Happy Stories

WEDDING FINALE!!

Okay...where was I...the ceremony went pretty smoothly. Alex's dad talked longer than expected (or shorter than those of us who know him expected but longer than the pastor expected) so the pastor Lee ended up cutting out a page of what he was going to say. It was his first wedding and it turned out great. After the ceremony the bride and groom went off to take pictures and the rest of us meandered about waiting for group photos. I ran into my friend Ben and Danielle and Melissa which was awesome but was quickly whisked away as the first dose of drama began: when asked who gave away the bride, Alex's dad said "her mother and I" which in turn offended her biological mother since he was meaning her step-mom. So there was a little confrontation, a small shove, a few raised voices and a rumor that the bride's dad told the bride's mom to leave because she wasn't welcome (which is completely not his place to say in the first place)...I didn't hear it but apparently some other people did. ANYWAY...since Alex has been prepping us on this wedding and the drama that it would ensue, we have been mentally preparing ourselves for months. She specifically asked her cousin Tommy to act as a bouncer in case anyone needed to be escorted out...which was a real reality a few weeks before. So...no one is quite sure but Tommy took hold of the situation of the bride's dad and mom's drama...and by the time we got to the reception (which was awhile later cuz the group shots took awhile...) everything was calm, smooth, and you would have never known that there was any issue at all. I don't know what you did Tommy but THANK YOU. The reception was fun but very busy. We were all seated at the head table with the bride and groom and there was an AWESOME buffet as well as a chocolate fountain and cake (the cake cutting happened later on) and the whole place looked and just WAS great. One issue came up: the photographer was only hired until 8:30 and it was already passed that. I think she ended up staying until 9 or so which I thought was awesome of her to do without charge. But she saw my LARGE camera and we got to talk a bit about photography and training and stuff. Right before she left she made a point to come over to me and asked "Do you have this?" meaning could I handle the rest of the wedding documentation and I said yes. She then showed me some settings (I had never used before!! Yay for knowledge) that would help in the dim lighting during the dancing etc. which I was SO grateful for. I really appreciated that she made a point to make sure I had it covered and felt comfortable.
Somehow I was able to both mingle and capture the major events at the same time. The ONLY thing I think I really missed was the garter toss. I got the groom GETTING the garter but he threw it after she threw her bouquet and retrieved it BEFORE she threw the bouquet so...it was kind of confusing. And...for the moment of the hour...Yes...I, Rachel, caught my second bouquet. YIPPEE!! I completely planned a head of time to fumble it and hand it to Michal-anne since she had never caught one but once I had it in my hands my brain went straight from nerves to excitement and I forgot all about our secret arrangement...sorry Michal...I love you. I will make SURE you catch the next bouquet of whoever gets married of the people we know. Things that happened at the reception: I got a chance to spend time with Melissa and her boyfriend Micah as well as Ben and Danielle. Ben taught me the foxtrot and although we didn't actually get to do it to music...it was super fun. Michal-anne and I planned to chow on the last bit of chocolate fountain before they packed up so she got a huge plate together with fruit and then a bowl of chocolate...but we all forgot about it and it was left at our table. Sad. Michal-anne got semi cozy with one of the boy-toy groomsmen. Uhoh Michal-anne!!! Haha...no nothing major. They were just cute together. And to top everything off...I looked SUPER hot and was pretty much boobalicious the entire evening which made me a bit uncomfortable but...there was literally NOTHING I could do about it unless I did that cool "whip the table cloth off the table really fast so that nothing falls over" trip and tied it around my neck. And I didn't feel like showing off my skills to everyone. Hehe. At the VERY VERYYYYY last minute...I realized in HORROR that I forgot to decorate their going away car...er...truck. So Danielle and I dashed out into the darkness, fumbled around for their truck, and used these glass-writing pens to write JUST MARRIED, WE LOVE YOU GUYS, CONGRATS etc...but since neither of us had ever used them it turned out looking somewhat like a vandalized vehicle which just made it all that much more humorous. Ahhhh...good times. Somewhere between us writing that and Alex and Steve going out to it, someone TPed their truck...so that made it a little more fun and Alex LOVED it. Once they left we all had to clear out of there within 15 minutes (which we remarkably did very well) and I had Michal-anne drop me off at my hotel so I could unwind for the 2 hours or so before I had to get up again and go to the airport. It may seem like the hotel was a waste but it was SERIOUSLY worth it. I think I just needed that time away from everyone. After a bit of time, Michal-anne and Josh a.k.a. boy-toy drove me to the airport and I said my goodbyes and off I was to my little gate. I was rather early so I got a chance to just chill, think, take a few pictures...etc. I looked through the pictures I had taken and teared up a bit when I came across the picture of Alex and Steve shoving cake into each others' faces because I think it finally dawned on me after all the hustle and bustle and stress and drama...that they're married now. And I know it's going to work cuz they're perfect for each other. I'm SO happy for you guys...and I'm stoked I got to be a part of it. It was awesome.

(check back...when I get home I'll put a pic of steve and alex up here...I didn't have one on hand here...) And they lived Happily Ever After...
Oh yeah...I forgot to explain the cowboy thing...remember? When I first started writing about the wedding I said my trip began and ended with cowboys? Well on my flight back to Washington I sat next to a cowboy. Thankfully he took off his hat and didn't jab me in the face with it when he fell asleep.