The weekend after our housewarming party, we went up to New York for our friend Becca's wedding. This was actually the second wedding. The first one was in India the previous month with her new husband's family. But New York is much easier to travel to than India, so we just went to the second wedding.
Being a second wedding, the whole thing was relatively casual and a lot of fun. Becca and her husband decided to do a Quaker-style ceremony where they married themselves, since the legalities had already been taken care of. The venue was a museum with a strange inflatable art exhibit, a planetarium show, and a mansion we could have toured (but we missed it because I am too slow).
They had dinner and dancing in a room in the lower level of the museum, after everyone had had a chance to explore the exhibits. There was a live band, which was fun. Except that the room was a little too small for a live band. The noise ended up being a bit overwhelming, and I spent most of that part of the reception outside on the balcony, where there were some lovely, comfortable couches.
All in all it was a very fun weekend. We got a chance to see some people from college that we really don't see very often, since Becca ran in a broader social circle than us. There were some people out from the West Coast that we hardly ever see. We ended up spending most of the afternoon before the wedding at a brew-pub with friends that I'm not sure we've seen since our wedding. It was great to play games and swap stories.
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wedding. Show all posts
Sunday, September 18, 2016
Sunday, March 22, 2015
Ski Trip
Every year our friends Alyssa and Brian organize a week-long ski trip in Colorado. Every year we have to miss it because our plans are so full of weddings and family that we can't find the extra time or money for a week-long vacation. But this year they added their wedding to the festivities and we were finally able to join everyone in Colorado for a few days of skiing and partying.
It's been five years since I've been skiing, and that was true the last time I went skiing, too. But last time it came back quickly, so I was confident it would this time too. And it mostly did, except that I no longer live in Colorado and hadn't quite thought to account for the extreme elevation change I would be dealing with.
This was somewhat mitigated by our arrival in Colorado on Monday with no plans to ski until Thursday. I figured this would give me plenty of time to adjust to the climate. Especially since we were spending two nights with my mom who lives at 8000 feet. It mostly worked. But with everything together (elevation, dry air, crowded condo, lots of skiing, impending illness), I was off balance for most of the week. Which mostly manifested as a lack of partying or even staying up late.
The skiing itself was a lot of fun. After a bumpy first run, during which I fell and spent several minutes wondering if I'd be able to get back up, I traded in for better equipment and did enough to have fun for the next couple of days. When I fell, I was convinced I had managed to twist my ankle. This should be (and is) impossible in ski boots, but my boots didn't fit great and my ankles are horrifically weak. I figured if there was going to be an exception, it would probably be me. Instead it appears that I merely bruised my ankle, albeit in the place that bugs me whenever I do twist or sprain it. Which happens entirely too often.
After that mishap and a bit of time to recover from it, Kevin and I had a lot of fun on the blues over on the west side of the mountain. They're a bit shorter and less steep than the ones on the east side of the mountain, and I had a lot of fun flying down them.
Around all of the skiing, the bride and groom had planned a bunch of events, including happy hours, lunch barbeques, and the bachelor ad bachelorette party. As I said, I wasn't up for much partying, but I did manage to hang out with everyone until at least 10 every night. I'm such an old person.
The wedding was on Saturday, but not until late in the day. Kevin and I used the time to go tubing (expensive, but highly recommended), wander around the village (I bought a sweatshirt) and hang out with beer and board games before it was time to get ready. The ceremony was lovely, with Bryan and Alyssa officiating their own wedding, which is a thing that I think should spread throughout the country. Currently it's only legal in Colorado and Pennsylvania. It adds a nice, personalized touch to weddings, especially those without a religious component.
Around our time in Copper, we also had a few meals in Idaho Springs (pizza at BaeuJo's and beer at Tommyknockers), visited with my parents, and read a bunch. We also go sick, with Kevin getting the bulk of his illness out of the way on Tuesday before we went up to the mountains and me suffering on the trip home. At least it didn't interfere too much with skiing and socializing. I just hope we didn't give it to anyone else staying in the condo with us.
It's been five years since I've been skiing, and that was true the last time I went skiing, too. But last time it came back quickly, so I was confident it would this time too. And it mostly did, except that I no longer live in Colorado and hadn't quite thought to account for the extreme elevation change I would be dealing with.
This was somewhat mitigated by our arrival in Colorado on Monday with no plans to ski until Thursday. I figured this would give me plenty of time to adjust to the climate. Especially since we were spending two nights with my mom who lives at 8000 feet. It mostly worked. But with everything together (elevation, dry air, crowded condo, lots of skiing, impending illness), I was off balance for most of the week. Which mostly manifested as a lack of partying or even staying up late.
The skiing itself was a lot of fun. After a bumpy first run, during which I fell and spent several minutes wondering if I'd be able to get back up, I traded in for better equipment and did enough to have fun for the next couple of days. When I fell, I was convinced I had managed to twist my ankle. This should be (and is) impossible in ski boots, but my boots didn't fit great and my ankles are horrifically weak. I figured if there was going to be an exception, it would probably be me. Instead it appears that I merely bruised my ankle, albeit in the place that bugs me whenever I do twist or sprain it. Which happens entirely too often.
After that mishap and a bit of time to recover from it, Kevin and I had a lot of fun on the blues over on the west side of the mountain. They're a bit shorter and less steep than the ones on the east side of the mountain, and I had a lot of fun flying down them.
Around all of the skiing, the bride and groom had planned a bunch of events, including happy hours, lunch barbeques, and the bachelor ad bachelorette party. As I said, I wasn't up for much partying, but I did manage to hang out with everyone until at least 10 every night. I'm such an old person.
The wedding was on Saturday, but not until late in the day. Kevin and I used the time to go tubing (expensive, but highly recommended), wander around the village (I bought a sweatshirt) and hang out with beer and board games before it was time to get ready. The ceremony was lovely, with Bryan and Alyssa officiating their own wedding, which is a thing that I think should spread throughout the country. Currently it's only legal in Colorado and Pennsylvania. It adds a nice, personalized touch to weddings, especially those without a religious component.
Around our time in Copper, we also had a few meals in Idaho Springs (pizza at BaeuJo's and beer at Tommyknockers), visited with my parents, and read a bunch. We also go sick, with Kevin getting the bulk of his illness out of the way on Tuesday before we went up to the mountains and me suffering on the trip home. At least it didn't interfere too much with skiing and socializing. I just hope we didn't give it to anyone else staying in the condo with us.
Wednesday, July 2, 2014
Beach Weekend
This past weekend a group of us went down to Nag's Head, North Carolina for a friend's wedding. The bride's family all lives in the area, so a bunch of people ended up renting houses and staying in the area for an entire week. We were only able to go for a three-day weekend, but it was still fun.
We got a room at a hotel that was right on the beach. Not that that's difficult at Nag's Head, where it's basically impossible to be more than a quarter of a mile from the ocean at any given time. Since we arrived several hours before check-in time, we were able to spend some time at the beach and play a round of mini golf before we got our room.
The beach was fun, though I mostly didn't get in the water. I spent some time watching the crabs, reading, and napping while everyone else splashed around in the ocean. Sadly, the crabs got scared underground when everyone else returned to sunbathe. But it was fun to watch them toss sand around while it lasted.
We got into our room with just about enough time for everyone to shower and get dressed before heading over to the wedding, located a convenient quarter mile from our hotel. The happy couple had actually gotten married a year previously, so in lieu of a ceremony we watched a short video of the ceremony. The reception was a lot of fun with delicious food and tons of small children running around. The kids had their own pirate-themed area with mini burgers and pirate-ship forts.
After the reception, there was a party bus headed to a club for the after party. I opted out and went back to the hotel room instead. Kevin followed not too long after, and the rest of the group trickled in sometime between midnight and 3.
The next morning we found a truly excellent breakfast place, though they almost refused to serve Sarah a bloody mary because she looked too young. Then it was back to the beach to hang out for a bit before getting lunch with the wedding party. At lunch, the bride and groom invited us to stay the night in their house. They'd rented a huge house for them and their families for the weekend, and most people had left that day. So we canceled the hotel room and moved all our stuff over to the fantastic house, where we all got bedrooms and feasted on leftovers from the reception.
