bridesmaid

The 61 Hour Wedding Whirlwind Weekend: The Reception

/ foodsweatandbeers / 3 Comments

Happy Friday, friends and neighbors.  Today the weekend is starting a little early, though not for anything extremely fun.  When I got to work today, I was feeling decidedly normal, but that faded fast.  Slowly and surely, with tummy rumblings and general malaise, I realized it was bound to be a half day.  It’s likely some perfect storm of not eating a real dinner last night (but nibbling on calamari, shrimp and salsa, and making a peach crumble sundae…), my past two weeks of travel catching up on me, and my own, personal shark week (explanation may be TMI for regular readers, but feel free to click if you don’t understand.)  No matter the culprit, my body just needed some R&R (&S… for salad!)

Taco Salad + a special guest!

I sprinkled some sexy chia seeds on top for a little crunch (and because… you know… all the cool kids do it.) It reminded me of sesame seeds, and the salad was delicious.  Probably very good for me to get some greens into my body after the lousy food and drink I put in my belly last night.

I thank you all for sticking it out and following this wedding journey to the end, and in case you haven’t (but want to) here’s the recap so far:

We all know, to quote a great man, that “After the show, it’s the after parrrrrrrrrtyyyyyy” (R. Kelly, 2003).  The wedding party was danced onto the boat where the reception was held, one of Pittsburgh’s infamous Gateway Clipper Fleet ships.  Unfortunately, one of the groomsmen didn’t quite have his “land legs” yet, and promptly spilled an entire glass of red wine on the table.

Smooth, bro.

Luckily, the crew had it cleaned up in a jiffy, and in a few minutes, after the rest of us got our drinks, the table was again ready for sitting.

Groom, bride, and Bre, the other MOH

Up next was the part of the night I was the most anxious about… the SPEECHES!  First up was Miles, brother of the groom, and best man.

Dapper dude

His speech was top notch.  Clever, touching, and to the point. It touched on the loyalty of the groom, the generosity of the bride, and how right they were for each other.

The other MOH, Breanna, discussed the meeting of Caitlin and Eamonn as a fairytale, starting with dorm rooms and shot glasses.  I’ll admit, I had very little knowledge of this inside joke, but I know it meant a lot to the happy couple, and was happy that someone who actually knew them well as a couple could speak to their love story.

I don’t have any pictures of my own speech, since I was giving it and all, but all of my anxiety flew away the moment someone handed me a microphone. I looked back at Caitlin and tried to speak from the heart, and I did it all without crying at all (though there were some seriously intense cracks in my voice, made me feel like a pubertal boy… one who was about to weep openly in front of his friends.)  It went over well, though, and then the fun could begin!!

Ryan and I cutting a rug (Source: Chrissy K Photography)

Adorable cake topper

Woops, how'd that one slip in there?

Love on the top deck!

And the night was capped off with beautiful fireworks (that were meant for the Pittsburgh Pirates… but we felt like they were all for us!)

Boom boom boom

All in all, I’d say a successful wedding.  Romantic, inspiring, and on a boat.  All the best parts of a night out, right?

Bahahaha now that I have a blog I can post pictures like this ALL THE TIME!

PS my sincere apologies to Ryan, my beau, for being such a camera ham…. and for posting pictures like this.  Thanks for tolerating dating me.

Ok, now I’m off to try and feel better…. maybe with the help of this week’s US Weekly.  Apparently Denise Richards is gonna “tell all.”

I’m riveted.

Do you like celebrity gossip?

Do you take ridiculous pictures of you and your significant other in hopes that one day, you can show them off for all the world to see?

Yeah. Me too.

The 61 Hour Wedding Whirlwind Weekend: Pictures and the Ceremony!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 8 Comments

Hey y’all and TGIT!!  Truly, though, I’m feeling FANTASTIC on this Thursday.  It may have something to do with the unplanned extra hour and a half I got this morning when I decided that the great dreams I was having were more important than the 7 am BodyAttack class….  No matter what is causing it, I hope this feeling doesn’t fade anytime soon!!

Lunch today also may have something to do with my great mood, because it was a perfect one.  One of my coworkers brought a little treat for everyone in the office and put it on the “community microwave” which is usually where we put snacks that we made or leftover goodies to “share with the rest of the class.”  Today’s was MUCH better than cupcakes.

Tiny tomatoes, perfect for lunchtime!

They completed the salad for the ages:

Even better than last night!!

This little taco salad was very similar to last night’s taco salad but tasted much more delicious.  I think it had something to do with the freshest little tomatoes and the fact that there wasn’t 1/4 lb of SUPER STRONG spicy turkey (which I replaced with a 1/3 can of Bush’s reduced sodium blackbeans) overpowering everything.  I really tasted the avocado, and it gave the salad a creamy counterpart to the crisp peppers.

Anyway, here’s the fourth installment of the wedding weekend (sorry if you’re getting sick of this, but not too sorry because it’s been a blast to write and great for my mom to get a play by play of the wedding!!)

In case you missed it, here are the other parts:

After we finished getting all dolled up, we rushed Cait’s room to observe her (much more laborious) preparation.

THE DRESS!

Cait’s dress was a total looker, fitting for such a flawless bride!

The bow on the back was difficult, apparently, but we had a bridesmaid for that! Juli, one of Cait’s old roomies, was ready to step up.

Bow-i-gami!

There were many many pictures snapped of the bridesmaids, of Cait, of the moms, of the photographer:

This is so meta.

Then, we hopped onto a trolley to head up to Mt. Washington for THE BIG REVEAL!! In case you’re unaware, the big reveal is the first look that the groom gets at his bride.  Especially important when you’re taking pictures before the ceremony!

