Weddingweddingwedding....
May. 21st, 2005 01:36 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sublimatedangelYeah... assume long, and there are pictures.
Wednesday: The Rehearsal & Dinner
Like most details of the wedding, it wasn't entirely clear, but we called and figured out that Alexander and I were also supposed to attend, even though we weren't in the wedding party. So, anyhow, Nate had it off work (though they still ended up calling him a bit... grr!) but since the baby has been waking up at night lately, we were both a little short on sleep and between sleeping in/napping we didn't get much done during the day. We all drove down to Nate's dad's place (Nate picked up his tux from the rental place on the way) in the afternoon, and then followed them out to the wedding site. The site is just lovely, very pretty garden setting with a gazebo, and large canopied areas for the reception (and ceremony in case of rain).
The rehearsal ran smoothly, there was cooing over the baby, and then we went to dinner at Tony Roma's. Hadn't eaten there before, but it was nice. Anyhow, Trudi and Becky (Nate's oldest sister) had flown out from Maryland for the wedding, and met up with the rest of us at the restaurant. It was wonderful to see them, and Alexander got lots of happy Auntie time. He was getting a bit tired/bored by that point but did pretty well overall. I might be forgetting stuff. Anyhow, back home after dinner.
Thursday: The Wedding
First, whisked le petit off to my mom's for some grandma love and attention (overdue sinse she was sick) with promises to retrieve him early Friday morning. Nate and I got ready at the house, and after a brief miscommunication (we thought some of the other guests were meeting up at our place to follow us down, but they weren't), we set out. I don't know if I've already mentioned a bunch that I love the dress I got? I love the dress I got. In fact, now that the wedding is over, I am sad because I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to wear it again.
Picture of me before we left the house - the fabric is a lovely cream burnout silk chiffon kind of thing, over a cream sheath. The white floral pattern is where the silk remains, and the the black floral is cross-dyed over that. Also matching scarf-ish item which I wore as a wrap/shawl. Little black satin evening bag. Made a choker out of a bit of black satin ribbon and a white rose from our garden. Shoes (not shown) were my little black slingback heels with a peek of an open toe.
Okay, okay, back to the wedding...
We arrived and mingled... well, I mingled with people I knew and ignored the clumps of strangers, but hey! I'm an introverted kind of girl! That's mingling for me. Blurry picture of Nate and I before the wedding. Did I mention Nate was looking quite nice? Yummm husband in formalwear.
Picture of the tables set up in the canopied area, looking towards the area where the ceremony will take place.
Closeup of table/centerpieces. Favors were little boxes with a pouch of wildflower seed mix inside. No assigned seating, although the tables closest to the head table were reserved for immediate family of the bride and groom.
Head table. On the left, you can see the ladies who played harp and flute prior to (and possibly during??) the ceremony. I felt they did a really nice job and it was one of the touches I really liked about the wedding.
Petal-strewn pathway to the gazebo, and seating for the wedding guests. There were ushers, but seating wasn't really... planned/organized, other than parents in the front row. I got a seat on the left side, right next to the center aisle.
Nate's father, Karl, escorting Cassie to the gazebo:
Mick, our new brother in law, and his groomsmen. Nate is the one all the way on the right, of course.
Closer shot of just Nate:
Cassie and Mick. The officiant is Chuck Wilsey, a minister the family has known for a very long time. He used to be local but now lives out of state, and flew back to California for this and another wedding.
Oh, and I forgot to put up this picture of back of Cassie's dress. I really love the lace-up detail here.
The ceremony was really nice. Very christian, which I expected, but not overbearingly so. Just very sweet, and the minister did a lovely job of speaking to the bride, groom, and guests, as opposed to sounding like he was just reading his lines aloud.
Awww, the lovely couple!
