The Great Wedding

My brother-in-law got married this weekend! Since no one reading this knows Chris, let me fill you in on the fact that this is a BIG deal.  This is the brother who literally got goosebumps anytime someone would say the word commitment around him.  I am so happy for him and his new wife, MyLe.  But enough about them... let me tell you my side of the story.

We were supposed to leave for California on Thursday morning.  Wednesday night, Thomas and Iris' pink eye came back.  My mom, who would be watching the kids for the weekend wasn't worried about it, but I had no one to watch them during the day on Thursday as they could no longer go to school and I wasn't about to risk giving pink eye to any of my friends (I like to try to keep my friends happy). So, after much deliberation, it was decided I would stay home with the kids.  Oddly, I was a little excited to have a weekend at home sans-Matt.  It was kind of like when your parents go out of town when you were in high school.  Party time! I had gone to the store to get provisions for the weekend and was ready to shut myself in the house for four days. At 5:30p.m., Matt calls me to inform me that he has me booked on a flight that leaves at 7:00 a.m. on Friday morning. What?? I was stress city for the rest of the night.  I rushed through the house trying to get it cleaned and ready for my mom to come and stay there. Also, I had to repack my unpacked suitcase and take care of the kids... so you know, I had very little going on.  Luckily, my fabulous friend Kyle had offered (been forced to volunteer) to take me to the airport in the morning, so he was there to help calm me in my stress induced panic. In the end, the kids were taken care of and I made it to the airport to be on my way to Santa Barbara.

After a ridiculously long day of travel, it was time to go straight to the rehearsal.  I was tired. I hadn't eaten.  I had a massive headache.  I was far from being pleasant, to say the least.  But I tried to put on a good face for Chris. He is one of the only people in that family that I actually like, so I'm trying to maintain his tolerance of me.  The rehearsal dinner was at a winery.  Did I mention that I hadn't eaten all day? Wine was not the best idea.  I knew that.  I tried to stay away, but temptation was too great.  One glass turned into many, and by the time we were leaving, I was drinking straight from the bottle.  Classy, right? I am amazed that I made it back to the hotel in one piece.  I did have a mystery bump on my forehead the next morning, so I guess not entirely in one piece. All in all, the rehearsal was beautiful... what I can remember of it.

Why do I tell you of my drunken stupidity? Because you need to understand that when I woke up at 6:30 the next morning, my head was throbbing. More so from the bump I got than the wine, but still... throbbing. And no one is awake. And I'm bored.  So I walked around the resort... for HOURS.  I literally had nothing to do.  While every other normal person was sleeping off their hangovers, I was walking off mine.  At least it was a beautiful place to walk, right?

Finally, after a day of walking, it was time for the wedding.  I am not a fancy person. I don't typically dress up.  But I clean up good, don't you think? Matt doesn't look too bad either. The wedding was absolutely beautiful.  I can't even describe how amazing it was to be on top of a cliff, over looking the ocean, at sunset.  It was absolutely gorgeous.  And cold! But I can forget about how freezing it was to remember how cute the bride and groom were as they said their vows. Oh, and I did keep checking out the best man... he was a total hottie. The only downside to the cold was that that cutie of a best man did get the rings stuck on his fingers.  Luckily it was only for a moment before he was able to give them to the bride and groom.  So, hooray! The wedding went perfectly... now it was time to party!

Have you ever watched those ridiculous weddings on TV where you say to yourself, "how much did all of that craziness cost?!" That was this wedding.  There was a never ending flow of food, flowers, cake, and most importantly alcohol. The bride changed outfits three times.  Each dress was more extravagant than the last.  It was crazy.  I now know that I've been sucking up to the right brother, though, if he's got that kind of money! Once again I drank so much that I couldn't remember the end of the evening.  Really, I shouldn't be allowed anywhere near an open bar. All in all, it was a blast though, and I'm glad that I was able to catch a flight out there in time.  The nicest thing said to me was from the groom: "Jaime, we were so sad when we thought you weren't coming to the wedding.  You're more of family to me than some of my own family." Isn't he sweet? Of course we were both really drunk at that point, but I'll take the compliment anyway.

Fortunately, Sunday was relatively calm.  More walking for me, because I really don't ever sit still. However, at the end of the day, I walked back to where the wedding had been the evening before and got to watch the most beautiful sunset.  It was a peaceful end to a great weekend, so I will share it with you.