mawage, part deux

Ahh, weddings. The last flurry of them came during my last two years of college - it seemed everyone around me was pairing up, and I think I was invited to a dozen or so over the course of 24 months (I confess, I didn't go to all of them). That was the Midwest where, it seems to me, people have a tendency to marry younger - the majority of those earlier weddings were folks still in college. And out on the East Coast... i dunno - it seems like more folks wait longer. Anyone care to confirm or deny my amateur theory?

so now that I'm well clear of college, round two of wedding frenzy has come. Working in reverse order, the wedding that came right before Nate and Laura's (see previous post) was Matt and Jamie's...

I was a bridesmaid in this one, so the planning and pre-wedding excitement started way back in January, when we went bridesmaid dress-shopping...
There I am, holding it up after two other 'maids and I had tried on numerous shiny, blue-ish, strapless sorts of outfits. in january, it's always a bit of a shock to see one's shoulders go bare!!

Then came the shower, planned by me and fellow 'maid Joy. Neither of us had planned a shower before, but oh my goodness, did we have fun! put two creative, craft- and kitchen-happy girls on party detail, and, if i do say so myself, you get a pretty good party! We made some bergamot-sugar body scrub for favors (oh-so-nice for a little pampering!) and cooked up a storm, along with our friend Belinda, who graciously opened up her home and lent her fabulous party-planning skills to the event! We had a great time with minimal cheesy shower games (honestly! who invented the toilet-paper bride game?? and does anyone really, truly enjoy playing it? not me. I once snuck out of a shower early just because they brought out the toilet paper). But we had no toilet paper, only a "chubby-bunny-bride" game, where we (having quizzed the groom beforehand) asked the bride questions like "what was matt's first car?" "how old was he when he got his first deer?" and "what was his favorite stuffed animal when he was 5?" Now, some she knew (go, Jamie!), but for everyone she didn't get, she had to stuff a piece of Bazooka bubble gum in her mouth. You can imagine how quickly "chubby-bunny" status was achieved! But everyone had a good time, including the bride, and we all learned more about the groom!

Then came the bachelorette party (see previous post), and then the wedding. What a great wedding! Here's some photos...



And then came a very fun party... There was cake, and dancing, and all sorts of fun stuff. Only - the Macarena - did you know it was still alive and kicking?? I thought it died a painful death back in 1999. But no, apparently its after-life is in the repertoire of wedding DJs. I was disappointed to learn this. But I guess it's a classic now, along with the conga line (which in my opinion is sooo much more fun to watch than to join! Here are my friends Steve (glasses) and Ben (red shirt) heading up the train.... Oh, and then the swing. I know it's not so much "in" anymore, but I don't care - I dearly love to swing dance, and so does my friend Ben, so we had an **awesome** time of it! Then afterward, before everyone took off, our gang lined up for a photo. It was an amazing weekend. Happy Wedding, Matt and Jamie!!