The weekend was a lot of fun, even if I did sustain a rather nasty sunburn on part of my back. I think I'm coming around on the idea of beaches a little. Laying in the sand and staring at the waves is fun, so long as there's a shower nearby. Though by the end I was sick of smelling like sunscreen and finding sand everywhere. Maybe it's just good in small doses.
We got a room at a hotel that was right on the beach. Not that that's difficult at Nag's Head, where it's basically impossible to be more than a quarter of a mile from the ocean at any given time. Since we arrived several hours before check-in time, we were able to spend some time at the beach and play a round of mini golf before we got our room.
The beach was fun, though I mostly didn't get in the water. I spent some time watching the crabs, reading, and napping while everyone else splashed around in the ocean. Sadly, the crabs got scared underground when everyone else returned to sunbathe. But it was fun to watch them toss sand around while it lasted.
We got into our room with just about enough time for everyone to shower and get dressed before heading over to the wedding, located a convenient quarter mile from our hotel. The happy couple had actually gotten married a year previously, so in lieu of a ceremony we watched a short video of the ceremony. The reception was a lot of fun with delicious food and tons of small children running around. The kids had their own pirate-themed area with mini burgers and pirate-ship forts.
After the reception, there was a party bus headed to a club for the after party. I opted out and went back to the hotel room instead. Kevin followed not too long after, and the rest of the group trickled in sometime between midnight and 3.
The next morning we found a truly excellent breakfast place, though they almost refused to serve Sarah a bloody mary because she looked too young. Then it was back to the beach to hang out for a bit before getting lunch with the wedding party. At lunch, the bride and groom invited us to stay the night in their house. They'd rented a huge house for them and their families for the weekend, and most people had left that day. So we canceled the hotel room and moved all our stuff over to the fantastic house, where we all got bedrooms and feasted on leftovers from the reception.
The weekend was a lot of fun, even if I did sustain a rather nasty sunburn on part of my back. I think I'm coming around on the idea of beaches a little. Laying in the sand and staring at the waves is fun, so long as there's a shower nearby. Though by the end I was sick of smelling like sunscreen and finding sand everywhere. Maybe it's just good in small doses.
Monday, April 28, 2014
Wedding Weekend
*All pictures were stolen off Facebook. Also, this got rather long.
The wedding weekend was a ton of fun. But no one told me how utterly exhausted I would be by the end of it. They told me that my face would hurt from smiling too much, that I needed to focus on eating enough and not drinking too much, that the entire thing would be over before I knew it. But no one told me that I would basically collapse as soon as it was all over. At least it gave Kevin and me a chance to catch up on all (and I do mean all) of the television we missed last week.
We're so glad that so many people were able to come spend the day with us and celebrate our marriage. It's especially impressive because 80% of the guests were from out of town. Since so many people were traveling so far, we tried to plan some extra events to give us more time with everyone. We invited our extended families to the rehearsal dinner, organized after parties for both Friday and Saturday nights, and arranged for breakfast to stay open an extra hour on Sunday so we could see everyone one last time. It worked out really well, and I'm glad we got to spend some time with our family and friends outside the incredibly hectic formal events.
My mom and I arrived at the venue just before noon on Friday and quickly discovered that it was far bigger than either of us has realized when we toured it a year ago. We almost got lost on the way to my room, and we definitely got lost when we went in search of the dining hall to meet my dad and some friends for lunch. But by the time I finished unloading the car, I'd more or less figured out the layout of the place.
I'd planned to plant myself in the lobby to greet people as they arrived, but I found myself too busy to really hang out there. By the time I was finished running around it was just about time for the rehearsal, which actually got rained out. We were able to figure out the processional order and go over the ceremony with our officiant, Alex, though.
Then it was time to head out to the rehearsal dinner, where the bar service was a little slow at first, but the food was delicious. And thus began the process of flitting from group to group, making sure that I got to say hi to everyone. This was sort of a theme of the weekend. There are so many people there to see you that it's hard to make enough time for them all. You have to settle for some time with everyone instead. At least we stuck to a fairly small guest list.
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| Enjoying the Rehearsal Dinner |
Nearly everyone else that we invited made it to the after party, which meant a lot more running from group to group to say hi as people arrived. There were also a few too many shots that evening. And while I was sure I made it to bed by midnight, my Fitbit informs me that I was out past 1 AM.
On Saturday morning I woke up with a hangover, unable to go back to sleep because of the too bright sun and the million things I needed to do. Kevin and I were at breakfast almost as soon as it opened. Then we went back to the room where I showered and did my hair while Kevin napped.
The bridesmaids, the best man, and I had a 10:00 appointment to get our nails done. It was a lot of fun to hang out, although the process of getting fake tips is way more involved than I remember it being. Of course, it's also been over a decade since I got fake nails, so perhaps my memory is faulty. The spa was on the small side, which meant that our appointments were staggered and it took a little longer than I'd expected. But we made it back to the venue for lunch. Then we had just enough time to drink a couple of mimosas and get pretty for pictures at 2:30.
I'm really glad we decided to take all of the family pictures before the wedding, and they all showed up early to see the first official look of the dress (and the tux, honestly). Our photographer had staged a nice entrance that we messed up when Kevin turned around too early and I tripped on the stairs. Oh well. It will make for more spontaneous photos, which are always more fun.
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| Kevin and (some of) his guys |
After the first look we cycled through pictures with parents, siblings, extended families, and finally the bridal party. We finished up right around 4:00, and went to hide while the rest of the guests arrived and sat down. By that point my feet were killing me, so I welcomed the opportunity to sit down for a bit. If I had to get married again, I probably wouldn't try to wear new shoes for the wedding. I really wish I'd had time to break mine in some more so I could have worn them for longer.
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| The wedding party |
The ceremony was short and sweet and lovely. I believe our sense of humor came through, with the Calvin and Hobbes and Isaac Asimov readings we picked. And I may have slightly improvised my vows, but it all worked out. I'd figured out most of them before hand, but then I wanted to add a couple of things when I heard Kevin's and ended up flubbing a bit. The good news is that no one heard them anyway, thanks to the wind that decided to gust right during our ceremony. And I must say that although I've walked down the aisle as a bridesmaid three times, walking down it as a bride is an entirely different experience.
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| Resting our feet |
After the ceremony we signed the paperwork, took a few pictures with just the two of us, and it was time to party. The most stressful and overwhelming part of the entire day was arriving at the cocktail hour. There were suddenly a million things to do, and everyone wanted to congratulate me and say hi right away. But I ignored everyone and ran to the bar to get a bottle of water and handed my shoes and flowers off to our wonderful coordinator. Then Sarah and I disappeared to tie up my bustle, and I was finally able to go say hi to the guests. We also got some fun pictures with the Mudders next to a North sign that I'm really excited to see.
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| Signing the license |
Dinner was delicious, and I'm glad Kevin and I decided to sit apart from all of our guests at a sweetheart table. It gave us a few precious minutes to eat and be together and decompress slightly from the crowd. It also made us feel like a king and queen ruling over our court. I'm also glad we had a coordinator to handle all of the details on the day of. We didn't need to worry about herding people or finding the cake or favors or anything at all except enjoying ourselves. I highly recommend hiring someone to deal with all those details. I can't even imagine how stressed I would have been if I'd had to juggle all of that on top of everything else.
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| We were seriously far away from the rest of the tables |
Zach and Sarah's combined Best Man/Doctor of Honor toast was absolutely perfect. They compiled a top ten list of the reasons "we are gathered here today", which was a lovely callback to a college tradition. Then we started dancing and running around to visit with as many people as we could. For all that I was worried about getting too drunk, I found myself with barely enough time to drink. Then again, I wasn't carrying around a bottle of champagne, like Kevin.
