Let the Wedding Weekend begin!

After our night in Meridian, MS, we drove straight to the Beau Rivage, dropped off all our stuff (LOTS OF STUFF! We couldn't even see out of the windows in the car), and headed to the airport to pick up Rick's college roommate Eric and his fabulous wife Rachel. Rick talked about "the Erics" all the time, and I had never met either of the Erics before the weekend, and was pretty pumped to meet these people that meant so much to Rick. Rachel and I had become besties on facebook, so I was beyond thrilled to FINALLY meet my new bestie! Rachel and Eric came all the way from Appleton, Wisconsin to be there with us for 4 days in Biloxi, were the first to book a room, and the first to book flights, I knew I would love this couple! Below are the famous Eric & Rachel.

Aren't they adorable??? I LOVE THEM, and can't wait to see them again soon. We took them to one of the Biloxi staples, the Old Biloxi Schooner for lunch, and caught up, then it was back to the Beau to unload again, then Rick & Eric headed back to the airport to pick up the other Eric. The other Eric is the other college roommate I had yet to meet. Rick, Eric, Eric, and James all lived together at Auburn, and oh the stories they tell. Below is a pic of the 4 of them back together 10 years later.
They were like little kids, so excited to see each other. I was super excited to meet Eric H., but we were sad his wife couldn't make the trip. She stayed home with their 3 kids for football games, back to school, etc. AMY WE MISSED YOU! They live in Cape Coral, FL, by the way. All of Rick's roommates were groomsmen in our wedding as they were all 4 in each other's weddings. They are quite the crew, and it was so fun to see them all together again reminiscing about the good ole days on the plains. To the Erics and Rachel, thank you SO much for coming so far to be there for Rick and me, you have NO IDEA what it meant to us!
Here are Traci, Rachel, and me at eight75 in the Beau.

Our sweet friends Kristen and Brad also made it down from Hattiesburg to get the weekend started early, as you can see Traci, Kristen, and me below.

We had quite the crew on Thursday night, Matthew, Jordan (who came from NYC to be a part of our wedding), Walker & Heather (it was H's birthday!), James & Abnous, Beth & Kyle, Charles & Jennifer all made it down. The few of us that were there in time for dinner went to my dad's (now my step-mom's) restaurant Manhattan Grill. It was so nice to have all these new friends of mine in a place that meant so much to my dad. The dinner was EXCELLENT as always, as was the company. It was a PERFECT way to start off the weekend. Then it was back to the Beau to meet up with the late arrivals at eight75. We had a FABULOUS night, and were so thrilled to have so many amazing friends there to celebrate with us on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, the place I love so much. THANK YOU ALL for a weekend we will NEVER FORGET! We are so blessed!

OK, so I had to put this pic on here because it cracked me up when Rachel sent it to me. Apparently, Rach was trying to find something in her purse, but had too much stuff in there. So I helped her out. All the stuff in my hands, and the sunglasses are from her purse. I LOVE IT!