sounds amazing! I was waiting for you to rave about the dessert at the restaurant and was wondering why it was missing for like 2.5 seconds…:)
Looks like a beautiful rehearsal dinner 🙂 Your dress is gorgeous as usual!
looks awesome! love those NY cookies…putting them on my future wedding list :)!
I love the pictures you took for your sister’s STD cards! And your friends are beautiful…lucky lady!
-AJ
FitTravelerAJ.com