Nate paired with one of the bridesmaids, Jessica. The last time I got to see him for most of the evening (sniff sniff), as they took an incredible (I'm tempted to say "horrific") amount of time during the reception to take photographs. I mean, really a huge long time, and I *like* photos and think they're good and important, but it was insane. Nate's rental shoes weren't very comfy and he was in a bit of pain by the time they finally let the bridal party sit down to dinner. Sorry, Nate & Jessica's picture:
Dinner was pretty good as such things go. Chicken in a white cream sauce, roasted red potatoes, veggies. Oh, and there was a salad course with some sort of sweet vinaigrette - maybe cranberry? I am eternally grateful Trudi and Becky were at my table and saved me from Death by Family Stories(tm) being told by Nate's dad and great uncle Carl while the interminable picture taking was going on. Wesnuck off several times... um, I mean, mingled! Mingled with other guests! And I even got to lend a wee bit of help to decorating the car (which I don't have a picture of now, but I'm sure copies will be around later).
Then there were speeches. By everyone at the head table. Nate did a very nice job in spite of not having been asked beforehand so he could have something prepared, and managed to sound quite convincingly like he *wanted* to give a little speech. The bridesmaids' talks were... well, they were very fraught with emotion and meaningful to them and Cassie. I can much admire their obvious close friendships, and admit that to them (three straight white christian women whose very hair was identically streaked with blond highlights), Cassie may indeed seem humble and nonjudgmental. My opinion was thankfully not asked and so I was a good girl and didn't snark at all. Which is good, because I really do love Cassie, she's family, she has many good qualities... blahblahblah, but I wouldn't have chosen those two particular ones.
I haven't mentioned the music once the harp and flute accompaniment ended and the dj took over. This is meaningful. Just remain blissful in your ignorance, trust me.
Oh, and after dinner? Nate and the rest of the wedding party (and some of the relatives at one point) were whisked off for... more... pictures.
Then the cake! The cake was really lovely. Very pleasing with the darkdarkred roses instead of the multicolor floral displays elsewhere, and I think that was a good choice. Tastewise, it was alright - not bad but I've certainly had better. Picture of the cake before cutting:
There was bouquet throwing and garter tossing in there, but I'm not single, so I didn't pay much attention. We left before they started dancing... it was getting late, and Nate was feeling owie after all the standing in rented shoes and trying to smile through 6 million pictures and his knees were bothering him a bit too. Just had to come home, thankfully, though I did call my mom to check on how my precious little boy was doing... it's nice to have a break but I do miss him when he's gone, and I wanted to make sure she was doing okay since she just got over the pneumonia and I wasn't sure how her energy would be. They were both fine, of course.
Friday: The Brunch
Up early to go to my mom's to fetch Xander before heading back to Modesto for the third time in as many days. Nate had plans to go four wheeling with his dad afterwards (see his post) so we were taking separate cars. I'd forgotten that it was rush hour on a weekday, but actually traffic wasn't bad at all on the way to my mom's. Nate stayed home and got muffins for the brunch and headed out that way. Got to my mom's at about 8:30 and managed to get le petit dressed and we were on our way by nine. I think it may be a miracle, combined with my firm resolve to gogogo even though my mom had squintillions of things to tell me about and show me.
Got down there after a brief hiccup (accidentally missed my exit... I'm just impressed I could tell that the patch of nowhere I was driving through was unfamiliar). Eventually yummy food was had, and we got to spend some more time with Becky and Trudi before they head back to the east coast, and also Bob and Melanie who we don't see nearly often enough. Even more loving on the baby. Then Nate left to go play in the ... huh... outdoors? roadish playground? ...whatever... and I stopped by the house on the way to my mom's. Have been thinking about kidnapping the Stasha and doing something fun, but she's got lots going on at the moment. At least put in a phonecall of intention to drag her away for something fun when she gets some free time.
Went back to my mom's. (Did I mention poor baby has been in the car an insane amount the last few days? I've been in one even more. Was glad to get home tonight and know I wasn't going out again). Had a nice time visiting with her... see her pretty frequently but it's usually just a brief visit before/after she watches Xander. We chatted about garden things and I chopped her aloe vera monster near the door into submission once again, and took home a couple clippings of it to root, as well as some other succulentish thing with orangey red flowers that she'd started for me off one of her plants. Did hit some traffic on the way back home... tail end of commute maybe, or people headed out for some fun on the weekend. And now, muchly feeling the lack of energy. It's been a busy few days. Another post with some new Alexander pictures soon... still need to look at/edit them, only got to the wedding stuff tonight.