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| Champagne |
We skipped the bouquet toss, and I handed the flowers off to my cousin instead, when she asked for them. We also, by happy accident, included a song on our playlist that my cousins had choreographed a dance to. So they taught that to Chev and me and we had fun dancing together when Pharrell's Happy came on towards the end of the night.
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| She carried the flowers around forever |
Designing the playlist ourselves ended up working out really well. People seemed to enjoy the music. And although I'd been worried that we wouldn't have enough music, we ended up having to cut some songs out. I'd forgotten to allot time for toasts and cake cutting. The only thing I might change is to go back and include Garth Brooks' Friends in Low Places. I'd toyed with adding it, and ultimately decided that not enough people would appreciate it. Then my aunt remarked on its absence, because it had been such a hit at my cousin's wedding a couple of years ago. Oh well.
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| Happy! |
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| The best picture of the night |
The evening was capped off by a game a Dr. Killebrew, organized quite effectively by the Doctor of Honor, Sarah. Then Alex and Chev performed a rap for us at the after party, after which Kevin and I escaped back to our room.
On Sunday morning I slept in longer than I have in weeks (7:00 AM, woo!). Kevin and I were the first ones at breakfast, and it was a while before people really started arriving. It was really nice to see everyone one last time before the weekend ended, and we found ourselves making plans to see most of our college friends again soon. We're going to have a very busy June.
After breakfast I took off for home to walk the dog and feed the cat while Kevin dealt with all the details at the venue. Our parents came over for a bit while we opened the presents that people brought to the wedding, then they slowly trickled out. I attempted to go out and run some errands, but soon realized that I was way too tired.
Seriously, I did not expect to be as exhausted as I was. But I guess I'd been running on adrenaline and caffeine for longer than I realized. Kevin's mom mentioned that the same thing happened to her, and they ended up pushing their honeymoon back a day because of it (it helped that her husband piloted his own plane, so their plans were fairly flexible). I'm really glad that we decided to wait before taking off on our honeymoon, otherwise I may have slept straight through Barcelona. This way I'll have rebalanced somewhat and be able to actually enjoy our trip when we leave at the end of the week.
It was completely fantastic to see everyone who was able to come to the wedding. I wish we lived closer to a lot of people, especially family. But with my brother moving here in a few months and my cousin headed to Boston, that may start to change slightly. In the meantime we'll have to find more time to visit Colorado. And more ways to convince people to move to the East Coast. Especially writers and people who own their own businesses and can technically work from anywhere.
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Daydreaming About the Honeymoon
It didn't take too long for Kevin and I to decide that we wanted to go to Ireland for our honeymoon. We've been talking about going for a few years now, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Kevin went once in college, so he has an idea of some what's really cool and what's worth skipping. My main goal is to spend at least one night in a castle.
We've been playing around with our schedules and seeing if it would be possible to extend this vacation to last two weeks instead of one. At first I scoffed at this idea, sure there was no way I'd be able to be away from the office for that long. But now it's starting to seem like a real possibility.
Of course, two weeks in Ireland is quite a long time, and means we'd be doing a lot of just hanging out. I'm pretty okay with that, but part of the fun of travel is doing and seeing new things. Turns out we solved this problem pretty easily by adding a second destination.
On the way home from Ben and Autumn's wedding in California, Kevin and I had time to grab lunch at the airport. The television was playing a travel show that was pretty obviously aimed at children - a group of American teenagers were exploring Barcelona. It was silly, but there was nothing else to watch. And it peaked Kevin's interest. A few days later we tentatively added Spain to our honeymoon plans. With a possible stopover in Paris in the middle. It even adds a nice touch of symmetry to the honeymoon, since I've been to Spain and Kevin hasn't.
Things are still very much up in the air. We have only the vaguest idea of how this is all going to fall in to place. But in the meantime, it's a lot of fun to dream about what we're going to do. Though we should probably start planning this all sooner rather than later. And I should probably start brushing up on my Spanish.
We've been playing around with our schedules and seeing if it would be possible to extend this vacation to last two weeks instead of one. At first I scoffed at this idea, sure there was no way I'd be able to be away from the office for that long. But now it's starting to seem like a real possibility.
Of course, two weeks in Ireland is quite a long time, and means we'd be doing a lot of just hanging out. I'm pretty okay with that, but part of the fun of travel is doing and seeing new things. Turns out we solved this problem pretty easily by adding a second destination.
On the way home from Ben and Autumn's wedding in California, Kevin and I had time to grab lunch at the airport. The television was playing a travel show that was pretty obviously aimed at children - a group of American teenagers were exploring Barcelona. It was silly, but there was nothing else to watch. And it peaked Kevin's interest. A few days later we tentatively added Spain to our honeymoon plans. With a possible stopover in Paris in the middle. It even adds a nice touch of symmetry to the honeymoon, since I've been to Spain and Kevin hasn't.
Things are still very much up in the air. We have only the vaguest idea of how this is all going to fall in to place. But in the meantime, it's a lot of fun to dream about what we're going to do. Though we should probably start planning this all sooner rather than later. And I should probably start brushing up on my Spanish.
Sunday, September 8, 2013
California Vacation
I really need to start posting about life events again. There have been some good ones this year. I love going back and reading older posts, so I definitely need to make some newer ones. For prosperity and nostalgia and all that. And what better place to start than with the absolutely ridiculous wedding we went to last month?
A couple of friends of ours from college had a four-day wedding extravaganza out in Carmel, CA. They rented out an incredible farm for the weekend and invited Kevin and I to stay on site with them and several other people. This was pretty magical as it meant we didn't really have to worry about transportation too much. I could drink as much as I wanted and the farthest I had to make it at the end of the night was to the top of a hill. It was like being in college all over again.
The bride and groom scheduled a wealth of activities that meant we were never in want of something to do. Or something to drink. The festivities began when we arrived shortly after noon on Thursday. We were handed beers and headed down to the lawn for bocce ball and wiffle ball. People were trickling in all afternoon, which made the game of assassins rather one-sided. New arrivals barely had time to track down their targets before they were taken out by people who'd been waiting and plotting for hours.
Kevin and I took a short nap in the afternoon to help with the jet lag and general lack of sleep. And I was impressed by how long we ultimately lasted on that first day. We made it all the way through the BBQ and the bachelor/ette parties before collapsing at around 10:30.
Going to sleep early also means waking up early, and we had time to eat bagels and play some games before other people started stirring. In the late morning everyone piled into cars for a "hike" that was really more like a stroll along the beach investigating tidal pools and skipping rocks. Then it was into Monterrey for food and beer. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, we were able to track other friends arriving for the wedding and ended up pulling together a pretty big group for dinner while the wedding party did their rehearsal.
We also spent some time at the aquarium in Monterrey, which completely lived up to my expectations. The octopus was awesome, climbing all over its cage. There was a psychedelic "Jellyfish Experience" that was a ton of fun to walk through. And we go to see the feeding in the kelp forest, which was clearly aimed at small children, but fun and informative nonetheless.
After dinner we went back to the farm for dessert, drinks, and beer pong. Once again I fell asleep fairly early (I have a hard time staying up past midnight no matter what time zone I'm in) but everyone else had a truly epic night. Zach even sprained his ankle during a game of beer pong (Kevin swears it wasn't his fault), bringing back even more college memories.
Saturday was the day of the ceremony, and contained two cocktail hours (sandwiching the ceremony itself), dinner, dancing, a port bar, jello shots, a waffle bar and, towards the end of the evening, a mac-and-cheese bar. The macaroni and cheese was absolutely possibly the best idea I've ever seen. As always, the evening eventually devolved into beer pong and stolen bottles of champagne. And, as always, I fell asleep hours before anyone else.
On Sunday everyone gathered for a hungover brunch and mimosas. It was delicious, but sadly lacking in protein of any kind. After eating, Kevin and I bid the farm goodbye and headed north to spend a few days with Danielle and Eric at there new (ish) house.
Danielle and Eric spoiled us rotten with all kinds of good food, including a trip to an incredible fondue restaurant. We played more beer pong and other games, watched Buffy and True Blood, and toured the Winchester Mystery House. All in all it was the perfect end to a ridiculous weekend. And it means that the next wedding is ours. I don't think we'll measure up to this one, but I'm sure everyone will have fun anyway.
