The Official Wedding Update

I know it has been a week since I have returned from my sister's wedding, but my week has been insane. I've been working a little late some nights, tried catching up on things when I returned, and one night I totally crashed on the couch by 8pm and I have no idea the last time I went to bed that early.

Anyway, I think it is obvious from the pictures and videos that the wedding was wonderful. I believe all the guests had a great time and JP helped confirm that by saying the night of the wedding, "This is the best night of my life!" and decided that he and his fiancee, Tasha, should get married on the beach and have their reception at the Hilton on Longboat Key too. I guess I will be back there in August and I'm very excited about it!

I arrived in Florida Tuesday night before the wedding and settled in. Wednesday, Courtney and I put in a 16-hour work day. Details, details, decisions, and more details! Courtney's brain was fried by the time I arrived, so I tried to take over, but soon both of our brains turned to mush after all the planning, details, and to-do lists were swirling around in our heads. We hit up the hot tub at 2am (we PROMISED we would do something fun that day even if it was at 2am and we felt so exhausted) and then crashed for the night. The rest was pretty much a blur until the day of the wedding. We were staying with family earlier in the week and then we moved over to the resort. Guests and family started to fly in and soon we took over the hotel. I walked around the pool and the ocean checking out people because if I didn't know them yet, I'm sure I would soon be introduced by someone in Matt's family. Thursday night, the ladies went out to dinner to Cork & The Bottleshop, a delicious restaurant and wine bar. The night got a little wild with some delicious wine and we decided to meet up with the guys. In true "guy fashion" they skipped dinner and headed out for drinks. When we met up with them it was clear they did not go to dinner and I thought, "Uhhh, this may not be a good idea"...but it turned out to be really fun. The girls definitely pounced on the guys and they were surprised, but we had a great time.

Courtney and I, along with most of the guests, took most of Friday as our "fun" day and laid out on the beach, swam in the pool, and basked in the sunshine. We followed around our father with sunscreen telling him he couldn't get burnt - no burns in the pictures! I reapplied sunscreen many times, as did Courtney...but we soon found out that wasn't enough! We got ready for the Welcome/Rehearsal dinner and soon our sunburns settled in. We got to see all the guests who had arrived at the dinner at a restaurant called The Beach House. It was right on the beach and we all enjoyed a beautiful sun set over dinner and drinks. It was great to see everyone who came into Florida for the wedding and we all mingled, took pictures, and exchanged our excitement that the wedding weekend had begun! Courtney gave her flower girl, Erin, (Matt's and Courtney's niece) an American Girl doll that looks like Erin. We all watched as she opened it up and she screamed, "Erin!" The doll did not leave her arms the whole weekend! Courtney and I always wanted an American Girl doll and we had to keep our jealously in check. When I was younger, I wanted a doll so bad. My mother thought getting me a subscription to the magazine "American Girl" would appease me, but after all these years, it obviously did not. We were tired with all the sun and decided we needed to get back to the hotel and get some good rest for "the big day." We settled in and Courtney realized her shoulder was fried, as were my arms. After all the planning and sunscreen, we both cried that we were going to ruin the wedding with our burns. Courtney kept on saying "I have a strapless dress! I am going to look like a trashy bride! What am I going to do? Should I go get self-tanner and try to put it over it? What should I do? Ahh!" We decided that we shouldn't make any impulsive decisions and maybe lots of aloe and a night's rest would help.

Before we settled in for the night, I set up a wake up call for 5:15am. The make-up people were supposed to show up between 5:30-6am and I wanted to get a quick shower in. Anyway, the wake up call came late - at the same time the make-up and hair ladies were knocking on the door. Honestly, the phone was ringing and people were knocking on the door at the very same time. We ran out of bed and didn't know what to do and Courtney firmly directed me to get in the shower immediately. I took the quickest shower ever and was out and ready to get my hair and make up done. The other bridesmaids arrived and we got all beautified and it was really fun...but very early. We pressured the make-up ladies to do something with Courtney's sunburn - at first they did not want to do anything and we were NOT happy - but after some convincing they did it. I don't know why they were hesitant about it, but what matters is that they fixed it!

We packed into the trolley and headed to The Ringling Museum of Art to get pictures taken. The Spanish architecture against the Florida flowers and trees was beautiful and I cannot wait to see the professional pictures! We soon headed to the church for the ceremony. Courtney and Matt were married in the same church as my parents, so it was so sentimental and sweet to think that my mother walked down that aisle to take her vows and marry my father. The ceremony was very sweet and soon Courtney and Matt were married! We packed into the trolley again and celebrated all the way to the reception. All appropriate parties gave their toasts and the official party began! The music was great and I spent most of the evening on the dance floor with friends and family. It was all over too soon and we ended the party with a tunnel sparklers which Matt and Courtney ran through. We decided to have an "after party" on the beach and soon many of the guests (the young and/or the brave) joined us in the ocean for a late-night dip!

John missed his obscenely early morning flight (how could he not after all that fun?), but it all worked out perfectly. We got more time together in Florida and got on the same flight later in the day.

Now I am back with lots of fun memories and thinking about all the fun Courtney and Matt are having in Turks and Caicos. At least we have another Florida wedding to look forward to in August!

Since my return, I attended another wedding which was a complete blast. Pictures to come soon! I can only manage one wedding at a time!