My brother's wedding weekend was so much fun! It didn't start out that way, however, because the flight out to Minnesota was terrible on Friday. It's been all over the news about the power outages in southeast Michigan right now--well, that was caused from the weather we had to fly through to get to Minnesota. I didn't know anything about it until we were in the plane and the turbulence was so bad I cried.
After flying several times over the past few years, I thought I'd pretty much gotten over my fear of flying (I was still scared, but nothing that a couple of pre-flight glasses of wine couldn't help).
But after the flight Friday, I feel like I'm back to where I was a few years ago. The turbulence was really bad, and the plane dropped altitude a couple of times, which made me panic. I gulped down wine on the plane, but I still embarrassed myself by crying actual tears. The turbulence lasted about an hour, with the worst of it being for about 20 minutes.
But once we made it to Minnesota, everything was great! My parents had rented a house for all of us to stay in. The only people going from Michigan were my parents, Jeanie and Shawn (my sister and her husband), Nathan (my younger brother), and Jerry, myself, and the boys. Everyone else at the wedding was from Becky's family (Becky is Brian's now-wife) and their friends.
On Friday evening, my mom had invited Becky's whole family to the rental house for a non-rehearsal rehearsal dinner (there was no wedding rehearsal, so we just had the dinner). Brian asked me to help him with a project--he wanted to make a sign to hang under his quadcopter that said, "Just Married". He'd bought paint and fabric at JoAnn's (he actually called me from the store a few weeks ago to ask about what to buy). I had no clue, but when I saw what he bought, I did my best to make the banner ;)
Friday night was my first time meeting Becky's family, and they were fantastic--very laid back and fun. We had dinner and drinks, and I was so exhausted that I went to bed at around 10:30 (which was 11:30 Michigan time).
On Saturday, I had been planning to go for a run with Nathan around this amazing trail system close to the rental house. Nathan had to do 13 miles, so here is his route--how awesome is this?
I hadn't gotten any sleep that night, even though I was dead tired, so I chose not to go for the run. I really regretted it when Nathan got back and said it was amazing! (All of us were SHOCKED at just how many people were out running or biking at any given time throughout the weekend. Just staring out the window of the house for 10 minutes, we'd see at least 10 people go by. In Michigan, I'm lucky to come across just one runner in a 10-mile span!)
Anyway, us girls had to be to Becky's parents' house at 8:00 in the morning for hair and make-up. After our vacation and the trip to Minnesota, and some other stuff going on, I couldn't justify spending so much money to get my hair and make-up done right now, so I just went along for chit chat and to watch the other girls get beautified. Becky had gotten me a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks to sip--yum!!
After the girls were done with hair and make-up, we went back to rental house where I got ready. I pulled my hair into a side chignon and clipped a hot pink flower in it (the dresses were gray, and Becky gave us pink jewelry to wear). I did my make-up, and put on some hot pink heels that I bought at the thrift store (for $4!) a couple of days before. I was pretty happy with my hair and make-up, and I'd saved $130 by doing it myself! I wish I had better pictures, but things were really busy and I didn't think to get any good ones. Hopefully, I'll get some from the photographer.
The ceremony was at Minnehaha Falls Park. I have to say, I wish I could go back in time and redo my ceremony to be like theirs! They only invited their immediate families to the ceremony (Brian, Becky, their parents, siblings, and spouses). We took photos before the ceremony, and then when the photos were done, the officiant told us all to gather around closely for the ceremony. It was very small, informal, and intimate, and I loved that. It was less than 10 minutes, too!
After the ceremony Brian wanted to practice flying the "Just Married" sign with the quadcopter. It was a little heavy, but he did get it to go airborne for a few seconds.
Then we headed to Becky's parents' house, where the reception was being held. The reception was very informal (I even brought jeans and a sweatshirt to change into later). They had about 200 people come, and they had a pig roast for dinner. The food was fantastic, and the decorations looked like they were straight off of Pinterest.
My parents said they would take the kids back to the rental house that night, so Jerry and I could take advantage of the open bar. Becky had set up a tent for us to stay in that night (several other people were staying in tents, also). Normally, I don't dance at weddings, because I am so self-conscious; but after wearing the bikini in Punta Cana and gaining some self-confidence, and some liquid courage from the bar, I actually danced quite a bit--and it was SO fun!
After the DJ packed up, we had a bonfire and chatted for a few hours with several of Brian's friends before heading to the tents at around 2:00. I was exhausted from not sleeping much the night before, and I slept surprisingly well in the tent. I honestly can't remember the last time I slept in a tent before that!
In the morning, we had brunch at Becky's parents' house. Our flight was at 3:30 in the afternoon, and I was so nervous about getting back on the plane. I asked Brian to check if there was going to be turbulence, and he said it looked totally clear the whole way, which made me feel a little better. The flight ended up being uneventful, which was great ;)
It was definitely a whirlwind of a weekend, but so much fun to hang out with my family and to welcome Becky to the family!