A couple of friends of ours from college had a four-day wedding extravaganza out in Carmel, CA. They rented out an incredible farm for the weekend and invited Kevin and I to stay on site with them and several other people. This was pretty magical as it meant we didn't really have to worry about transportation too much. I could drink as much as I wanted and the farthest I had to make it at the end of the night was to the top of a hill. It was like being in college all over again.
The bride and groom scheduled a wealth of activities that meant we were never in want of something to do. Or something to drink. The festivities began when we arrived shortly after noon on Thursday. We were handed beers and headed down to the lawn for bocce ball and wiffle ball. People were trickling in all afternoon, which made the game of assassins rather one-sided. New arrivals barely had time to track down their targets before they were taken out by people who'd been waiting and plotting for hours.
Kevin and I took a short nap in the afternoon to help with the jet lag and general lack of sleep. And I was impressed by how long we ultimately lasted on that first day. We made it all the way through the BBQ and the bachelor/ette parties before collapsing at around 10:30.
Going to sleep early also means waking up early, and we had time to eat bagels and play some games before other people started stirring. In the late morning everyone piled into cars for a "hike" that was really more like a stroll along the beach investigating tidal pools and skipping rocks. Then it was into Monterrey for food and beer. Thanks to the miracle of Facebook, we were able to track other friends arriving for the wedding and ended up pulling together a pretty big group for dinner while the wedding party did their rehearsal.
We also spent some time at the aquarium in Monterrey, which completely lived up to my expectations. The octopus was awesome, climbing all over its cage. There was a psychedelic "Jellyfish Experience" that was a ton of fun to walk through. And we go to see the feeding in the kelp forest, which was clearly aimed at small children, but fun and informative nonetheless.
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| Photo Op at the aquarium |
After dinner we went back to the farm for dessert, drinks, and beer pong. Once again I fell asleep fairly early (I have a hard time staying up past midnight no matter what time zone I'm in) but everyone else had a truly epic night. Zach even sprained his ankle during a game of beer pong (Kevin swears it wasn't his fault), bringing back even more college memories.
Saturday was the day of the ceremony, and contained two cocktail hours (sandwiching the ceremony itself), dinner, dancing, a port bar, jello shots, a waffle bar and, towards the end of the evening, a mac-and-cheese bar. The macaroni and cheese was absolutely possibly the best idea I've ever seen. As always, the evening eventually devolved into beer pong and stolen bottles of champagne. And, as always, I fell asleep hours before anyone else.
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| We had the best table at the reception dinner |
On Sunday everyone gathered for a hungover brunch and mimosas. It was delicious, but sadly lacking in protein of any kind. After eating, Kevin and I bid the farm goodbye and headed north to spend a few days with Danielle and Eric at there new (ish) house.
Danielle and Eric spoiled us rotten with all kinds of good food, including a trip to an incredible fondue restaurant. We played more beer pong and other games, watched Buffy and True Blood, and toured the Winchester Mystery House. All in all it was the perfect end to a ridiculous weekend. And it means that the next wedding is ours. I don't think we'll measure up to this one, but I'm sure everyone will have fun anyway.
Friday, September 21, 2012
And Then the Best Man Peed in a Bucket
This post is late, but I still wanted to write it.
My best friends got married at the beginning of August. And, as anyone who knows them would have expected, the entire weekend was incredibly fun.
Festivities started with the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. The Rehearsal went smoothly, except for three geese who really wanted to be involved and weren't nearly frightened enough of humans. Okay, they didn't ruin anything at all, they just scared me a bit.
Dinner after was delicious with the typical speeches by the fathers, gifts to the bridal party, and a whole lot of really good wine. Then all the younguns went to the On the Border across the street for margaritas and beer. It ended up being a massive college reunion, with people I've seen only occasionally or not at all since graduation. No one stayed out too late, since we all had to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the wedding the next day.
The day began with mimosas (as all days should) and board games. Then card games and sandwiches. We were probably the least exciting bridal party ever. The photographers arrived at 11 to take pictures of the getting ready process and ended up with pictures of us playing SkipBo. They also took a ton of pictures of the bride's dress and a good ten of me braiding my hair.
At 1:00 everyone threw their formal wear on and went out for the groom's first look of the bride and lots of posed pictures. Even this didn't end up lasting as long as they'd scheduled for and everyone spent the last couple of hours before the ceremony drinking wine and playing cards.
The ceremony itself was adorable. Thanks to the Pennsylvanian Quakers, the bride and groom were able to officiate it themselves and pronounced themselvesman husband and wife.
The guest list seemed to be comprised entirely of family and people we'd all gone to college with. A few of the couple's friends from high school and grad school were there, but the whole evening really had the feeling of a massive college reunion.
There were lawn sports and a bouncy castle to entertain everyone. The bride tore her dress in the bouncy castle and it had to be fixed with makeshift safety pins (read: a straight pin and a cork). There was a truly absurd amount of wine. The bar actually ran out of water long before they ran out of wine.
Officially the reception ended at 10:00. But that's also when they lit the bonfire. So while a lot of people did go home at ten, many stayed and hung out by the fire. Someone decided it would be a good idea to provide everyone with their very own bottle of wine or champagne, so this resulted in even more drunkenness.
Most of my memories of that day are of great conversations with people I don't see anywhere near often enough. The wine flowed freely and lasted forever (Kevin and I were even able to take a couple of bottles home with us). And we played what may have been the largest game of Dr. Killebrew ever. The end of the night is one big blur.
The next morning was filled with rain, hangovers, and blessed breakfast sandwiches. And a bucket that had been mysteriously filled with liquid overnight. At least he missed the floor.
My best friends got married at the beginning of August. And, as anyone who knows them would have expected, the entire weekend was incredibly fun.
Festivities started with the Rehearsal and Rehearsal Dinner. The Rehearsal went smoothly, except for three geese who really wanted to be involved and weren't nearly frightened enough of humans. Okay, they didn't ruin anything at all, they just scared me a bit.
Dinner after was delicious with the typical speeches by the fathers, gifts to the bridal party, and a whole lot of really good wine. Then all the younguns went to the On the Border across the street for margaritas and beer. It ended up being a massive college reunion, with people I've seen only occasionally or not at all since graduation. No one stayed out too late, since we all had to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for the wedding the next day.
The day began with mimosas (as all days should) and board games. Then card games and sandwiches. We were probably the least exciting bridal party ever. The photographers arrived at 11 to take pictures of the getting ready process and ended up with pictures of us playing SkipBo. They also took a ton of pictures of the bride's dress and a good ten of me braiding my hair.
At 1:00 everyone threw their formal wear on and went out for the groom's first look of the bride and lots of posed pictures. Even this didn't end up lasting as long as they'd scheduled for and everyone spent the last couple of hours before the ceremony drinking wine and playing cards.
The ceremony itself was adorable. Thanks to the Pennsylvanian Quakers, the bride and groom were able to officiate it themselves and pronounced themselves
The guest list seemed to be comprised entirely of family and people we'd all gone to college with. A few of the couple's friends from high school and grad school were there, but the whole evening really had the feeling of a massive college reunion.
There were lawn sports and a bouncy castle to entertain everyone. The bride tore her dress in the bouncy castle and it had to be fixed with makeshift safety pins (read: a straight pin and a cork). There was a truly absurd amount of wine. The bar actually ran out of water long before they ran out of wine.
Officially the reception ended at 10:00. But that's also when they lit the bonfire. So while a lot of people did go home at ten, many stayed and hung out by the fire. Someone decided it would be a good idea to provide everyone with their very own bottle of wine or champagne, so this resulted in even more drunkenness.
Most of my memories of that day are of great conversations with people I don't see anywhere near often enough. The wine flowed freely and lasted forever (Kevin and I were even able to take a couple of bottles home with us). And we played what may have been the largest game of Dr. Killebrew ever. The end of the night is one big blur.
