Weddings

This fall I was lucky enough to go to some really amazing weddings. It all started when my best friend Joanne got engaged and asked me to be her maid of honor. I had taken a job in the Med and wasnt sure how I was going to swing it, but I would. for sure. I almost missed Drake's wedding last year and that was NOT Going to happen again. As it turned out it wasnt an issue at all (see previous blog). Before I left Europe I went to Emma Jane's wedding in London.Emma Jane is Ben's step sister and she married Simon. They live in a beautiful house in Chelsea and drive a range rover and all of that so I knew this wedding was going to be top notch. I was about to leave for Morocco when Ben informed me that this was a hat wedding and did I have a hat. Did I have a hat?? Who, who is backpacking none the less, has a hat lying around? Carol, Emma Jane's mother, was kind enough to bring one down from Wales withthe 3 other hats she was bringing (and she has more than that at home!!). And a good thing too, I would have looked quite silly not having one, as EVERYONE had something on their head!

-note: you can also wear a fascinator which is like a really fancy headband. I would have opted for this, had I known. And I dont know if theyre called fascinators because they fasten or because theyre fascinating.

Anyways. The day started out at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, next to Hyde park. I know because from their top floor balcony you could see the whole thing! The ceremony was beautiful and featured a 15 piece Welsh choir who rang out "all you need is love" by the beatles, on their way out of the church. Afterwards we rode the bus to the hotel reception. Not just any bus, a london bus and a classic one at that! fantastic way to travel 6 blocks!

The reception was fantastic, lots of hat exchanging went on with the boys' top hats, and it was a great party for Emma Jane and Simon.

From London Ben and I flew to NH for Joanne's wedding. The week leading up to the wedding deserves it's own blog so stay tuned. As for Joanne and Mike, What a show! They rented Dexter's Inn in Sunapee which has everything you need for a great party in the mountains. A view of the foliage and ski resort, a huge backyard complete with lawn games and a party barn for after hours!

The girls and I got ready on the day of with Joanne. The sky cleared and the ceremony was beautiful. I cant think of words to say about it but Joanne has scrapbooked the whole thing, so take a look. IT was an amazing weekend and Im so happy for her and mike.

The next weekend I got to go to my cousin Denise's wedding. I was very excited to see my whole family, it had been awhile since we were all together. And very excited to see Denise get married. My aunt Jeanne was so cute! They all looked so happy!

It was a fall wedding in New England and we were on the coast in Maine so what a surprise when it was gray and windy! It didnt rain though, and the ceremony was outside over looking the sea. They kept it short and beautiful. Kate's husband Jeff lead the ceremony and he is getting pretty good at it! Better than a lot of priests Ive seen!

It was a fun dinner and great to see my sisters all at the same table.

The last one for awhile was Jillian's wedding to Nik. I was very worried I wouldnt make it to this one, I had to sail a boat to st Maarten to get on a plane to fly back! We skirted hurricane Tomas and made it down in record time! Just when I thought I was home free I got to the st maarten airport and the power was out! Noone was moving and when they finally did they checked us in by hand! I am keeping my hand written boarding pass for ever! No worries, we only left about an hour late and I had a connection to make in Charlotte. US air did a great job, somehow, and I made it all the way to Boston just about on time! Lucky for me I have some very good friends that still live in boston and Kzak was going to pick me up from the airport. I was very excited to have a sleepover and be "city girls" for the weekend. As I waited for Kzaks Subaru to pull up I saw a silver Audi and thought "wouldnt it be great if Alex AND kzak picked me up?" And THEY DID! We went out for dinner in CHarlestown at a hookah bar. (theres a hookah bar in charlestown, you say? yes there is, its great). From there we made our way to Kzaks temporary home in Malden. Lovely town. We woke up on Saturday VERY EXCITED! We made plans to meet Nell and Kristin for coffee at K's favorite coffee shop. JKLMN was going to be in the same city that day!!! We went back to Brians to get ready and drove to Dorchester to the church. The ceremony was beautiful and the reunion was fantastic! As we walked out of the church we saw 4 TV cameras and thought "Wow, who is this guy shes marrying!?" Apparently the limo the girls were in got HIJACKED! right before they walked into the church! AMAZING! Everyone was ok and the limo was found in Southie later.

Kzak, Dan and I threw the pre party in our hotel room and had a happy little UNH reunion of sailors! Amy, Gus, Michelle, the works! as the night went on things got better and better and we even got to speak to Jill! It was just awesome to be together again. Dancing and singing like we were in a basement somewhere in Durham. Thanks to great friends it was like no time had passed.

So I used to begrudge weddings but after this fall I look forward to them. What a great party, and people dont throw enough parties. It used to be a sort of competition in college, and we should continue the trend. Nothing is better than getting together with some great friends and having a good time.

So if youre getting married I wanna come. But let me know. soon. I have a lot of planning and traveling to do with these things!