V&T's Wedding Weekend: the 4th & final chapter!

Hey, gang. Sorry for the delay. My internet connection has been funky for the last 2 days. I think we're all fixed now.

So! Anyway! The reception was over. Next it was time for the after-after party. I love this new tradition of going to a bar with a group of friends after the reception. It's a great way to end the festivities. We descended upon Trader Vic's, a tiki bar, for our nightcaps. As you can imagine, hilarity ensued.







See that blue rose hairclip that I'm wearing? The groom made that. Yes, our Travis is a man of many talents!


Tony ordered something called a "Rum Giggle" for Holly & me to share. It came in a conch shell with the longest straws I've ever seen. I could not tell you what it tasted like, but I'm guessing it was good since we drank every last drop.

You can't see it very well, but I'm wearing a nametag that says "James". I have no earthly idea where I got that, but I remember declaring at some point that my left breast is officially named "James". Hmm. Can you believe I didn't have a hangover the next morning? Amazing!

I have no idea what Tony ordered for himself, but it was served in a SKULL! So it's gotta be bad ass, right?

Tony also made a little ... request. Just a little something he'd like to see on the ol' blog. Let me get back to you on that, Tony-Tone.




Last but not least, here's my favorite photo of the whole night.


Eventually we all finished our drinks & stumbled back to the La Quinta. George, Derek, Holly, Andy and I shared the double room "suite". I remember bits & pieces of the rest of the night. I know Holly's finger got banged up pretty badly in Andy's car door. And at some point I managed to put on my pajamas. And then Andy broke out the Mad Libs I bought at Froggies & we had a good time completing a couple (Holly, please tell me you now know what a "taint" is because, honey, I don't want to try to explain that to you again). Surrounded by ice packs & shreds of paper, we eventually fell into a deep slumber.

I was the first one to wake up in the morning, but that's just my way. I can't sleep in. It's one of my least favorite qualities about myself. It's not all bad, though. As the old saying goes, the early bird gets the waffle.

Why do they call it "table syrup"? Is it made out of tables?

Andy and I had flights in the afternoon & the Tulsa contingent had to hit the road, so before we all went our separate ways we went out for Ethiopian food. As usual, george ordered for everybody. Someday I need to learn to order Ethiopian food for myself. What's the name of that lamb stuff again? 'Cause, man alive, it's tasty!



I think we're supposed to be acting like beauty pageant contestants in this photo. Or perhaps like we're on America's Next Top Model. Smile with your eyes, ladies!



Time for one final shot ...

Then we all hugged & said our good-byes.

I have to admit that usually it's very painful for me to leave my old urban family & fly back to NC. I miss them all so very much. This time felt different, though. As I left Dallas, all I felt was joy. I can thank Veronica and Travis for that. Nothing fills a heart with hope and love like a wedding ceremony.

Thank you ALL for such a wonderful, memorable weekend. Can't wait to see you again!

V&T's Wedding Weekend: Part 3

The ceremony was short & sweet. Before we knew it, Veronica & Travis were hitched!

Mr. & Mrs. Day, accompanied by various cohorts (aka the wedding party)


The best man knows his way around a bustle. Heh heh.



I missed taking photos of the first dance because my hands were full of iced tea and fried pies. Just trust me when I say that this couple has some very impressive dance moves. They really know how to cut a rug!

They also know how to cut a cake.




Here is the best man, Andy (not that one, a different one), making a heartfelt toast. He is accompanied by our Holly, bridesmaid and luscious eye candy.


Here's the Tulsa branch of our urban family. There were 10 of us in all: George & Derek, Ed & Rhiannon, Jenny & Tony, Andy (yes, that one), Kris, Holly, & little ol' me. How great was it to see them all? Very very great.




Andy even brought Kit Kat's for all of us. Gotta love those old inside jokes.

We also made new friends! First, there is V's other bridesmaid, the fabulous Cat. It's hard to tell in this photo, but she was 9 months pregnant & already feeling some contractions. She gave birth to a little girl named Moxy less than 48 hours after the wedding ceremony.


And then there's Eddie, with whom we developed an all new inside joke involving Chick-o-sticks.




Kit Kats and Chick-o-Stick. What more could we possibly need?


English Country Dancing?!??! Why not?

So here's the story. The reception venue upstairs was packed. All of the tables were full and there were few chairs to be had, so most of the Tulsa bunch went downstairs to hang out in the bar. That's when I noticed the sign above. It pointed towards a room with a glass window in the door. When the dancers saw some of us peeking in, they invited us to join them! I was thrilled because, frankly, I've been thinking about trying out English Country Dancing for many months now. You know the formal dancing that is always featured in those Jane Austen costume drama films? That's what this is. It's complicated, but very fun.

Many thanks to Peter, my partner in the grey shirt. Without his patient guidance, I would have been lost.


Since I had so much fun, George decided to try it out, too.



This group was so nice! They invited us to stay & keep dancing with them, but we had to get back to the reception. If I lived in Dallas I'd definitely look them up. They were really great.

The reception continued. We drank more wine & beer, ate more cake, listened to more live music, and laughed much. Tim called so that he could congratulate "The V-Dog". We watched V's parents perform some amazing moves on the dance floor (now I see where she gets it!). As V&T left the building, we didn't have any rice to throw, so instead we performed the wave. Or at least we tried to perform the wave, but ... well ... did I mention there was free booze? Yeah.

The party wasn't over, though. Next stop: Trader Vic's!

