We left Birmingham on Thursday morning and 10 short hours later were in a Wendy's devouring delicious chicken nuggets and planning our shopping-spree-like attach on the mall across the street. With universal 50% off sales on all products in America (£1 = $2), and two checked bags to fill, it was a rough afternoon for the shelf-restockers in any store we made it into. You can imagine the odd looks we got from shopkeepers as we wandered the aisles, grabbing everything we could see off the shelves, and calling to each other, 'This is so cheap!' Continuing our American rampage, we visited with any family we could fit in, picked up our college friends Dez and Eric and headed up to the beautiful Poconos Mountains of Pennsylvania for the wedding Friday afternoon.
As we sat among old friends that night at Kristian and Rae’s “welcome meal” eating piles of crabcakes and drinking great Pennsylvanian beer (bitters are great but we do miss Yuengling!), it was very evident what a great gift our being able to be there was. Friends had come in from all over the US (well, world) and we were able to see friends who we haven’t hung out with in, in some cases, years. It was just an amazingly happy celebration and reunion, and being there made us realize what a tragedy it would have been to miss it. We definitely can’t thank the groomsmen enough for making that possible.
The outdoor wedding was late Saturday afternoon and it was a hot (what is this “summer” season?) but beautiful day and the Bride and Groom had the whole audience in tears with their personal vows. In the 7 years I’ve know Kristian, he has always been with Rae, and to see them joined in such a happy ceremony was fantastic, as the Brits say. The reception was out of control, and it was very clear that Kristian and Rae have managed to attract friends just like them: happy, outgoing and a whole lot of fun. After like 4 hours of dancing in the heat without a slow song in site, human physical limits were reached, and people broke off for more pictures and catching up. As if the last two days of events weren’t enough, we got one last chance to see everyone at a goodbye brunch Sunday morning. We then drove back to Ambler, packed for an hour and headed off to the airport for our 7pm flight.
It was a jet-lagged, sleep-deprived weekend but such an amazing event and chance to be there for our good friend’s big day. It was one of the best gifts we’ve gotten, and reminded us again of all the great friends we have waiting for us when we get back. Till then, we really miss you all!
2 comments:
Just so you know, your wedding was also that ceremoniously joyous and fantastic! It it really great to hear you describe a wedding that you attended, the same as how most that attended your wedding described it. Hope that makes sense, otherwise, call me, or call me just cause.
finally catchingup on the blog. I completely agree with Candace.
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