13 July, 2012

Bridesmaid Dress O'Death, part II

I apologize again for the 2-part deal. If you missed yesterday, here it is.
~~~
Now that we're all caught up to the end of the day before the wedding, here's the rest:
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I honestly don't recall how early we arose on the wedding morning. I had all girly-stuff scheduled starting at 8:30 a.m. ...For a 1pm wedding. In all my wedding experience, this has never been done. Four hours seemed like a long time for hair and makeup.


BWAHahahaha! ...what do I know...


OJ + bubbles = health drink!
 The four of us (bride, MOH, 2 bridesmaids) arrived at the salon on time and were greeted by two ladies ...and a sidebar full of strawberries, chocolate dip, sweet cream cheese dip, and the makings for Mimosas.


Best wedding-party I've ever been a part of!

(Love starting the party early!)

The next three hours are a glorious blur of getting hair done, make-up done, broken up with chatting, laughing, drinking Mimosas - made by yours truly because I have experience with these things - and taking pictures.


Remember how shocked I was at the expanse of time allowed? Well, the bride and MOH were having their hair "sewn" into a style. Time-consuming.


...you can't really see the giant plastic needle here...

...so I had her hold it up to get a better view.

The photographer was due at their hotel at 11:30 for candid photos of the "prep". We were late, but it didn't matter because there were photos of the flowers and of the guys to be had, too. Besides, we reasoned, if we really ran late, what would they do, start without the bride? I was in powerful company.



Oh, my Travel Companion? He went off to find some crazy adventure of his own that morning. I'd see him at the ceremony.
I think he saw this brewery from the ground,
that I was looking at through the salon window.


Back at their hotel, I was reunited with the dress that fit me well three weeks earlier.
...
Yes the dress fit, but only with assistance from the MOH, my new gal-pal, to get it zipped. It was tight. To put it nicely.

"Poured into it" would be another suitable phrase.
"Breathing room optional" also comes to mind.

After a wide variety of "casual" photos, we were on our way to the church.

I'm the one in the middle. Yes! For Real! It's me!


The ceremony.

In addition to being a bridesmaid, I was doing a reading. At the rehearsal the night before, the crazy coordinator told me I had to read slower, because the space was echo-ey. Well, during the ceremony I was forced to slow down because my dress was strangling me. I might have been wearing an anaconda. Believe me, it cracked me up (or would have, if I could breathe enough to laugh).

 That reading from Song of Solomon was so poignant! (Did I see tears in the groom's eyes?)
So heartfelt!
So expressive!
...because I couldn't breathe. Haha!

After the ceremony, my Travel Companion and I were separated again. I ran off with the wedding party for the "real" photos on the rocky New Hampshire coast. It was hilarious, actually. The day was gray and windy, and the New England rocky coast was, um, yeah... Try staying vertical and looking put together in ...what, 25-30 mile winds? And on 3" heels? A balancing act on the rocks.


We knew how much time we had, but again, the bride and groom were with us! Besides, the open bar and hors dourves started immediately after the ceremony, so the guests were happy at the country club. (And my Travel Companion was getting a head start on me.)


Shore photos done, and off towards the reception. Here, the bride and groom had more outdoor photos to take, so the rest of the party were escorted to a large board room where champagne and hors dourves awaited us. Nice.


Mmm...cake
Eventually, we were led to the reception hall, where the wise bride and groom did NOT do one of those obnoxious receiving lines, and let the wedding party actually dine with their dates. The band was great; the food was great...more pictures. My Travel Companion is forever immortalized in their wedding photos because the bride wanted a "Delaware photo". (The MOH was another friend of hers from her days in Delaware, and another friend or two were there.)



Before leaving the reception, I was told that "a group of us" were going out for drinks later. My Travel Companion and I were invited to join them, and agreed. Back at the hotel, the anaconda-dress released me from its grip. I changed into jeans as exhaustion hit.


Dude. 4am Friday running until almost 11pm that night. Dressed, breakfasted and at the salon by 8:30 Saturday, and planning to leave the hotel at 4am Sunday morning! Oy vey.
Did I say exhaustion? I felt like a zombie (walking dead, you know).  


BUT...I wouldn't see the bride and groom for a long time, and may never see my other new friends again. So we napped briefly before hitting the town again at 10pm.

One drink. That was my promise. And I kept to it.
One drink... but now it was for the time factor, not the dress.
One drink, but it was the showing up that counted. I know if I hadn't gone I'd wish I had.

It had a zing to it.

That left us about 3 hours to crash before getting up and moving.
We crashed.
We got up and moving.
We made our flight. THIS TIME on Delta. Things couldn't have run more smoothly, and the staff couldn't have been nicer.



When I thanked the steward as we disembarked, the bemused man tilted his head and asked "For what? You slept through the flight!"

Sleep. Blessed sleep.
...I'm tired just reading this, aren't you?