V&T's Wedding Weekend: Part 2

Saturday, September 27. The big day finally arrived.

Shortly before 11am, V and Travis stopped by the La Quinta to pick up me, Holly, and george. We headed off to the venue to set it up for the night's festivities.

The Sons of Hermann Hall (or "Home" depending on which sign you read).




The ceremony & reception took place in the main performance space on the 2nd level. On the ground floor there is a bar & various other rooms. It's a really fabulous building & was the perfect spot for V & T's wedding.

The color scheme for the wedding was blue & orange. When V first told me this, I thought she'd lost her ever-lovin' mind. Then I saw the venue & it all became clear. Perfect choice, V.

Centerpiece! Notice that george is off in the background (to the left), ignoring the centerpieces with all her might. Because that's what she does. She's a chronic centerpiece-ignorer. You need to learn to confront the centerpieces directly, george. It's the only way to overcome this problem.

The favors were custom-made matchbooks. Very cute.



"Are we done yet? Do we need another blue tablecloth? How should I wear my hair tonight?" So many questions, one weary-yet-excited bride.


The next thing you know, 6 hours had passed & it was time for V&T to tie the knot.

Pre-ceremony:






I didn't take as many photos as I might have liked (I didn't take any at all during the ceremony). I preferred to experience those things rather than document them; That's what professional photographers are for. So if you want to see pics of the ceremony, you'll need to go to the website of V&T's photographer. I'll post a link when I get my grubby mits on it.

Next up: Party time!

V&T's wedding weekend: Part 1

Hello, gang! After a long hiatus, I'm back! And I have oodles of photos to share with you all (although not quite as many as I would have liked). As I may or may not have mentioned before, my dance card was pretty full for the month of September. First my parents and my brother, Ray, came to NC to visit us for a bit. Then I traveled to Dallas to attend Travis & Veronica's wedding. It's been an absolute blast & I'd love to share some of the details with you in photographic form.

First of all, I'm going to throw chronology out the window & focus on pics from this past weekend & the big wedding celebration. Today's batch of photos are from Friday, the 26th of September ... AKA Veronica's last day as a swingin' single gal. I was spoiled on that day because I got to spend a lot of private one-on-one girl time with the Woman of the Hour. We went to a fabulous Elvis-themed Mexican restaurant called Chuy's, where I was so stunned by the fabulously tacky scenery that I forgot to take any photos! So now all of you will have to go there & experience the fabulosity for yourselves. It's worth it. Trust me.

Next we walked & shopped. 'Cause that's what girls do best, right?

Outside "Wild About Harry's" hot dog emporium. I could make a very tacky joke here, but I'll leave that up to your own imaginations.

And if that's not classy enough for y'all ...




I loved Froggies, the shop where we found these glasses. Imagine Lulu Faboo, only bigger. I refuse to disclose how much money I spent there.


V wasn't the only one craving wieners that day.

I love that "Do Not Climb On Me" sign. There's something hilariously sad about it.

The rest of the afternoon was spent with Holly & george, wandering around Target's lingerie department, wondering if adhesive bras actually work or if they're just a bunch of malarkey. Then it was time for the rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's! Sadly, I have few photos from the dinner (I feel self-conscious about taking photos of other people), but the two I got are awful cute.



Aaaaaaaaw! What an adorable couple!

Preppin' for Fam

Hey gang. Sorry to be MIA for so long. There isn't much to report ... except that my parents and my brother, Ray, will arrive here in just a few days! Wee!!! Unfortunately, I have a ton of things to do in preparation for their arrival (boo!) but it's all worth it to have them around (yay!).

I've been rather distracted over the last few weeks (first the sickness, then the political conventions) so I haven't done as much research as I would have liked in preparation for my family's arrival. Here's what I've got so far. I'm going to post the links here because I'm having a heck of a time organizing my favorites in Firefox. If anyone can give me some tips on organizing bookmarks in Firefox, I'd appreciate it.

Waterfalls!
Photos of NC Waterfalls: http://www.pbase.com/waterfallrich/north_carolina_waterfalls&page=all
Visit NC Waterfalls: http://www.visitwaterfalls.com/
Sliding Rock: http://www.ncwaterfalls.com/sliding_rock1.htm

Stuff for Mom
Wrightsville Beach: http://www.visitwrightsville.com/
Carolina Beach: http://www.carolinabeachgetaway.com/
The Cotton Exchange (across from the battleship): http://www.shopcottonexchange.com/

Stuff for Dad
Bennett Place in Durham (Civil War history): http://www.nchistoricsites.org/bennett/
Battleship North Carolina in Wilmington (WWII history): http://www.battleshipnc.com/index.html

Stuff for Ray
Busch Gardens: http://www.4adventure.com/BGW/default.aspx
Kings Dominion: http://www.kingsdominion.com/

Oh, The Places We'll Go ... or not
Durham Visitors Center: http://www.durham-nc.com/
Raleigh Visitors Center: http://www.visitraleigh.com/
Chapel Hill Visitors Center: http://www.visitchapelhill.org/
Lake Lure: http://www.lake-lure.com/
Biltmore Estate: http://www.biltmore.com/
Duke Gardens in Durham: http://www.hr.duke.edu/dukegardens/
Pullen Park in Raleigh: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pullen_Park
State Farmers Market (and restaurants!): http://www.ncfarmfresh.com/FarmMarketDisplay.asp?FarmID=1529