The next morning was filled with rain, hangovers, and blessed breakfast sandwiches. And a bucket that had been mysteriously filled with liquid overnight. At least he missed the floor.
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
God Bless America. And Texas.
Kevin and I traveled to Houston last weekend to attend the wedding of a couple of friends from college. Although the travel-to-party ratio was awful (we arrived Saturday night and left Monday morning), we had a lot of fun.
We got to see a whole bunch of people from college that we've seen only rarely or not at all since graduation. It was a lot of fun to catch up with everyone, find out who's doing what, who's engaged, and who's married. A lot of people are only a year away from finishing up PhDs and we predicted that after that there will be a bit of a baby boom among our graduating class. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that holds true.
The ceremony itself was a Hindu ceremony, which was something I'd never attended before. As such, it basically took up the entirety of Saturday. The groom's procession began at 9:30. That led into the ceremony which was followed by lunch at noon. Then we had four hours to ourselves before the reception began at 5.
The ceremony was not at all what I'd expected. For starters, I assumed that the groom's procession (scheduled to last an hour) would be a very formal affair with lots of prayer and ritual. There was some of that towards the end, but the bulk of the "procession" was actually a massive dance party in the middle of the street.
Once the bride entered, the ceremony started. And even though there was a lot of ritual and tradition, the entire thing was surprisingly informal. The priest explained what each ritual was meant to symbolize as we went along. The groom's family members cracked jokes throughout. And we had helpful programs to walk us through what was going on and what the various sanskrit words meant.
I was surprised by how much the ceremony involved the family of the bride and groom. Most Christian-based ceremonies that I've attended involve the bride and groom making promises to each other. They may ask for the family's blessing at some point, but that's the extent of their involvement.
The Hindu ceremony was very different. The groom had to make promises to the bride's father and brother. He received blessings from her mother. The bride participated in rituals with the groom's mother and married female relatives. She had to promise to share her life with her new family and not to forget about her birth family. The bride and groom shared a symbolic first meal, as did their fathers. All of this seemed to symbolize not the creation of a new family (which I'm accustomed to) but the blending of two existing families. There was also a definite sense of the bride's increased status as she became a married woman.
The ceremony also involved the bride and groom wearing more and more things as it went on. They began wearing traditional wedding garb. Then there was an exchange of flower garlands that they wore around their necks. There was a loop of cotton thread that bound them together, along with scarves that had been tied together and were draped around their necks. In addition to exchanging rings, the groom presented the bride with a necklace symbolizing her new status. And they were sprinkled with both holy water and rose petals throughout the ceremony.
The entire thing took over an hour. Afterwards, the bride told us she fought to cut the ceremony down from the original three hours. I can hardly imagine sitting through that, though I did enjoy the glimpse of Indian culture that I got. Any more and the hot Texas sun may have cooked me alive, though.
After the ceremony we were served an enormous Indian lunch. I'm not sure I could identify anything I ate, but all of it was delicious. Sadly, there was so much food I didn't have room to go back for seconds of anything. But all of it was delicious.
Once we got back to the hotel, I discovered that HBO was running the entire first season of Game of Thrones in preparation for the season two premiere later that night. I put that on, but it only took a few seconds for the marathon to turn into a two hour nap. Somehow my boyfriend managed to wake up from his own nap long enough to wake me up so that I'd have time to shower and run to Starbucks before the reception. I'm still not sure how he did that, given that he fell back asleep almost immediately.
We got to see a whole bunch of people from college that we've seen only rarely or not at all since graduation. It was a lot of fun to catch up with everyone, find out who's doing what, who's engaged, and who's married. A lot of people are only a year away from finishing up PhDs and we predicted that after that there will be a bit of a baby boom among our graduating class. I guess we'll have to wait and see if that holds true.
The ceremony itself was a Hindu ceremony, which was something I'd never attended before. As such, it basically took up the entirety of Saturday. The groom's procession began at 9:30. That led into the ceremony which was followed by lunch at noon. Then we had four hours to ourselves before the reception began at 5.
The ceremony was not at all what I'd expected. For starters, I assumed that the groom's procession (scheduled to last an hour) would be a very formal affair with lots of prayer and ritual. There was some of that towards the end, but the bulk of the "procession" was actually a massive dance party in the middle of the street.
Once the bride entered, the ceremony started. And even though there was a lot of ritual and tradition, the entire thing was surprisingly informal. The priest explained what each ritual was meant to symbolize as we went along. The groom's family members cracked jokes throughout. And we had helpful programs to walk us through what was going on and what the various sanskrit words meant.
I was surprised by how much the ceremony involved the family of the bride and groom. Most Christian-based ceremonies that I've attended involve the bride and groom making promises to each other. They may ask for the family's blessing at some point, but that's the extent of their involvement.
The Hindu ceremony was very different. The groom had to make promises to the bride's father and brother. He received blessings from her mother. The bride participated in rituals with the groom's mother and married female relatives. She had to promise to share her life with her new family and not to forget about her birth family. The bride and groom shared a symbolic first meal, as did their fathers. All of this seemed to symbolize not the creation of a new family (which I'm accustomed to) but the blending of two existing families. There was also a definite sense of the bride's increased status as she became a married woman.
The ceremony also involved the bride and groom wearing more and more things as it went on. They began wearing traditional wedding garb. Then there was an exchange of flower garlands that they wore around their necks. There was a loop of cotton thread that bound them together, along with scarves that had been tied together and were draped around their necks. In addition to exchanging rings, the groom presented the bride with a necklace symbolizing her new status. And they were sprinkled with both holy water and rose petals throughout the ceremony.
The entire thing took over an hour. Afterwards, the bride told us she fought to cut the ceremony down from the original three hours. I can hardly imagine sitting through that, though I did enjoy the glimpse of Indian culture that I got. Any more and the hot Texas sun may have cooked me alive, though.
After the ceremony we were served an enormous Indian lunch. I'm not sure I could identify anything I ate, but all of it was delicious. Sadly, there was so much food I didn't have room to go back for seconds of anything. But all of it was delicious.
Once we got back to the hotel, I discovered that HBO was running the entire first season of Game of Thrones in preparation for the season two premiere later that night. I put that on, but it only took a few seconds for the marathon to turn into a two hour nap. Somehow my boyfriend managed to wake up from his own nap long enough to wake me up so that I'd have time to shower and run to Starbucks before the reception. I'm still not sure how he did that, given that he fell back asleep almost immediately.
The reception was more typical of other weddings I've attended. There was booze and lots of good food. Speeches by the parents and friends. And lots of dancing. We didn't stay for the entire evening, since we had to get up pretty early the next morning to catch our flight home. But it was fun to hang out with all the people we hadn't seen since college.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
Ritzy Wedding
A few weeks ago, Boyfriend and I flew to San Francisco for the wedding of some very good friends of ours. We took both Friday and Monday off because it takes all day to get from DC to San Francisco. I feel a bit weird complaining about that, because when you play Oregon Trail or read Little House on the Prairie, you realize that it used to take people the better part of a year to travel that far. I mean, I can't even comprehend traveling that far at a rate of twenty miles a day. Still, six hours in the air is an awfully long time. It was long enough that even though I brought food on to the plane to eat, I almost broke down and bought more before we landed. But Boyfriend kept me strong.
A bunch of the groomsmen were all landing in SFO at roughly the same time so we could consolidate trips to the tux rental store. We were the first, so we hung out with Bride and Groom and played games while we waited for the rest of the people to land. Then we got the tuxes and dinner and headed over to the Ritz to check in.
I was (possibly unreasonably) excited for an excuse to stay at the Ritz Carlton. And it did not disappoint. We got a free glass of wine just for checking in. The room had a fireplace and a fireplace channel on the TV. One provided warmth, and the other provided the sound effects of a log fire. We had a huge, comfy bed that was so wonderful Boyfriend and I were asleep by 8:30. The jet lag may have also had something to do with that.
