Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Kirstine's Wedding

After a hard night of eating Salt Lick BBQ and frolicking through Carolyn’s neighboring yards, I was ready to start the next day off right – with breakfast tacos. I had requested Taco Cabana, but Carolyn missed her turn and we were put on the path of the unexpectedly delicious Donut Taco Palace I (not to be confused with Donut Taco Palace II). When we arrived at Kirstine’s house, she was already up and attem’ and getting her make-up put on…I was first in line to get my hair done, and enjoyed my taco while undergoing a complete bridesmaid transformation.Having already enjoyed her taco, Carolyn was next up for make-up:Kirstine had a nice breakfast (which I ate in addition to my tacos) and mimosas waiting for everyone. Here she is with Rechal having a morning cocktail:Kirstine’s sister, Brittany, brought her dapper dog, Rusty. I’m glad he dressed up for the occasion.The next few hours was a whirlwind of girls getting hair and make-up done…
Here’s Joey’s sister, Lisa:Brittany:Rechal:Jen (I loved her hair!): And Kirstine got her hair done last as Brittany and Rusty looked on:The finished product!Kirstine’s cat is not the friendliest of creatures… but being the sociable girl she is, Carolyn was determined to say hello.Once we were about ready to head to the church, Kirstine received a gift from Joey – a very pretty necklace… … that had some tangling issues…About everyone took a hand at trying to untangle it, but we finally gave up and headed to the church!Once there, we put on our dresses… …and everyone looked on as Carolyn gave the tangled necklace another try. Success! Me with the bride…
The wedding was beautiful. I didn’t get any pictures, but here’s one of the entire wedding party after the ceremony ended.
After taking pictures at the church, everyone headed to the UT Alumni Center for the reception. The reception wasn’t set to start for another couple hours, and my tacos were long gone… so I asked my chauffer (aka Carolyn) if we could drive through Chick-fil-A for some waffle fries. No one was about to say no to that!
I was PRETTY stoked to find a mariachi band greeting everyone as they walked into the reception hall – how much more Texas can you get?! Maybe it’s narcissistic, but I think this picture looks like a David’s Bridal ad.
(But it’s not COMPLETELY narcissistic because right before we walked down the aisle at the church, the wedding coordinator told us that Kirstine was the most beautiful bride with the most beautiful wedding party she’d ever worked with. She probably says that to all her clients, but I chose to believe it.)

Dinner was amazing, and there was definitely a lot of love at our table.
After we ate, the festivities got started. There were so many fun things going on that I can hardly count them all! I already mentioned the mariachi band (which also took requests)… but there was also…
1. The First Dance & Father/Daughter Dance:
2. The father-of-the bride, best man and maid-of-honor speeches. Brittany did an awesome job. She was so funny!3. Mmmmmm, cake!4. The bouquet and garter tosses. Here’s Joey getting the garter for the toss:
(I didn’t take any photos of Kirstine tossing her bouquet, because I was front and center trying to catch it. She threw it specifically toward me, but some short-skirted 18-year-old hussy got to it first. Doesn’t she know I’m DESPERATE and about to turn 30?! )

5. The photo booth. Here is a genius idea….. (a) Give a bunch of crazy people free alcohol; (b) Provide hats, boas, wigs, and props; (c) Allow them to take pictures of themselves.

The results of such an experiment are as follows….

The photo booth was a complete hit, and the line was so long that we had time to dress up and take our own pictures while we waited!6. Singing. This wasn’t a wedding-sanctioned activity, but Jen V and I did our fair share of singing along with the music. (Unbelievably, only one girl in this picture was drinking. Not so unbelievably, the drunk one is me.)7. DANCING!

Gui lived up to his #1 Husband-of-the-Group reputation by asking Jen to dance before anyone was even out on the dance floor!James dancing with Kirstine:Jen R and me:Get low, get low, get low! (Please note Kirstine’s mom and aunt in this picture. They know how to party!)I love this picture – look how cute Joey and Kirstine are… and how I’m completely oblivious to the entire thing.After so much eating…drinking… dancing… and general revelry, there was really only one thing left for Carolyn and me to do.

That’s right.

Head back to the North Pole…
… and take more pictures in the Nativity Scene.Who needs rules? Not us. After scrubbing the airbrushed make-up off my face and getting a good night’s sleep, I only had a few precious hours left in Austin before heading back to Denver. I decided to make the most of it and get my Tex-Mex on at Chuy’s.

YUM! Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Delicious-ness.Thank you, Kirstine for allowing me to be a part of such a beautiful, fun, AMAZING wedding. I hope it was all you wanted, and I wish you and Joey nothing but happiness!