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.
<3 It was a great weekend and I'm so, so excited for your wedding!!
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