After flying several times over the past few years, I thought I'd pretty much gotten over my fear of flying (I was still scared, but nothing that a couple of pre-flight glasses of wine couldn't help).
But after the flight Friday, I feel like I'm back to where I was a few years ago. The turbulence was really bad, and the plane dropped altitude a couple of times, which made me panic. I gulped down wine on the plane, but I still embarrassed myself by crying actual tears. The turbulence lasted about an hour, with the worst of it being for about 20 minutes.
But once we made it to Minnesota, everything was great! My parents had rented a house for all of us to stay in. The only people going from Michigan were my parents, Jeanie and Shawn (my sister and her husband), Nathan (my younger brother), and Jerry, myself, and the boys. Everyone else at the wedding was from Becky's family (Becky is Brian's now-wife) and their friends.
On Friday evening, my mom had invited Becky's whole family to the rental house for a non-rehearsal rehearsal dinner (there was no wedding rehearsal, so we just had the dinner). Brian asked me to help him with a project--he wanted to make a sign to hang under his quadcopter that said, "Just Married". He'd bought paint and fabric at JoAnn's (he actually called me from the store a few weeks ago to ask about what to buy). I had no clue, but when I saw what he bought, I did my best to make the banner ;)
Friday night was my first time meeting Becky's family, and they were fantastic--very laid back and fun. We had dinner and drinks, and I was so exhausted that I went to bed at around 10:30 (which was 11:30 Michigan time).
On Saturday, I had been planning to go for a run with Nathan around this amazing trail system close to the rental house. Nathan had to do 13 miles, so here is his route--how awesome is this?
I hadn't gotten any sleep that night, even though I was dead tired, so I chose not to go for the run. I really regretted it when Nathan got back and said it was amazing! (All of us were SHOCKED at just how many people were out running or biking at any given time throughout the weekend. Just staring out the window of the house for 10 minutes, we'd see at least 10 people go by. In Michigan, I'm lucky to come across just one runner in a 10-mile span!)
Anyway, us girls had to be to Becky's parents' house at 8:00 in the morning for hair and make-up. After our vacation and the trip to Minnesota, and some other stuff going on, I couldn't justify spending so much money to get my hair and make-up done right now, so I just went along for chit chat and to watch the other girls get beautified. Becky had gotten me a pumpkin spice latte from Starbucks to sip--yum!!
After the girls were done with hair and make-up, we went back to rental house where I got ready. I pulled my hair into a side chignon and clipped a hot pink flower in it (the dresses were gray, and Becky gave us pink jewelry to wear). I did my make-up, and put on some hot pink heels that I bought at the thrift store (for $4!) a couple of days before. I was pretty happy with my hair and make-up, and I'd saved $130 by doing it myself! I wish I had better pictures, but things were really busy and I didn't think to get any good ones. Hopefully, I'll get some from the photographer.
The ceremony was at Minnehaha Falls Park. I have to say, I wish I could go back in time and redo my ceremony to be like theirs! They only invited their immediate families to the ceremony (Brian, Becky, their parents, siblings, and spouses). We took photos before the ceremony, and then when the photos were done, the officiant told us all to gather around closely for the ceremony. It was very small, informal, and intimate, and I loved that. It was less than 10 minutes, too!
After the ceremony Brian wanted to practice flying the "Just Married" sign with the quadcopter. It was a little heavy, but he did get it to go airborne for a few seconds.
Then we headed to Becky's parents' house, where the reception was being held. The reception was very informal (I even brought jeans and a sweatshirt to change into later). They had about 200 people come, and they had a pig roast for dinner. The food was fantastic, and the decorations looked like they were straight off of Pinterest.
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| Brian had the idea to home-brew beer and bottle it with cute labels as wedding favors |
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| Becky's mom surprised them with this adorable decoration! (Brian is a pilot) |
My parents said they would take the kids back to the rental house that night, so Jerry and I could take advantage of the open bar. Becky had set up a tent for us to stay in that night (several other people were staying in tents, also). Normally, I don't dance at weddings, because I am so self-conscious; but after wearing the bikini in Punta Cana and gaining some self-confidence, and some liquid courage from the bar, I actually danced quite a bit--and it was SO fun!
After the DJ packed up, we had a bonfire and chatted for a few hours with several of Brian's friends before heading to the tents at around 2:00. I was exhausted from not sleeping much the night before, and I slept surprisingly well in the tent. I honestly can't remember the last time I slept in a tent before that!
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| Looking anything-but wide awake in the morning ;) |
In the morning, we had brunch at Becky's parents' house. Our flight was at 3:30 in the afternoon, and I was so nervous about getting back on the plane. I asked Brian to check if there was going to be turbulence, and he said it looked totally clear the whole way, which made me feel a little better. The flight ended up being uneventful, which was great ;)
It was definitely a whirlwind of a weekend, but so much fun to hang out with my family and to welcome Becky to the family!
