Wow, busy few days! I'm a married woman now... Awesome :-) It's been a long time coming, and I think that fact magnified the joy of the day. There were a few minor hiccups, but even so, everything was perfect. That's how I see it, and that's how I'll remember it!
But before I get in to all that...
It's funny, because my last post touched on the question, "can women and men be friends?" and also the fact that relationships between women can be tricky. It seems that no sooner had I posted those thoughts than I got a few unintended illustrations. Firstly, a friend who had previously RSVP'ed sent a message on Facebook that she would no longer be able to make it due to morning sickness that was persisting farther into her first trimester than she'd expected. What can I say except that a tidal wave of emotions washed over me. Firstly, congrats to her for baby #2! Secondly, "Are you serious?? Just a few days before the wedding, you're canceling??" I didn't say this to her, but I was feeling it acutely. I couldn't help but think, "Some friend." How unfair of me, but it's how I felt. She is my only "friend" from my former job at the county- and the perfect coworker who I constantly felt our boss was comparing me to. When I was terminated, she took over my territory... Which made perfect sense based upon geography, but still sucked. I guess I developed a weird relationship with her- I wanted her friendship, and simultaneously I resented her for being so amazing at work. There's more to it than that, of course, but the bottom line... Maybe we weren't ever really friends? She invited R and I to Thanksgiving the year we worked together- we had nowhere to be, and she is a kind soul. I also went to the shower for her first baby, but it was awkward being among former coworkers (my fault, not theirs). Anyway, I was painfully aware when the baby turned one and I was not invited again, and then this... I'm bad at friendship. I know I had nothing to offer her, but it hurts to be rejected nonetheless. On a positive note, I invited someone else in her place last minute and this friend came, took pictures that she has already shared with me, and fit in perfectly. A blessing!
Secondly, the man-woman thing. That guy friend who unexpectedly emailed me last week after being out of touch for at least a year? Well, I decided to spontaneously invite him and his wife last minute, too. I figured I had nothing to lose, and he had joked in his email, "I know you were going to invite me but the invite got lost in the mail." Well, after the spontaneous invite, I heard nothing. Not a thing. I prefaced it with, "I know you were only kidding about the lost invitation, but I've had a last minute cancellation, so the two of you are welcome to come"-- well, nothing. No response, nada. What's up with that?! Maybe his wife vetoed the idea, or maybe the thought was just too real for him... I don't know. But again I think to myself, "Some friend."
Ok, now that that's all out of my system... Let's move on to wedding talk!!! The good stuff!!! Friday, the day before the "Big Day", was crazy. SO MUCH TO DO! Uggghhh.... Firstly, my mom had to fix my dress (yes, we waited until the day before the wedding to start the alterations process). She had to create a bustle for the first time ever, and fix the straps. She rallied, and it came together. I wish I'd had my camera handy as the dress hung from the ceiling fan in the center of the room, and at one point she was beneath the dress, stitching in the buttons, periodically poking her head out to make sure she was getting the thread through the button holes. And I was there, trying to hold up the different layers of the dress, so they wouldn't get sewn by mistake. It was a tedious process but also a picture perfect moment! Alas, though, my camera was not handy!
I had a million things planned for Friday- including a trip to the mall to buy gifts for my flower girl and ring bearer, a stop at Sephora or Merle Norman for more makeup, a stop at the bakery to drop off shells for the cake, a trip to a party supply store for getaway car decorations, a trip to the reception location to drop off photos I took of my dogs in wedding garb (to greet guests at the sign in table)... The list goes on and on. In the end, with all the packing and last minute calls to vendors and others, and printing of contracts and phone numbers, and trying to straighten up the house a little bit before company arrived, I did nothing! I didn't make it out of the house. My sister and I were hoping to check in early at the hotel- that didn't happen! Not by a long shot. I barely made it out of the house for our manicure and pedicure appointment at 6 pm.
Just before I left to check in at the hotel, my new sister in law and her husband arrived, and a few minute chat turned into a 30 minute visit with wine and with her loaning me some of her cosmetics and vintage mirror as my "something old" (very sweet). If you've read much of my blog, you know that it's a tenuous relationship... So I couldn't exactly cut out early (nor did I want to- I was enjoying her company). Finally, though, I did leave, but made it a only a few blocks before I realized my wallet was not in my purse! I turned around in a 7-Eleven parking lot down the street, and was so anxious that I altogether missed the driveway and ran up the curb. Nice! A couple in a car nearby gave me "the look of death"- they probably thought I was a DUI in progress. It didn't help that my car was on empty, either (that's a whole other story- the getaway car driven to the wedding with no gas in the tank and with a slow leak in the tire due to a screw being wedged into it). R vacuumed and washed my car earlier, but I'd forgotten to mention the being on empty part! Fortunately, it was not a problem, but it added to my stress level as I attempted to get settled that night before the big day. When I got back to the house, the clock was still ticking, and I could not find my wallet to save my life. Luckily, E soon showed up at the house to visit with her Aunt and Uncle, and quickly noticed it in an obvious spot. What a lifesaver, since clearly I was losing my mind!
I'd been planning to go to the hotel to get checked in before the manicure (I didn't like driving around with our marriage license, all the dressses, and the rings in my car) but there wasn't time. I had to go straight to the nail place. And I mean I absolutely had to, because I broke a nail that day! And two others were cracked and ready to snap! Of course! Luckily, the nail people were awesome. They did great work, and the experience was extremely relaxing... Not to mention fun, because my sister and I met up there and did it together. It was a long appointment, though-- with two of my nails needing acrylic, and manicures and pedicures for both of us. I think we finally got to the hotel at 8 pm... and we hadn't eaten dinner yet! When we arrived we paid a bell hop to wheel our things to the room (in addition to everything else, we each had a huge carry-on size bag of makeup for last minute experimentation). We were both so tired out that we ordered room service. My sister brought out a super cute "Bachelorette" wine glass (complete with a feather boa around the stem) for me to drink my wine from- she had meant to give it to me at my shower, but forgot it... So instead I was able to use it on my last night as a bachelorette! It was such a fun and thoughtful gesture!
After dinner, we did more experimenting with makeup, and each took care of last minute beauty stuff that we'd hoped to do earlier in the day before running out of time. I shaved with a new razor, and managed to nick my ankle quite well... And despite having brought like 30 lbs of makeup and practically every bathroom item one could imagine, I had forgotten band-aids! So I improvised with a makeup applicator pad, a plastic target bag handle, and tape! Hey, whatever works! It was 12:30 am by the time I went to sleep, and my sister stayed up even later transferring her toast from notebook paper to 3 X 5 cards... A crazy long day!
And now, as much as I want to write down memories from my wedding day while they are fresh in my mind, I have to stop writing... After four wonderful nights off, It's back to work tonight!
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