A Celebration of Our Marriage
This weekend Kris and I hosted a second reception here at UCI for all our west coast friends. Quite a few people joined us, from our rally friends, to our neighbors, and even some co-workers, and everyone brought great food to share. The hall we’re allowed to use (for free!) is actually quite nice, with a dining area with cushiony chairs, nice bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a living room complete with couches, big screen tv, and surround sound! We used some of the decorations leftover from my NJ shower (the hanging stars and blue star trays on the tables) to give the space a “party feel.” We created a “guest table” with more guest cards, our ceremony program, and a basket I made from the flowers and luggage tags that we decorated with new tags to commemorate September 15th. We also brought in the small album of pictures and placed it on the living room table (thanks once again to Susan Bethea for developing those pictures for us!), as well as our wedding DVD, and Kris’s laptop full of music.
Karen and Vince arrived early, so Karen could help me into my wedding dress. Since I had done my hair and makeup earlier in the day, we had to wait for another girl or two before I could get it over my head without smuding my makeup or pulling my hair out. Andrea, one of my neighborhood friends, came over a few minutes later, and we were ready to go when Vanessa and Brian, our friends from Arizona, arrived. I sent the boys upstairs to change (Kris had rented a tux for the day), just as Renee popped in the door. With four girls to help, the dress was easy to get on and laced up! (Kudos gals!) It was a hilarious sight as I hiked up my dress, walked out, and got into the car. I know some of our other neighbors must have wondered what the heck we were doing!
Most of our guests started arriving right away. I had forgotten who had RSVPed, so I was almost surprised when each one of them got there. Everyone was really generous with food, drinks, and more, and we all enjoyed stories and video from the wedding. In addition, we got to hear lots of other wedding stories, including Erik and Amy’s wedding back in March, Guido and Tara’s plans for their wedding in Maui in early October (they’re getting “Maui-ed!” - say it aloud for the full effect), and Brian and Vanessa’s plans for their wedding in early November! We had an awesome time, and even got to enjoy Brian and Vanessa’s company for the rest of the weekend.
Thanks again to everyone who was able to join us! And if you have pictures, please let us know!
