deep breathing

OK! June is almost over, and I'm not really sure what happened to it, but I am officially done with classes for the rest of the summer so I don't care! I'm also not quite sure which tornado hit my house and what happened to my organized scheduling of the past few weeks, but again... I don't care! I have many visions for the next 2 months -- visiting with family, cleaning the office, figuring out how to make my sewing machine function, finishing baby projects, organizing all of the stuff we have around here, reading a non-school-related book or two -- but I'm taking the next 2 days to just relax and not think about anything. (Also, it helps to have my car in the shop right now. Don't worry, just getting the A/C fixed so Benjamin stops melting every time we run errands.)

To help with the whole not-thinking plan, I thought I should finish posting pictures from our wedding weekend extravaganza. Oh boy! I posted a few pictures and Benjamin-related details over here, but thought I could share a few more.

Firstly, there were a few mistakes we made last weekend:
1. Deciding not to stay in Salem on Saturday night (after the rehearsal). We thought the drive back wouldn't be bad and we could slip out of the dinner easily (and early). That didn't end up happening and we were absolutely beat. Bad plan!
2. Not having a back-up plan for Benjamin on Saturday night (a place to take him in case the dinner went long).
3. Not having a back-up plan for Benjamin on Sunday night (I didn't want Corey to miss the reception, and Benjamin couldn't sleep with all of the activity and noise).
4. Deciding to stay in Salem on Sunday night. Corey came back home because he had to work on Monday morning, and we figured that it would be better for Benjamin and I to just sleep in Salem. Not so much! I was awake enough to make it home, Benjamin would have passed out in the car, and he probably would have slept-in on Monday morning if he was in his own crib. As it was, I slept horribly (without my 5 pillows, naturally!), Benjamin was up at 6:30 (thank you Mr. Train!), we practically woke the entire house-full of wedding party sleepers by trying to get out the door quietly, and we ended up back home over an hour before Corey even left for work. Stupid, stupid!
5. Trying to do everything by ourselves. In reality, I should have enlisted some help with Benjamin during the prep-period so that at least one of us would have been moderately rested.

I should say, though, that there were a few things we did right:
1. Bringing lots of different things (toys, snacks, blankets, etc) to entertain and distract Benjamin.
2. Bringing a booster seat for the pew so that Corey could distract him hands-free.
3. Allowing him to roam around freely and stretch his legs right before the ceremony so that he wasn't fighting us to walk down the aisle.
4. Having the cutest.kid.ever.

Oh well! Live and learn, I suppose. Despite everything, it was a really fun weekend and an absolutely amazing wedding, so we just let everything go and tried to enjoy it.

Some pictures:

rehearsal (they were really happy, I promise!)

2/3 of the bridesmaids
(although I'm like twice the size of both of them, so I should count for 2/3 on my own...)

detail of the ring-bearer pillow
(her grandma made it -- isn't it beautiful??)

spread that was waiting for us in the bridal room
(could there be a bigger bottle of champagne? we didn't drink it, obviously, but I'm not going to say that it didn't get enjoyed once the bride and groom had left the party...)

"I'm ready to go, coach!"
(note her 4 frappuccino bottles...)

finishing touches on the guest book

post hair-appointment...lovely, isn't it??

bridal party
(btw, the underwear in Ann's hands was "something blue" and Ann embroidered "it's Miller time" on the butt -- so fun! It helps to know that the grooms last name is Miller...)

dolling up

beautiful!
(I didn't get one of the back, but there were other flowers cascading down)

bridesmaids, all ready to go!

at the reception (little guy was already "sleeping")

the groom is really back-lit, but this was the only shot I had full-length so that you can see her dress...

the happy couple!

As I said, it was a beautiful wedding and so much fun, and I felt so blessed to be a part of the experience. I've got to watch my friend blossom into this romance (and trust me, it's been 4 years coming!) so it was such a joy to stand beside her as she became a wife. I'm trying not to be jealous that she's on a beach in Mexico for another week, I did get to spend over 3 weeks in Italy after all, but I'm excited for her to get back so that I can share in the fun of being married with another friend!

OH! I meant to say, for Betsy and anyone else who knows that 3 things always go wrong on your wedding day:
1. The hairdresser took much longer than they were supposed to, pushing us into a near-frantic get-ready-for-pictures rush.
2. The ring-bearer's pillow was stowed safely in my car at the reception site -- and I discovered this as we arrived at the church half hour before the wedding (thank God for errand boys!)
3. The button holding up the dress' bustle completely deteriorated mid-reception (thank God for safety pins!)