Trolley beers

 

Love at first sight.

Clearly, the tallest of the bridesmaids.

It was incredibly hot and sweaty during the picture taking, but we had a good time in the trolley thanks to our dear friend: beer.

Cheers to the happy couple!

Unfortunately, I didn’t get many pictures from the ceremony considering how annoying it would’ve been having a Maid of Honor snapping shots inside the chapel.  But thankfully, my handsome date snapped a few.

So excited!

MWA!! It's official!!

Oh, hey boyf! I FOUND YOU! and you found... my crazy eyes!

The ceremony was beautiful, the vows… inspiring.  And we all hooted and hollered as they walked off into a sea of bubbles!

Note my "I scream louder than anyone else!" face.

Join us tomorrow for our final installment: the afterparrrrrrrtyyyyyy! (also known as the reception).

Bridesmaid Help!!

/ foodsweatandbeers / 10 Comments

Happy Hump Day, y’all!!

The days are going very productive lately. They have to be when you have a short week, right?

  • Cranked out a good lesson at work (I develop lessons!)
  • Car’s at the shop getting oil changed and tires rotated
  • Laid out in the sun yesterday
  • Killer zumba yesterday, AbSculpt + BodyPump planned for today
  • Scheduled an eyebrow wax for tomorrow after work/before glass night!

On the agenda tonight (after working out):

Since that will pretty much take up my whole evening, I figured I’m going to send out a call to arms (aka the blogosphere!) since y’all were so helpful with my first post about how to be a good bridesmaid!

The plan, on the day of the wedding (aka SATURDAY AHHH!) is, after we get all dolled up, to ride around in a trolley through Pittsburgh and take pictures as a whole wedding party.  The trolley is BYOB so here’s my question:

What kind of B should I B?? Translation: What kind of booze shall we bring on this trolley?  Obviously nothing red so that rules out red wine. 

Merlot? More like Mer-NO!

Some possibilities: white wine, champagne (wooo!), and (how could we forget?) craft beer.

Any other recommendations?  It’s going to be hot, it’s going to be sweaty, and so that should be taken into account.  Let me know if you’ve got any ideas!

In other news, lunch was delicious.

An ol' standby

Tuna sammy on a toasted sandwich thin with some lettuce for crunch, sugar-free jello cup, and steamed veggies with a heaping glass of water!

Very tasty, very healthy, and very filling.  Now it’s time to get back to work!

Can’t wait to hear your advice!!

Say Yes to the Dress (and the Bride!)

/ foodsweatandbeers / 18 Comments

Howdy friends, and happy Monday!  I’ll admit, Mondays are always rough, especially when they start off with a surprise meeting, but c’est la vie!  I rewarded myself for a productive morning with a delicious salad of epic proportions:

Greens make me feel like a lean, mean, machine!

Today’s salad consisted of:

  • Romaine lettuce
  • Half a GIANT green pepper
  • 2/3 of a small tomato
  • Reduced fat mexican cheese mix
  • Black beans
  • Salsa

It is was DELICIOSO!!  I wolfed it down like a ravenous were-Jordan.  And now, onto the topic of the post.

My Best Friend’s Wedding!

My dress looks exactly like this.

No, definitely not the movie.  THE REAL LIFE THING!!

My dearest friend, Caitlin (of Chicaito, her new blog!), who I’ve known officially longer than I have not, is marrying her college sweetheart and they’re starting a beautiful life as husband and wife in Chicago.  When Caitlin asked me to be one of her Maids of Honor, it obviously wasn’t even a question, and I feel so honored to be a part of her magical day and all the things leading up to it!

Last month, we gathered in her hometown for the Bridal Shower and Bachelorette Party in Philadelphia.

Bride to Be Cait and her Co-MOHs Breanna and Jordan

It was an excellent weekend, and a great way to meet some of the bridal party who I’d never met before.  Caitlin and I have been friends since FOREVER, but as we went to college 470 miles apart, we only got to see each other now and then during the past 6 years.  We never lost touch, though, and every time we’re together, it’s just like we’re teenagers dancing at the All-Camp Dance at Camp Tockwogh.

That'd be our wedding photo... if Eamonn weren't in the picture, of course!

I will admit, I never knew what was involved in being a Maid of Honor, and it’s a whole lotta stuff that I’d never imagined. Who knew how many ways you could organize cupcakes on a table for a shower, or how many peen shaped accoutrements ther were for the bachelorette party.  Not I!

Luckily I already had 4 tiaras for her to choose from...

All those hours of saying yes to marathons of Say Yes to the Dress, though, and the hours of looking at bridal sites are about to come to a head, as the nuptials are in less than 2 weeks!!  I’m so excited to be a part of the big day, and you know I’ll be there with hankies in case she cries, a tiny sewing kit (that I will have no idea how to use) if she rips her dress, and a shot of vodka to get the party started.

That being said, getting prepared for the big stuff (standing next to her at the altar, giving a speech at the reception) is started to make me a little nervous!  I haven’t given a big speech in a while and, as someone prone to tears, I really don’t wanna lose my cool and start bawling in front of a bunch of loved ones and strangers… I still feel like I’m that teenage girl getting ready to send her besty off to be with another best friend!  I know no matter what happens, Caitlin will be happy and she won’t hold it against me if I break down into tears, but I just wanna make her day as special as possible!

Do you have any advice on how to be the best MOH in the world? 

Have you ever been in a wedding?  What was it like?

Whatever happens, I know we’ll have fun…. because honestly, when don’t we?