In the morning we woke up super early. We showered and got dressed and went in search of breakfast. But nothing opened until 6:30, so we took a walk around the hotel and watched the sunrise. It was gorgeous and I wish I were actually coherent enough to appreciate sunrise more often. In winter, the sun is usually rising right around the time I'm heading to work, but I'm not exactly awake at that point. So it was a real treat to see the sunrise and hear the waves crashing against the cliffs and be able to actually enjoy the morning.
The Ritz had a nice gym and a full spa with free access to a sauna and a steam room. So after breakfast I went for a jog. I actually managed to run over half a mile, which is something I've never been able to do before. In high school and college gym classes, I was hard pressed to make it halfway around the track before I collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. So continuously jogging for half a mile was a pretty big deal for me.
We had the rehearsal brunch at noon where we met up with a bunch of college friends, met the rest of the bridal party and the families of the bride and groom. We also got yummy french toast and bacon. Then there was a party at a nearby pub for the younger wedding guests. It was a lot of fun, but I only lasted an hour before exhaustion took over. Apparently I missed some epic karaoke.
The day of the wedding dawned gray and wet. But it was supposed to clear up, so the couple went forward with their plans for an outdoor ceremony. The girls hung out and drank champagne and ate eggs and sausage and did hair and makeup and played SkipBo for a few hours. Then we all trooped outside for photos. I like the idea of doing pictures before the ceremony, because it helps maintain the flow of ceremony -> reception. Especially when I'm one of the people in the wedding.
We got all the pictures done, and then hung out inside and watched football for a while. The rain stopped and the clouds rolled away just in time for a gorgeous ceremony with views of the ocean. I even managed not to cry all the way through, though the same can't be said for the best man. Boyfriend was standing across from me occasionally making faces, so that helped stave off the tears.
Following the reception was a cocktail hour, during which we all found out which tables we'd be sitting at. All of the tables were named after games, which I thought was really cute. The wedding party was mixed up among the guests, so we all got to sit with people we actually knew. I thought that was a nice departure from putting everyone together at a single table. Bride and Groom shared their own table and came around to greet everyone between courses. The food, by the way, was amazing. And there was plenty of wine all night long.
After toasts, the dancing started and the whole thing really turned into a huge, fun party. My dress didn't quite make it through the whole night (I changed into something more comfortable with about an hour left), but I actually did. I even made it to the after party, where we played a game called Cards Against Humanity and passed around a bottle of Jack Daniels in a weird game of tag.
The whole weekend was a ton of fun. It was great to see so many people from college that I hadn't seen in months or years. And it was wonderful to see two dear friends who had been dating for seven years commit to each other for the rest of their lives.
We get to repeat the whole thing next August. Thankfully that wedding will be on the same side of the country as me, so I'll have a better party to travel ratio.
A bunch of the groomsmen were all landing in SFO at roughly the same time so we could consolidate trips to the tux rental store. We were the first, so we hung out with Bride and Groom and played games while we waited for the rest of the people to land. Then we got the tuxes and dinner and headed over to the Ritz to check in.
I was (possibly unreasonably) excited for an excuse to stay at the Ritz Carlton. And it did not disappoint. We got a free glass of wine just for checking in. The room had a fireplace and a fireplace channel on the TV. One provided warmth, and the other provided the sound effects of a log fire. We had a huge, comfy bed that was so wonderful Boyfriend and I were asleep by 8:30. The jet lag may have also had something to do with that.
In the morning we woke up super early. We showered and got dressed and went in search of breakfast. But nothing opened until 6:30, so we took a walk around the hotel and watched the sunrise. It was gorgeous and I wish I were actually coherent enough to appreciate sunrise more often. In winter, the sun is usually rising right around the time I'm heading to work, but I'm not exactly awake at that point. So it was a real treat to see the sunrise and hear the waves crashing against the cliffs and be able to actually enjoy the morning.
The Ritz had a nice gym and a full spa with free access to a sauna and a steam room. So after breakfast I went for a jog. I actually managed to run over half a mile, which is something I've never been able to do before. In high school and college gym classes, I was hard pressed to make it halfway around the track before I collapsed in a heap of exhaustion. So continuously jogging for half a mile was a pretty big deal for me.
We had the rehearsal brunch at noon where we met up with a bunch of college friends, met the rest of the bridal party and the families of the bride and groom. We also got yummy french toast and bacon. Then there was a party at a nearby pub for the younger wedding guests. It was a lot of fun, but I only lasted an hour before exhaustion took over. Apparently I missed some epic karaoke.
The day of the wedding dawned gray and wet. But it was supposed to clear up, so the couple went forward with their plans for an outdoor ceremony. The girls hung out and drank champagne and ate eggs and sausage and did hair and makeup and played SkipBo for a few hours. Then we all trooped outside for photos. I like the idea of doing pictures before the ceremony, because it helps maintain the flow of ceremony -> reception. Especially when I'm one of the people in the wedding.
We got all the pictures done, and then hung out inside and watched football for a while. The rain stopped and the clouds rolled away just in time for a gorgeous ceremony with views of the ocean. I even managed not to cry all the way through, though the same can't be said for the best man. Boyfriend was standing across from me occasionally making faces, so that helped stave off the tears.
Following the reception was a cocktail hour, during which we all found out which tables we'd be sitting at. All of the tables were named after games, which I thought was really cute. The wedding party was mixed up among the guests, so we all got to sit with people we actually knew. I thought that was a nice departure from putting everyone together at a single table. Bride and Groom shared their own table and came around to greet everyone between courses. The food, by the way, was amazing. And there was plenty of wine all night long.
After toasts, the dancing started and the whole thing really turned into a huge, fun party. My dress didn't quite make it through the whole night (I changed into something more comfortable with about an hour left), but I actually did. I even made it to the after party, where we played a game called Cards Against Humanity and passed around a bottle of Jack Daniels in a weird game of tag.
The whole weekend was a ton of fun. It was great to see so many people from college that I hadn't seen in months or years. And it was wonderful to see two dear friends who had been dating for seven years commit to each other for the rest of their lives.
We get to repeat the whole thing next August. Thankfully that wedding will be on the same side of the country as me, so I'll have a better party to travel ratio.
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Sometimes I Fail Being a Woman
A friend of mine is getting married in a few weeks. This has posed an interesting challenge for me that most people probably don't face when it comes to weddings. See, I don't wear make-up. I don't own it. I don't really know how to put it on. I can do stage makeup really well, thanks to years of performing, but that's a bit much for people seeing you from closer than 20 feet.
One of the other bridesmaids can do most of my makeup for me, I just need to bring foundation. Which means I need to buy foundation. Which is far more complicated than I ever thought possible. Which is probably why I don't wear makeup.
I was at Target today grabbing a few things when I remembered that I needed foundation. I ventured down the beauty aisle to pick some up. Thankfully I watch enough TV to know what the basic brands are, so that part wasn't overwhelming. Everything else was.
There was an entire wall of vaguely skin-shade makeup. Some was in bottles, some in tubes, some in powders. Some of it might have been blush or eye shadow. Nothing actually said foundation. It did say SPF 15 or SPF 30. It said it made pores vanish. It said perfect fit or age-defying or acne-fighting. It said for oily skin or for dry skin. I'm guessing I should probably have some sense of whether my skin is particularly oily or dry. The fact that I don't makes me think I might be in the normal category. I'm not sure that category exists, though.
I quickly decided I needed help, so I paid for my purchases at Target and drove to the Ulta across the street. I also awarded myself 5 points for knowing that Ulta sold makeup (I went there once to get makeovers for a friend's 13th birthday.)
I walked in and was immediately greeted by a girl who seemed willing to help. I told her I needed foundation and she started asking me questions that didn't make sense. So I backed up to inform her that I don't wear makeup and don't know much about it, but my friend is getting married and I need some for the wedding.
She seemed okay with that and grabbed a bottle of foundation and a brush. She put some on my face and decided it was too dark for my skin. Of course it was the lightest shade that brand offered, so she switched brands and tried a new one. She painted half my face and declared it a success. Great!
Then she told me it was $40 a bottle.
