Musings from an Anchored Traveler: Wedding Festivities

It's getting harder and harder for me to keep this updated, and the longer I go without writing, the more I forget about.

In a quick recap: May consisted of 3 weekends in a row where I went out of town.

Erika and me

Aaron, me, Erika after Aaron's graduation

Bridal shower with Tiffany dressed in a "TP" dress ;)

Weekend 1: I drove to Chapel Hill on Friday and visited with my old professor, Dr. Gless (who now wants me to call him Darryl which is going to be exceedingly hard). After meeting with him, I met my old roommate Krystle for dinner in downtown Chapel Hill. It was so good to see her again and it was just like old times. After dinner we got Yogurt Pump (an old haunt with delicious frozen yogurt), then walked around the campus in the dimming twilight. The lamps came on, lighting the brick paths, and as we wandered and reminisced, we got teary eyed remembering the good ol' days. Then we felt sorry for ourselves about actually getting old enough to "remember the good ol' days." haha But in all seriousness, we both agreed - the farther we are removed from our Chapel Hill days, the more we realize how unbelievably blessed we were to go there. We had amazing professors, made friends for life, lived on the most beautiful campus in the country (I'm not a bit biased), and shared experiences that will never leave us. And I miss it every day.

At our cabin in Hot Springs NC for bachelorette party

After a night of watching Dawson's Creek for old times' sake, I got up the next morning and drove to Cary where I met up with my good friend Erika, her brother Aaron, and their parents. Erika was in town for Aaron's graduation from UNC's School of Nursing, so I decided to come up, see Erika (who lives in L.A.) and also go to Aaron's graduation (we've become friends through Erika). Erika's parents are the editors/producers of Boom! Magazine which I've been writing travel articles for since last year, so while I was there, they gave me some copies of the most recent issue with my article about Utah inside. Here is the link if you'd like to see the online version: http://www.boomnc.com/featured-articles/happiness-dwells-in-utah/

Hanging around on an old caboose

I had a great time with their family, per usual, and was sad to have to leave early Sunday morning in order to make it to Lake Norman where Tiffany's mom was throwing her a bridal shower. However, I was certainly glad to be at the shower, as it was beautiful and Tiffany is my longest friend. I planned the games for the shower, and it was a lot of fun and laughter.

Weekend 2: I picked up Tiffany Saturday morning and drove her to Hot Springs, NC where we had rented a cabin for her bachelorette weekend. Six of her other friends met us there and we surprised her with a hot springs bath (sort of like a big hot tub that we all got to sit in for an hour), as well as a 1 hour massage for Tiff on Sunday. Saturday night we had an "ugly dress party" where Tiffany was adorned in a 1980s wedding dress from GoodWill and the rest of us brought along the tackiest dresses we could find. After we were properly adorned, we hit the town - which was the definition of a one-horse town. By the end of the evening, everyone in Hot Springs knew who we were. Even the Sheriff took a picture with Tiffany. We left with a very good feeling about Hot Springs and a longing to return to the town that welcomed a raucous bachelorette party with open arms.

Ugly dress party

Weekend 3: On Friday morning May 24, I left Charlotte at 7:30 a.m. in order to be in Asheville by 10 a.m. where Tiffany's dad paid for all the women in the bridal party to get mani/pedis and massages. It was a delightful morning of pampering. Tiffany also presented us with robes that have our names on the front and our title (mine said 'Maid of Honor') on the back. Later that afternoon, we met at the wedding venue (The Crest Center on top of a mountain in Asheville) and went through the dress rehearsal. It was windy and rather chilly, and we were praying it would not be so the next day.

Tiff and me

From there we went to the rehearsal dinner at a yummy Italian place in downtown Asheville. It was nice, by this point, getting to know the bridesmaids a little better (since most Tiff had met through summers at Girl Scout camp). I felt the closest to Thea who was very sweet and the only other non-girl scout in the party. Unfortunately, she lives in Austin,TX now. :(

I gave a speech at the dinner that made everyone tear up - except Tiffany. It was then my personal goal to make her tear up during my speech at the actual wedding.

in the limo being silly

bridesmaides

That night, Mitch (Tiff's soon-to-be husband) asked me if I'd teach them how to dance. So, after the dinner, I went back to the Grovepark Inn with Tiffany and Mitch and taught them how to waltz in the middle of the bridal suite at 11 p.m. the night before their wedding. I was a little concerned, but when they had their first dance, they did very well. I was proud.

walking down the aisle

Saturday morning all the bridesmaids met in the bridal suite and hair and makeup artists arrived to do us up. By the end, we all looked incredibly beautiful, none more so than Tiffany, who was simply radiant. The photographer took us for pictures before the limos arrived to transport us to the Crest Center for the ceremony.

perfect day

The day of the wedding could not have been more perfect. A light breeze complimented the 72 degree sunny weather. The skies were 100% clear and the view was spectacular. No one tripped while walking down the aisle (which was really just a grassy pathway), and the ceremony was short and sweet. Mitch surprised us all when he was asked to kiss the bride and dipped her back to kiss her.

You May Kiss the Bride

The reception was a ton of fun and I danced the night away. My speech also brought a few glistening tears to Tiffany's eyes, so my mission was complete. (I also got many compliments both at the rehearsal dinner and at the reception about my speeches, which made me happy :)). The entire wedding was pulled off so beautifully, with not a single detail overlooked. Every place setting had a rock with our name written on it, candles floated on glass trays above the tables, white Christmas lights decorated the rafters. It was just perfect.

We love you guys!

It was also weird - sending my oldest friend off with her new husband. My best friend just got married. What?? How is this possible? But I can't say I'm not thrilled for them both. Mitch is fantastic and like a brother to me. But it's still strange.

Now: Now I'm in the process of moving into a house my Uncle Bob bought to eventually re-sell. Until that point, he's letting my friend Alissa and I move in and rent it. We are currently looking for 2 more renters to come split the cost. In the meanwhile, we've been painting, cleaning, moving stuff...it's all been a lot of work, especially since this is my 4th move in a year.

at the reception

I also had a recent silk aerial performance, which went great until I got a bad silk burn on my leg. :( However, it won't stop me going forward. I'll just be more careful. Yesterday I went to the dentist for the first time in 2.5 years (b/c I didn't have dental insurance until recently). They found a cavity in my top wisdom tooth, so instead of trying to fill it (which would've been very difficult b/c of how far back it was), they decided to pull it out. Right then. They numbed me up, but let me just say, having someone pry a wisdom tooth out of your jaw while you are awake and hearing it and feeling the pressure and listening to the doctor strain - well, it's rather terrifying. So yesterday I was pretty sore. I'm doing much better today, but still not back to normal.