Wednesday: The Rehearsal & Dinner
Like most details of the wedding, it wasn't entirely clear, but we called and figured out that Alexander and I were also supposed to attend, even though we weren't in the wedding party. So, anyhow, Nate had it off work (though they still ended up calling him a bit... grr!) but since the baby has been waking up at night lately, we were both a little short on sleep and between sleeping in/napping we didn't get much done during the day. We all drove down to Nate's dad's place (Nate picked up his tux from the rental place on the way) in the afternoon, and then followed them out to the wedding site. The site is just lovely, very pretty garden setting with a gazebo, and large canopied areas for the reception (and ceremony in case of rain).
The rehearsal ran smoothly, there was cooing over the baby, and then we went to dinner at Tony Roma's. Hadn't eaten there before, but it was nice. Anyhow, Trudi and Becky (Nate's oldest sister) had flown out from Maryland for the wedding, and met up with the rest of us at the restaurant. It was wonderful to see them, and Alexander got lots of happy Auntie time. He was getting a bit tired/bored by that point but did pretty well overall. I might be forgetting stuff. Anyhow, back home after dinner.
Thursday: The Wedding
First, whisked le petit off to my mom's for some grandma love and attention (overdue sinse she was sick) with promises to retrieve him early Friday morning. Nate and I got ready at the house, and after a brief miscommunication (we thought some of the other guests were meeting up at our place to follow us down, but they weren't), we set out. I don't know if I've already mentioned a bunch that I love the dress I got? I love the dress I got. In fact, now that the wedding is over, I am sad because I'm not sure when I'll have a chance to wear it again.
Picture of me before we left the house - the fabric is a lovely cream burnout silk chiffon kind of thing, over a cream sheath. The white floral pattern is where the silk remains, and the the black floral is cross-dyed over that. Also matching scarf-ish item which I wore as a wrap/shawl. Little black satin evening bag. Made a choker out of a bit of black satin ribbon and a white rose from our garden. Shoes (not shown) were my little black slingback heels with a peek of an open toe.
Okay, okay, back to the wedding...
We arrived and mingled... well, I mingled with people I knew and ignored the clumps of strangers, but hey! I'm an introverted kind of girl! That's mingling for me. Blurry picture of Nate and I before the wedding. Did I mention Nate was looking quite nice? Yummm husband in formalwear.
Picture of the tables set up in the canopied area, looking towards the area where the ceremony will take place.
Closeup of table/centerpieces. Favors were little boxes with a pouch of wildflower seed mix inside. No assigned seating, although the tables closest to the head table were reserved for immediate family of the bride and groom.
Head table. On the left, you can see the ladies who played harp and flute prior to (and possibly during??) the ceremony. I felt they did a really nice job and it was one of the touches I really liked about the wedding.
Petal-strewn pathway to the gazebo, and seating for the wedding guests. There were ushers, but seating wasn't really... planned/organized, other than parents in the front row. I got a seat on the left side, right next to the center aisle.
Nate's father, Karl, escorting Cassie to the gazebo:
Mick, our new brother in law, and his groomsmen. Nate is the one all the way on the right, of course.
Closer shot of just Nate:
Cassie and Mick. The officiant is Chuck Wilsey, a minister the family has known for a very long time. He used to be local but now lives out of state, and flew back to California for this and another wedding.
Oh, and I forgot to put up this picture of back of Cassie's dress. I really love the lace-up detail here.
The ceremony was really nice. Very christian, which I expected, but not overbearingly so. Just very sweet, and the minister did a lovely job of speaking to the bride, groom, and guests, as opposed to sounding like he was just reading his lines aloud.
Awww, the lovely couple!