$40 for something I'm going to wear once? I actually asked her this and she looked a bit ashamed of herself. I had told her this was a one-time deal. I was expecting something closer to $5.
She directed me to the other side of the store with the cheaper brands. The brands I recognized. But she warned me that it's harder to match skin tone since they don't have testers. She suggested I buy one and, if after a few days I didn't like it, to return it. I didn't bother explaining, again, that this wasn't for daily wear.
At Ulta, the cheap brand section was about three times as big as at Target. I gave up and left.
The new plan is to go to the CVS on the way to work on Monday and buy the lightest shade of the cheapest brand. If it ends up being too dark, I'll just have to go without foundation. I'm sure the photographer can remove my pores in post-production if necessary. They have that technology now, right?
One of the other bridesmaids can do most of my makeup for me, I just need to bring foundation. Which means I need to buy foundation. Which is far more complicated than I ever thought possible. Which is probably why I don't wear makeup.
I was at Target today grabbing a few things when I remembered that I needed foundation. I ventured down the beauty aisle to pick some up. Thankfully I watch enough TV to know what the basic brands are, so that part wasn't overwhelming. Everything else was.
There was an entire wall of vaguely skin-shade makeup. Some was in bottles, some in tubes, some in powders. Some of it might have been blush or eye shadow. Nothing actually said foundation. It did say SPF 15 or SPF 30. It said it made pores vanish. It said perfect fit or age-defying or acne-fighting. It said for oily skin or for dry skin. I'm guessing I should probably have some sense of whether my skin is particularly oily or dry. The fact that I don't makes me think I might be in the normal category. I'm not sure that category exists, though.
I quickly decided I needed help, so I paid for my purchases at Target and drove to the Ulta across the street. I also awarded myself 5 points for knowing that Ulta sold makeup (I went there once to get makeovers for a friend's 13th birthday.)
I walked in and was immediately greeted by a girl who seemed willing to help. I told her I needed foundation and she started asking me questions that didn't make sense. So I backed up to inform her that I don't wear makeup and don't know much about it, but my friend is getting married and I need some for the wedding.
She seemed okay with that and grabbed a bottle of foundation and a brush. She put some on my face and decided it was too dark for my skin. Of course it was the lightest shade that brand offered, so she switched brands and tried a new one. She painted half my face and declared it a success. Great!
Then she told me it was $40 a bottle.
$40 for something I'm going to wear once? I actually asked her this and she looked a bit ashamed of herself. I had told her this was a one-time deal. I was expecting something closer to $5.
She directed me to the other side of the store with the cheaper brands. The brands I recognized. But she warned me that it's harder to match skin tone since they don't have testers. She suggested I buy one and, if after a few days I didn't like it, to return it. I didn't bother explaining, again, that this wasn't for daily wear.
At Ulta, the cheap brand section was about three times as big as at Target. I gave up and left.
The new plan is to go to the CVS on the way to work on Monday and buy the lightest shade of the cheapest brand. If it ends up being too dark, I'll just have to go without foundation. I'm sure the photographer can remove my pores in post-production if necessary. They have that technology now, right?
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Kicking Off Wedding Season
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| The bridesmaids, bride's brothers, and bride's nephew. Stolen from my cousin's Facebook |
We arrived Thursday night (half an hour early!) and picked up our rental car. The lady at the counter tried to convince me that I needed a six cylinder engine to make it up the mountain, which is completely not true. She then "upgraded" me to a little red sports car, that would supposedly have an easier time with the hills. It's possible that I should have told her that I needed a car that could handle dirt roads and that a 6% grade really isn't that big a deal. At any rate, we hit a pothole on 285 and a piece from the bottom of the car came loose. Boyfriend knew the name of the piece that half fell off (he also knew what kind of car we'd gotten) and was sort of able to stick it back together. But the next day it completely fell off on the way to the rehearsal dinner at my aunt's cabin. To be fair, though, "road" is sort of a stretch for what we were driving on. It's more a strip of dirt through the field on which grass no longer grows. There was also a hail storm that completely dinged up the car. It's a good thing I got insurance.
We had the rehearsal on Friday, during which the guys were already drinking beer and being fairly obnoxious. I also managed to get slightly sunburned. Then there was the rehearsal dinner, followed by the bachelorette party. This party was a bit more my speed than the one in Vegas. My cousin's 5 and 7 year old nieces were still running around when I showed up. My aunt and the mother of the groom had complete control of the music, which mostly consisted of Eric Clapton, James Taylor, and Joe Cocker. Copacabana came on at one point and my aunt made sure we all knew that it was the best song ever recorded. We all just hung out in the kitchen, drinking beers and talking.
My schedule had me arriving at my other aunt's house the next morning at 10:30 to start getting ready. For a 5:00 ceremony. I showed up closer to 11:30 and sat around drinking mimosas for an hour. Then I put on some eye shadow and had a sandwich and another mimosa. I finally put my dress on around 1:30 when the photographer showed up. We took the "candid getting ready" pictures, then went to the site for more formal pictures. At 3:30, the guys showed up for their round of pictures and we went off to kill time before the ceremony.
This hour was probably the longest one of the entire day. We were hanging out in the reception area, which was being decorated, so we couldn't touch anything. And we couldn't leave for fear of the groom and guests seeing our dresses. Finally the wedding began.
The ceremony itself was short and sweet. The procession actually lasted longer that the ceremony. But with 7 groomsmen, 7 bridesmaids, and family that needed to be formally escorted in down an incredibly long aisle, that was probably to be expected. The wedding planner spaced us out really far, too. There was a fair amount of dead time between bridesmaids.
After the ceremony came more pictures! Pictures and pictures until it started to rain. When we'd finally finished all the family and wedding party pictures, we escaped inside while the bride and groom took more pictures. Two and a half glasses of wine later, they finally finished and we got to eat.
There was much food and merriment and dancing. The photographers hung around until nearly the end of the reception. Apparently the digital age allows you to get a lot more bang for your buck, since it takes longer to fill up a memory card than a roll of film. My cousin and her husband are going to be sorting through pictures for a week, though.
I'm looking forward to doing this all again in November, when I get to wear the same dress in a different color for my friend's wedding. Hopefully I won't squirt sunscreen on it moments before the ceremony next time.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Catching Up
It's been a while.
On the one hand, nothing terribly interesting has happened. On the other, I've been really busy. And on the third hand I haven't really felt like writing or stumbled across a topic I want to write about.
Or maybe it's just that I haven't been able to find the words. My brother's being deployed to Afghanistan in December. I'm still working on processing that. In the meantime, life goes on.
We moved. And then I spent a lot of time not unpacking and instead watching lots of TV. I re-watched Wonderfalls and the first season of Battlestar Galactica. I also watched a few episodes of Pushing Daisies because Wonderfalls left me wanting more Lee Pace in my life.
I had my one-year anniversary with my company and a performance review. The review went well. They told me to keep doing what I'm doing and gave me a small raise.
I've been reading a lot, but not terribly quickly. I'm making my way through George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which is incredibly long and dense. I've found that I'm liking reading at a slower pace, roughly 2-3 chapters a day. I've been filling up the rest of my time with other books. The upshot is that I'm currently halfway through four books, and all of them are going very slowly.
When Boyfriend got back from Alabama, there was a bit of a whirlwind of catching up and spending time together. This got combined with lots of furniture shopping and unpacking. We've bought a new couch, a guest bed, nightstands, a shelf to function as an entry-table, a patio set, and a grill. We finally got around to my birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, during which I managed to completely undo a couple week's worth of dieting. Then we had a bunch of company to test out the new grill. My aunt, a friend from high school, and a friend from college were all in town last weekend, which of course led to more food and socializing instead of exercising (and then being hungover instead of exercising).
About the dieting thing. It turns out I actually have to get serious about this now. It's not something I've ever been overly concerned with. In fact dieting and the idea that I need to lose weight is something I actively resist most of the time. I'm fine with the way I look. Boyfriend is fine with the way I look. No one else's opinion matters. And since I'm all about instant gratification, a cheeseburger is more appealing than the thought of squeezing into a size 4.
