But before I get to the good stuff, I must start at the beginning of my morning.
I woke up around 8:00 in the morning, after being up until at least 3:00, to an empty house (except for my brother who was sleeping). My mom was taking the dogs to the boarders at 8:00, and I had thought I was going with her. But, it was just as well seeing as I needed the sleep and the time to shower.
By the time my mom got back, she had brought us all donuts. Mine had strawberry icing and sprinkles; it was so delicious I could have cried. This was just the start of a whole day of poor food choices, though I will regret nothing.
Eventually, we were all ready to go by 10:00, which would get us to my grandparents house before noon. The drive, which used to seem to take forever (although that was when I was a kid and we lived farther away than we do now) went by pretty quickly, and this time I made sure to take a picture of the entrance bridge. This bridge used to always be the indication to my brother and I that we were almost there, and would therefore rejuvenate our bored/tired selves into excited balls of energy.
The epitome of a good sign -- just as we reached my grandparent's house, there was blue sky breaking through all the clouds. This was good news to everyone because the wedding was going to be outdoors and for months, I'm sure, everyone has been crossing their fingers for good weather. Perhaps the best wedding gift of all.
Since we got to my grandparent's so early, we had plenty of time for the wedding. We had a huge lunch, my second poor decision of the day, followed by me painting my nails last minute, followed by me taking a nap, followed by me rushing to get ready, followed by me realizing I forgot my Naked eye shadow palette at home, followed by me switching dresses last minute, followed by everyone filing out the door and into their respective cars.
We had left early, so that we could be sure to figure out where the wedding was taking place exactly, and also to assure ourselves a parking space nearby. By this point, the sky was more blue than clouds, but also increasingly hot. No one seemed to mind though. After some mingling, and finding my dad, we made our way to our seats. "Family" was allowed to sit in the first three rows, so we sat in the third row, but then later realized we could have sat in the second, maybe even first row.
The ceremony was beautiful. It couldn't have been a nicer day, despite the sun, and everyone looked amazing. I'm a sucker for the "groomsmen in suspenders" look -- something that I hope is still in style when I get married.
Then comes the dreaded part of weddings: killing time after the ceremony while the bridal party is busy taking pictures. Thankfully it didn't seem to last too long, and there were refreshments available to tide the hungry people over. Similar to my other cousin's wedding in July, the table decorations were simple yet perfect. Every table had a lantern, flowers, and a picture of the bride and groom from some point in their friendship/relationship.
We were lucky enough to be seated right next to the bridal party, which came in handy when it was time for the speeches and toast (the only downfall being that the sun was completely shining on me/in my eyes while I was turned around to listen to them).
The dinner was very rustic: pulled pork with barbecue sauce, chicken (if you didn't eat pork), cheesy potatoes, green beans, bread, and iced team. I ate way too much, once again.
However, the best was yet to come. Not too long after dinner, the announcement was made that the cake was already cut. My mom and I, being the tag team that we are, decided to each get a piece and share so we could have two different flavors (of the three). She got the lemon-raspberry cake and I had the carmel-chocolate. They were both so good I was tempted to throw all self-control out the window and go back for more, however they were also so rich that that was actually impossible. Thank goodness.
After cake was served and the speeches were made, my mom, brother, and I decided to take a walk to the bathrooms. That was the only issue with the location of the wedding, the bathrooms were not located at all near the tent where the reception was. However, there were people driving golf carts to and from the restrooms, which was great for people who couldn't/shouldn't walk that far. I enjoyed walking, however, because the whole location was beautiful. Per my brother's request, however, (and a 2 to 1 vote) we took a golf cart back so I couldn't even take pictures of the rest of the site.
Once we got back we mingled some more. My mom went off to talk to the rest of the family, while my brother, dad, cousin, and I took pictures in the photo booth. It got to be around 8:30 or 9:00 when my dad said he was going to take off soon. I had asked him to bring a food processor (which later I found out was a juicer) that he said he didn't need and that way I could get it at the wedding. So, as it turned out, my brother, mom, and I all walked to our car while my dad walked to his so he could drive around and give me the juicer. This is when tragedy struck. While transporting the juicer into the car, my shoe felt like it was caught in gum. Upon closer inspection I saw that I had not stepped in gum, but that the wedge of my wedges was coming off. There was no way I could walk all the way back to the tent and there was no way to MacGyver some kind of temporary hold, so my reception was cut short. I ended up staying at the car while my mom walked back to grab our things and tell everyone we were leaving. My brother ended up hitching a ride with my dad to be dropped off at our house, so I was alone.. in the car.. without my cell phone (I told you it was tragic). After what seemed way too long, I got tired of waiting and decided to shuffle my way down the long gravel pavement.
When I was almost back to the tent, a golf cart pulled up with my mom and grandparents on it. Oh the timing was just annoyingly perfect. I hopped on, we got back to the car, and then we drove home.
I hated skipping out on the party, but without a change of shoes it was useless. And frankly, I was just as glad to be home in my yoga pants with a glass of Perrier.
By 11:00 pm I was already getting tired, must have been the lack of internet, so I got ready for bed and started my new book "Let's Get Lost". It's one of those books that I'm already so sure I'm going to love, and after reading the first few chapters I have confirmed my surety even more.
The day had seemed ridiculously long, and yet had managed to fly by so quickly.
My mom said that's how weddings go, though. In an instant.
Congratulations to the incredible couple, and I can't wait to see what is in store for their life together.
♥K
