Well, I promised wedding stories and pictures, so here goes...

First of all, a prayer of thankfulness that I survived three straight days of dresses, curling irons, cameras, nail polish, people running around with dishes and food and fake plants and small children (just kidding) in their hands, way too many conversations about marriage, and getting lost in Austin repeatedly. I-35 was our worst enemy. Just when we thought we were going north, we'd be heading south and have to get off and turn around. Fortunately, Highway 183 was my friend. And darling Kayla Wilcoxson, an Oxford friend whom I hadn't seen since December, was my navigator and stress reliever. She rode all over town with me and helped me breathe when things got a little too frantic.

Surprises of the weekend:

-The vast amount of detail that goes into a wedding. I knew this in a vague, abstract way, but never in a concrete and real way until now. Holy cow. From centerpieces to cake to punch recipes to wearing a button-down shirt while getting your hair done, that's a heck of a lot of detail.

-Groomsman David's plane getting stuck in D.C. due to rainy weather and his arrival a full day late...in the middle of the rehearsal, just in time to take his place escorting Rachel (the groom's sister) down the aisle!

-Seth (the groom) getting stuck in traffic and making it to the rehearsal an hour late...surprisingly, no one was really stressed about that. It's Austin. Traffic happens.

-The letter Seth wrote to Charity from the point of view of his mom, who died in a car wreck just before they started dating. Precious. We all cried, but it was so sweet and wonderful.

-Jamie coming into town in time to make the communion bread for the ceremony...her famous, oaty "waybread" which we all love.

-The unbeLIEVEable confusion of highways and construction that is Austin. (Did I mention we got lost a few times?) Somehow I don't remember it being THAT bad.

-A stuffed "ghost" that gave us a scare on Thursday night...it was in a box under one of the beds and would periodically shout, "Happy Halloween!" when Kimi shifted her weight and pressed on it. We didn't know what it was...and we searched the WHOLE room before discovering it. Scary!


Things we created this weekend:

-Mass chaos in a huge late-sixties house in south central Austin, where all six bridesmaids, plus the bride and half the house party and various girlie guests, crashed for the weekend. We seriously had a revolving door. Out of control...but fun. (It also turns out that a scene from Dazed and Confused was filmed in the back bedroom...where they smoked weed...but it wasn't real weed. Whatever.)

-Our bouquets, at literally the eleventh hour...sitting around the dining room table in said huge house at midnight on Friday, wrapping silk flowers with floral tape and ribbon, and listening to Jamie spill her guts about her handsome new fiance Geoff.

-Fruit trays, cheese trays, meat trays and mint trays - Jodi, the resident wedding guru, supervised all that jazz. And it looked great and tasted even better, which, I suppose, was the point.

-Fabulous hairstyles that involved hairspray, bobby pins, clips, rollers, silk flowers and lots of heat...labor intensive, but we looked pretty!

-Chocolate chess pieces to go on top of the groom's cake, which was a chocolate chessboard...Seth (the groom) and Reno (an usher) made them the night before, and they were perfect. (I ate one of the knights...yummy.)

-TONS of pictures, at every possible moment, in every location, all weekend long. Here are a few of my favorites:



The bridesmaids and Charity in the church, after the rehearsal dinner (don't we look pretty?)



All seven of us IN the giant cactus that graced the hall of the church (we heard it shoots confetti, but we never did see that happen - too bad).



Blowing a kiss to the camera during a LONG pre-wedding photo session



He DOES exist! Jeremiah looking studly and suave...this is the fourth wedding he's been in this year, so he's got the groomsman look down to an art.



My favorite handsome groomsman and me...awwww.

That's the roundup...along with pictorial proof that I do in fact have a boyfriend, and a handsome one at that. Yes, Happy, there IS a Jeremiah...and I, for one, am quite glad about it. :)