I was a size 4 at one point. It was when I hurt my jaw and spent six months on a liquid diet. I'd rather avoid that method again, if at all possible.
The thing is, I don't have a lot of intrinsic desire to go on a diet or lose weight. Doing it for myself simply isn't enough motivation. But doing it for someone else? Well, that leaves me very little choice.
My bridesmaid dress arrived recently. It doesn't fit. I can't zip it up. It's not a huge thing. I probably need to drop a dress size. I think that's ten pounds? I don't know. I don't own a scale and I have only the vaguest notion of what I currently weigh and how that equates to dress sizes. The wedding is in mid-November, which gives me plenty of time to fit into the dress. Of course, I need to balance it with the bridesmaid's dress for the wedding over Labor Day, which does fit. Perfectly. And if I lose too much weight that will be its own disaster since the dress is strapless.
All in all I'm in a weird head space. I can certainly lose the weight in time. I'm going slow now. I'm eating a bit less and really making a point to ride my bike every day. This is actually much easier, now that my commute is slightly shorter and we live next to a park with bike trails. Biking in the woods is way better than biking along a busy street.
We're also going on vacation next week, which should be a huge help. There will be lots of hiking and kayaking and generally being more active than I am in my day-to-day life. It should be wonderful and relaxing and exactly what I need. I'm hoping that when I get back I'll be in more of a blogging mood.
On the one hand, nothing terribly interesting has happened. On the other, I've been really busy. And on the third hand I haven't really felt like writing or stumbled across a topic I want to write about.
Or maybe it's just that I haven't been able to find the words. My brother's being deployed to Afghanistan in December. I'm still working on processing that. In the meantime, life goes on.
We moved. And then I spent a lot of time not unpacking and instead watching lots of TV. I re-watched Wonderfalls and the first season of Battlestar Galactica. I also watched a few episodes of Pushing Daisies because Wonderfalls left me wanting more Lee Pace in my life.
I had my one-year anniversary with my company and a performance review. The review went well. They told me to keep doing what I'm doing and gave me a small raise.
I've been reading a lot, but not terribly quickly. I'm making my way through George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series which is incredibly long and dense. I've found that I'm liking reading at a slower pace, roughly 2-3 chapters a day. I've been filling up the rest of my time with other books. The upshot is that I'm currently halfway through four books, and all of them are going very slowly.
When Boyfriend got back from Alabama, there was a bit of a whirlwind of catching up and spending time together. This got combined with lots of furniture shopping and unpacking. We've bought a new couch, a guest bed, nightstands, a shelf to function as an entry-table, a patio set, and a grill. We finally got around to my birthday dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, during which I managed to completely undo a couple week's worth of dieting. Then we had a bunch of company to test out the new grill. My aunt, a friend from high school, and a friend from college were all in town last weekend, which of course led to more food and socializing instead of exercising (and then being hungover instead of exercising).
About the dieting thing. It turns out I actually have to get serious about this now. It's not something I've ever been overly concerned with. In fact dieting and the idea that I need to lose weight is something I actively resist most of the time. I'm fine with the way I look. Boyfriend is fine with the way I look. No one else's opinion matters. And since I'm all about instant gratification, a cheeseburger is more appealing than the thought of squeezing into a size 4.
I was a size 4 at one point. It was when I hurt my jaw and spent six months on a liquid diet. I'd rather avoid that method again, if at all possible.
The thing is, I don't have a lot of intrinsic desire to go on a diet or lose weight. Doing it for myself simply isn't enough motivation. But doing it for someone else? Well, that leaves me very little choice.
My bridesmaid dress arrived recently. It doesn't fit. I can't zip it up. It's not a huge thing. I probably need to drop a dress size. I think that's ten pounds? I don't know. I don't own a scale and I have only the vaguest notion of what I currently weigh and how that equates to dress sizes. The wedding is in mid-November, which gives me plenty of time to fit into the dress. Of course, I need to balance it with the bridesmaid's dress for the wedding over Labor Day, which does fit. Perfectly. And if I lose too much weight that will be its own disaster since the dress is strapless.
All in all I'm in a weird head space. I can certainly lose the weight in time. I'm going slow now. I'm eating a bit less and really making a point to ride my bike every day. This is actually much easier, now that my commute is slightly shorter and we live next to a park with bike trails. Biking in the woods is way better than biking along a busy street.
We're also going on vacation next week, which should be a huge help. There will be lots of hiking and kayaking and generally being more active than I am in my day-to-day life. It should be wonderful and relaxing and exactly what I need. I'm hoping that when I get back I'll be in more of a blogging mood.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Oh Vegas
I spent Memorial Day Weekend in Vegas for a Bachelorette Party. And for the most part, it was a whole lot of fun. I even got a new purse!
So here are the highs and the lows of the weekend
Highlights:
 |
| My beautiful new purse |
Highlights:
- Seeing friends I don't see nearly often enough
- Awesome new purse that fits my laptop.
- Fat Tuesday. It's not really a trip to Vegas without a stop at Fat Tuesday
- The Oxygen Bar - $20 for a drink, a massage, and half an hour inhaling pure oxygen? Yes please!
- Dinner the first night at Koi, where the Bride-To-Be's fiancee proposed. My duck was delicious, as was my lemondrop
- Met a guy at the pizza place because BFF and I were geeking out about Game of Thrones. He had even heard of Harvey Mudd
- Thunder From Down Under
- I thought the weather was great (70s, cloudy, windy), though I don't think anyone else did. It put a damper on plans to lounge by the pool, but it was a nice change from the heat and humidity back east.
- Nightclubs and I do not get along. Too noisy, too crowded, and the light show was disorienting. I had to leave early both nights
- For some reason my tattoo is considered an invitation to touch me. A guy started tracing it while we were standing in line for one of the nightclubs. It's still really bothering me. I wish I had yelled at him.
- Bride-To-Be was sick and unable to take full advantage of Las Vegas' party atmosphere. It was sad, but she handled it with a whole lot of grace.
- Hangovers and air travel do not mix well
Monday, February 28, 2011
Princess Dress
I wouldn't normally pick out a red, strapless gown for myself. This is mostly because I don't have much cause to wear formal wear. But I also shy away from anything strapless out of fear that it will simply fall off. And I've been long convinced that red is just not my color, despite some people attempting to convince me otherwise. I currently have no choice in the matter, though.
My cousin is getting married in a few months and has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. It was she who picked out the red, strapless gown for me (and the other bridesmaids) to wear. I'm incredibly grateful for it.
I picked the dress up yesterday and spent about fifteen minutes dancing around my apartment in it. It's fun to wear. I'm super excited to have an excuse to wear this gorgeous dress in public and spend a night dancing with the skirt whirling around me. I'm even fairly confident that it won't fall off while I'm on the dance floor.
It certainly doesn't hurt that I had to go up a size to accommodate my bosom. Finding out that my boobs are proportionally larger than the rest of my body definitely resulted in a good body image day (week, month). It does mean that I have to get the dress taken in around the waist, but that will just result in it fitting even better and looking even prettier.
Naturally, I'm also very excited and happy for my cousin and am looking forward to seeing her and celebrating her marriage.
But this dress!
My cousin is getting married in a few months and has asked me to be one of her bridesmaids. It was she who picked out the red, strapless gown for me (and the other bridesmaids) to wear. I'm incredibly grateful for it.
I picked the dress up yesterday and spent about fifteen minutes dancing around my apartment in it. It's fun to wear. I'm super excited to have an excuse to wear this gorgeous dress in public and spend a night dancing with the skirt whirling around me. I'm even fairly confident that it won't fall off while I'm on the dance floor.
It certainly doesn't hurt that I had to go up a size to accommodate my bosom. Finding out that my boobs are proportionally larger than the rest of my body definitely resulted in a good body image day (week, month). It does mean that I have to get the dress taken in around the waist, but that will just result in it fitting even better and looking even prettier.
Naturally, I'm also very excited and happy for my cousin and am looking forward to seeing her and celebrating her marriage.
But this dress!
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