The Wedding: Part III

Yes. It's 4:00 am. But I've been working on the pictures from the wedding for the last two hours, and while all the memories are here in my head, I might as well tell the final (long!) chapter.

The Rehearsal Dinner

It wasn't my fault. I didn't mean to get drunk. I didn't mean to get drunk at the table with Andrew's father (an Episcopalian minister) and his stepmother (also a minister). I blame everything on Spencer.

We got back from the rehearsal with about 20 minutes to spare on the free happy hour in the hotel bar...which was just down the hall from the party, where there were also free drinks, but still. We wanted to take advantage. So Spencer, Brad, Kent and I partook. We were able to partake a number of times (including a shot of cheap tequila each) before the happy hour ended. We take our final drinks into the dinner just as we're about to be served.

Because we've been at the bar, everyone has already sat down. We spread ourselves among the people (what are groomsmen for, after all?). Spencer and I end up at the table with the aforementioned ministers and their family. Although we still have drinks, it would be silly to turn down the wine when the waiter comes by...

Now at this point, I'm still completely fine. My tolerance is frighteningly high. (Perhaps it's because of all the weight I'm carrying around. But I digress.) Spencer gets up to go talk to another table for a minute. I continue eating my salad, which, although tasty, is very salty. So I must drink all my water. And then Spencer's water, because he isn't there, and I'm thirsty.

Spencer's water turns out to be a Tom Collins.

And then I feel bad for his wine. So I drink that too.

And then...oh lord...the champagne toasts start.

But I don't feel very bad about all this, because A) I didn't have to drive anywhere and B) Cindy's mom was so drunk (when we first got there!) that should told Kent, at one point, to excuse her, she had to go wee-wee. See? That is bad.

Sneaky Groomsmen Fun

The next day (at the crack of 10...) we all go over to Andrew's house. We have a long list of things to do (all in order on my palm pilot). Things like: Go to Target...buy things to trash the car; Take flowers to Nikki; Decorate room

Ah...the room. Brad and I outdid ourselves. About 100 candles in the bedroom and bathroom,



with flower petals all around and a trail of Hershey's kisses leading from the front door to the bed.



And in a burst of Trading Spaces madness, we put red and white lights above the bed and covered them with a sheer curtain thingy...just like Genevieve did in the moss room.



On one bedside table, chilled champagne and glasses, on the other, strawberries and whipped cream, (On the verge of porn, but I think it was pretty tasteful the way we did it. The food service industry has taught me a thing or two about presentation.) and an alarm clock set for 4:00 am...when they had to drive to the airport.

Which may have been difficult, considering the state of their car.



But that didn't happen until after the wedding and reception. Let's backtrack.

The Wedding

It's a wedding. There was crying. And all of our backs hurt from standing there for so long. Do you need to know more than that?

The Reception

Let's just say that the rehearsal dinner was memorable. Luckily a few of us had some flasks in our jackets to make things at the reception a little more interesting, since there was no bar (to the dismay of everyone from Kansas City). We did the requisite decorating of the limo (including an empty case of Dr. Pepper...Andrew's ration for one day...) and cut out early to light the candles in the house.

The Hotel

Where the real party began. There were two main rooms. One for the wedding party...and one for the old people (which I say in all affection, because I can't call them adults, since we're adults too, and that would be confusing...). The rooms kind of blended after a while, since only about 20 people fit in each one. There was a lot of riding downstairs in the elevator, avoiding the security guard, who seemed to yell at the old people more than us. Ha.

We took it to the people into the wee hours of the morning. Scant hours before all of us had to fly home. And as you will see in the pictures, I do not look good at that hour....

The Airport

Nothing exciting this time. Brad and I hung out until our flights at 11. Then I had a two-hour layover in St. Louis. I ate at Cheers and read. A lot. Remind me to be more careful when I book flights.

So that's it. Finally done. The pictures will probably only be interesting to the people who were at the wedding, but check them out anyway...looking at drunk people is always good for a laugh. At the very least, you can look at my new coat.