Nate paired with one of the bridesmaids, Jessica. The last time I got to see him for most of the evening (sniff sniff), as they took an incredible (I'm tempted to say "horrific") amount of time during the reception to take photographs. I mean, really a huge long time, and I *like* photos and think they're good and important, but it was insane. Nate's rental shoes weren't very comfy and he was in a bit of pain by the time they finally let the bridal party sit down to dinner. Sorry, Nate & Jessica's picture:
Dinner was pretty good as such things go. Chicken in a white cream sauce, roasted red potatoes, veggies. Oh, and there was a salad course with some sort of sweet vinaigrette - maybe cranberry? I am eternally grateful Trudi and Becky were at my table and saved me from Death by Family Stories(tm) being told by Nate's dad and great uncle Carl while the interminable picture taking was going on. We
Then there were speeches. By everyone at the head table. Nate did a very nice job in spite of not having been asked beforehand so he could have something prepared, and managed to sound quite convincingly like he *wanted* to give a little speech. The bridesmaids' talks were... well, they were very fraught with emotion and meaningful to them and Cassie. I can much admire their obvious close friendships, and admit that to them (three straight white christian women whose very hair was identically streaked with blond highlights), Cassie may indeed seem humble and nonjudgmental. My opinion was thankfully not asked and so I was a good girl and didn't snark at all. Which is good, because I really do love Cassie, she's family, she has many good qualities... blahblahblah, but I wouldn't have chosen those two particular ones.
I haven't mentioned the music once the harp and flute accompaniment ended and the dj took over. This is meaningful. Just remain blissful in your ignorance, trust me.
Oh, and after dinner? Nate and the rest of the wedding party (and some of the relatives at one point) were whisked off for... more... pictures.
Then the cake! The cake was really lovely. Very pleasing with the darkdarkred roses instead of the multicolor floral displays elsewhere, and I think that was a good choice. Tastewise, it was alright - not bad but I've certainly had better. Picture of the cake before cutting:
There was bouquet throwing and garter tossing in there, but I'm not single, so I didn't pay much attention. We left before they started dancing... it was getting late, and Nate was feeling owie after all the standing in rented shoes and trying to smile through 6 million pictures and his knees were bothering him a bit too. Just had to come home, thankfully, though I did call my mom to check on how my precious little boy was doing... it's nice to have a break but I do miss him when he's gone, and I wanted to make sure she was doing okay since she just got over the pneumonia and I wasn't sure how her energy would be. They were both fine, of course.
Friday: The Brunch
Up early to go to my mom's to fetch Xander before heading back to Modesto for the third time in as many days. Nate had plans to go four wheeling with his dad afterwards (see his post) so we were taking separate cars. I'd forgotten that it was rush hour on a weekday, but actually traffic wasn't bad at all on the way to my mom's. Nate stayed home and got muffins for the brunch and headed out that way. Got to my mom's at about 8:30 and managed to get le petit dressed and we were on our way by nine. I think it may be a miracle, combined with my firm resolve to gogogo even though my mom had squintillions of things to tell me about and show me.
Got down there after a brief hiccup (accidentally missed my exit... I'm just impressed I could tell that the patch of nowhere I was driving through was unfamiliar). Eventually yummy food was had, and we got to spend some more time with Becky and Trudi before they head back to the east coast, and also Bob and Melanie who we don't see nearly often enough. Even more loving on the baby. Then Nate left to go play in the ... huh... outdoors? roadish playground? ...whatever... and I stopped by the house on the way to my mom's. Have been thinking about kidnapping the Stasha and doing something fun, but she's got lots going on at the moment. At least put in a phonecall of intention to drag her away for something fun when she gets some free time.
Went back to my mom's. (Did I mention poor baby has been in the car an insane amount the last few days? I've been in one even more. Was glad to get home tonight and know I wasn't going out again). Had a nice time visiting with her... see her pretty frequently but it's usually just a brief visit before/after she watches Xander. We chatted about garden things and I chopped her aloe vera monster near the door into submission once again, and took home a couple clippings of it to root, as well as some other succulentish thing with orangey red flowers that she'd started for me off one of her plants. Did hit some traffic on the way back home... tail end of commute maybe, or people headed out for some fun on the weekend. And now, muchly feeling the lack of energy. It's been a busy few days. Another post with some new Alexander pictures soon... still need to look at/edit them, only got to the wedding stuff tonight.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-21 08:14 pm (UTC)Very pretty outfit and you looked ok too!
(wink)
I'm really not sure why it takes so long for certain wedding parties to photograph. I've been in similar situations before, one time we couldn't eat until they were done. That was bad.
But, it looks like it was a lovely wedding and I'm glad to see you out and social again.
*hugs*
no subject
Date: 2005-05-23 02:37 am (UTC)hrmm...need to see more pics of current hair, though...er, that sounds weirder than it should. Just hard to get a good feel for how it looks in these couple of pics and while it's up :)