~~~
As I re-read these two posts, I realize I've made myself out to be quite the lush.
Ah well, think what you like. I've lived with that reputation for a long time. Unfortunately, I just can't share everything that happened!



22 comments:

  1. Ah, I feel much better, hearing the rest of the story :) What a crazy, busy trip, but it seems like it was a lot of fun. I love weddings, even though I have no desire to ever have a big one if I do end up getting married. And I like to hear stories about you and your traveling companion, because I'm nosy like that.

    Oh, and you looked beautiful in your dress :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It was a lot of fun. I definitely would not put that much into a wedding, though. I'm with you.

      ...and I would happily travel with that same travel companion anywhere. Or nowhere. Doesn't matter, either way. :)

      And Thank you!

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  2. I believe your Traveling Companion had a fantastic time and would love to go on another trip with you without the hectic schedule.

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    1. AMEN! It was an adventure for us both. And a lot of fun. Everyone loved him, too. This person has a knack for making new friends easily. Not me. I'm a wall-flower, under normal circumstances.

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  3. Glad to see you had a good time. The dress fit what more could you want? My girlfriend always freaks out weeks before any shin-dig about fitting into dresses. Always out of proportion.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Women's fashion is made to make us crazy. We're supposed to look good, and it's supposed to fit just so. Guys get lucky...a suit has several layers and looks sharp but not snug. A gorgeous dress is meant to be figure-flattering, but that only works when it fits right.

      It was a great time. Going into it I only knew the couple, and her parents. But it felt like I was surrounded by friends.

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  4. I can say that you actually DID look gorgeous in your dress. Even if breathing was optional. :)

    You don't sound like a lush. You sound like someone who was at a social event where alcohol was prevalent and you joined into the festivities. You just sound social, is all. I fear sometimes I come across as a lush as well, because there are times when I am drinking or making new concoctions and sharing that info, but then I can go weeks without a drink as well. (Like this week). Don't worry about it. Us lushes can stick together!! :)

    Sounds like a really fun wedding and like the bride & groom really thought it out and tried to make it fun and stress-free for everyone. Congrats to them and glad you had fun!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Misty, you make me wish I hadn't had to move away from the coast! We could have some fun "social events"!

      ...I do miss all the wine tastings out east. Here, where you can buy your wine at the grocery store, tastings are all at the wineries. Out in Delaware every liquor store has a tasting night. It was very educational!

      It was a lot of fun. Definitely the best I've been part of so far!...partly because of the Travel Companion. ;-)

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  5. The dress is great, and the wedding was beautiful and fun. Thanks for visiting!

    ReplyDelete
  6. The dress was beautiful actually, though it sounds like you were extremely glad to shed it after the reception like the snake skin it was! This whole adventure sounds fast-paced, and late-night but fun! So glad the flight home went much better! I like your travelling companion's suggestion to do another trip together...soon! :-)

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I was glad to shed that lovely dress...I'd be even happier if I was able to get back into it someday. Who knows.

      It was very much a sleep-deprived weekend, but aren't most of the best ones?

      ...and after we're both gainfully employed, I'm sure we'll travel again!

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  7. Replies
    1. It was crazy... United Airlines was maddening, the wedding events were grand fun, and the travel companion was magnificent. We'll do it all over again sometime.

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  8. I have to say, the bridesmaid's dress is lovely (even if it was suffocating).

    Sounds like you had a very busy but fun trip!!

    ReplyDelete
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    1. That's exactly right. It was busy with fun-filled stuff!

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  9. Even though it was exhausting (weddings always are!), at least it sounds like a truly fun event! I just don't understand how anyone can have a dry wedding and expect their guests and wedding party to have any fun????

    ReplyDelete
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    1. I know, right? And these two are not real drinkers. She never was, and then started occasionally having wine with dinner. They are just gracious hosts.

      ...and glad to see you back!

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  10. So I was wrong.

    I am kind of disappointed. It was mind over matter. I believed alcohol burned calories, so it did. But now I know the truth, and there's no going back.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. Well don't discount the fact that a person's metabolism slows down when they are tired. And I was a good bit sleep-deprived. So that played into it as well.

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  11. It's fun to read about the wedding that I've heard about for so long - and I had to laugh at the thought of you going through the long make up and hair dressing process lol... that's just perfect! We don't exactly get to see you ;-) - but I'm sure you were beautiful in that dress!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I thought you'd like this story. Good to see you in the blogosphere! - there's a hole when you're gone.

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    2. I'm missing it too. I feel like when I have a place of my own I'll be able to blog more. Staying with family makes it much harder... but then... you know about that too lol

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I enjoy a good debate. Feel free to shake things up. Tell me I'm wrong. Ask me why I have such a weird opinion. ...or, just laugh and tell how this relates to you and your life.