A Half Pike Across the Pond

July has been a busy month! After our big celebration we stayed around the carolina's for a week to relax some at the beach and then celebrated the 4th with some friends at the pool in a true American style!

The moment we landed in London we were on the move with a little bit and a little bit of that... all starting with the move into the new flat and then Jarod and Steph came to VISIT! I will let the pictures tell most of the story though :)

North Mrytle Beach - We took a nice relaxing walk on the beach one morning.

Kay treated the family to Pirate show and to celebrate Jeff's birthday one evening!

We had a lot of fun at the show and would recommend it for others thinking about going to see it!

4th of July fun at the pool!

Got to see Dad one last time before hopping back across the pond.

We went for sushi and got the boat :)

It was a busy day when we landed back in London... we basically landed, picked up keys to the new flat and moved in all before 3pm! We immediately started to crash once all the boxes were moved and took a really long nap. The move was totally worth it though. We have plenty of space and are really enjoying it! Let me know if you need our new address and I can private message it over.

A few days later Steph and Jared came to visit! It was sooooo good to them and hang out. Saturday, we went to Tate Modern Museum and learned all about the modern art. Our take away was that this mirror was the best thing there...we got to create our own art! haha

We did get to see the famous water lillies

Jeff and I went to the cafe on the top for quick view!

Afterwards, we went for a stroll on the Southbank while Steph and Jared checked into the hotel. Totally forgot the Love Festival was going on....

We met up later on for dinner and drinks on the Tattershall!

The following night was the Worldcup Championship! It was a MAD house in the pub and it will be something to remember for a long time. Good times!

Last night with the Cronks! We met for dinner at Muriel's Kitchen in South Kenningston.

It was sooo good to see you both - Hope you guys enjoyed London!

Jeff and I were a little non traditional with our wedding by eloping to Italy and having a wedding celebration at home... but it gave 2 very special occasions to remember and celebrate our commitment to each other! Here goes my re-cap of the wedding weekend celebrations in Carolina Beach.

The weekend started off on Friday evening. We had planned a smaller dinner with just our parents and grandparents. This was the first time we were able to see most of them since our wedding. We went to a local seafood place called Michaels. It worked out perfect with some tables in a semi private area in the back of the restaurant. The food was really good and we couldn't be happier to have our families all together! Here are a few pictures from the evening. (These are also on Shutterfly, as well as others if want to print them!)

https://jeffandcalliepike.shutterfly.com/pictures

Thanks for the great photos David!

The next morning we had a wedding breakfast hosted by my aunts and grandmothers. We were able to bring not just immediate family together, but also the aunts, uncles, and cousins. We filled up a huge room. We are so blessed to have such a big and loving family!

David was on point again and walking around and capturing some wonder photos we will cherish for a long time!

The breakfast was everything we had hoped for and so much more. Special thank you to all those who made it happen!

After breakfast everyone went off and did their own thing for a while. Unfortunately, the weather was not too nice, so I think the beach goers were a little disappointed. The good news was that the rain brought in cooler temperatures for the party that evening!

We were scheduled to board at 5:30 and set sail at 5:45. Of course we had driven by the boat on the way to the hotel on Friday.. but we had not seen the boat until 1 hour before sail time. I had done everyone over the internet, from the wedding in Italy and the honeymoon to this wedding celebration. All the internet planning and pictures had not let me down so far and the moment I stepped on board to the boat, it was everything we had wanted. I have to give a HUGE thank you to Tammy who helped me plan everything on the boat and was a wonderful bartender on the evening of our party.

Here are a few of the pictures of the boat and decorations...

We had white cake and oreo filling for the main cake and red velvet for the grooms cake in the shape of Italy! It was awesome!!! In case anyone is wondering.. Big Apple Bakery made the cakes and I would highly recommend them :)

We had some pretty greenery on the poles in the dance floor to give it an extra flare too :)

We had a slide show of some of our pictures together with our wedding coozies in front.

The dining room was nice and cool, and Tammy did a great job with the table runners and decor on the tables!

We had some heavy hors d'oeuvre so everyone could mingle and eat! It is going to be another year before we see everyone so we wanted to make the most of our time :)

All in all, the details that I stressed over all worked out beautifully. A BIG BIG thank you to all that helped in the planning and organizing!!!!

As everyone started to board the boat it was time to let lose and have fun. And based on the pictures.. .it looks like everyone had a BLAST including the bride and grooms themselves :) I have posted a few pictures below, but there are many, many more on Shutterfly. (https://jeffandcalliepike.shutterfly.com/pictures) I have to give a HUGE thank you to Trahern for the wonderful pictures! Please check out his website. He can take some great photos.

TM Photography