Beautiful

Killian and Andrea's wedding was gorgeous, and such a good time! I'm going to post a little play by play here, because I want to be sure to remember it, and I have a terrible memory!

We got to the reception center at 4:28. Our plan was to get there about 4:30, but at the rehearsal that morning Killian asked Matt to come a little earlier than that, so we left the house early enough to be there by 4:15. Except that traffic was a nightmare. Grrr.

I didn't want Tessa wrinkling her beautiful dress in the car, so we brought it with us. When we got there, Matt went to the grooms room to change into his tux with Asher, and I took Tessa to the brides room to dress her and finish her hair (we put curlers in, but they didn't take! So we had to use the curling iron, instead.) Andrea was there, with her bridesmaids, totally relaxed. I've never seen a bride more laid back. She had her hair and makeup done and just hanging out until it was time to put the dress on. Totally adorable.

Julie was having a meltdown, though. Her hairdresser had done a terrible job on her hair (and charged her $70 for it!) and she was desperately trying to fix it. Her mom was helping, but nothing was really working. When I saw how upset she was getting I picked up my phone to call Becki. Andrea thought I wanted her for Asher (who was insisting that I hold him - only me) and mentioned that she was already here and downstairs. I sent someone for her (can't even remember who, now) and she came up to the bridesroom. I told her about poor Julie and she got right to work on her. The only tool she had to work with was the crappy curling iron I'd brought for Tessa's hair (seriously - bad curling iron - 10 years old and past it's natural life span) but she managed to work a bit of magic and make Julie presentable.

That's when I went to work on Killian. A couple of months ago, at his bachelor party, he suffered some serious road rash when he chicken danced right into a brick wall (and, eventually, the pavement.) His wound healed up nicely, but left him with some pretty pink skin around his right temple. I brought my mineral makeup and buffed it right out - he looked perfect after I was done. The best thing about that stuff is that you can't even tell you have it on. Love it.

The ceremony was outside, the grounds were gorgeous, the sky was clear, the colors were amazing. Andrea was such a beautiful bride. Jon performed the ceremony, and he did a wonderful job. It was short (we were freezing in our formal wear in 50 degree weather!) but so meaningful. I cried, of course. Seeing so many of my best friends up there, celebrating and witnessing for them, was a big part of my tears, I'm sure! Matt and Matt Horrocks were groomsmen and both looked so handsome in their tuxes! And Jon was very dignified in his suit and with his beard. Kill's sister, J and Andrea's cousin, Julie have also become good friends and they were bridesmaids. Andrea's best friend from Las Vegas, Erica, and her brother, Jason, were the other attendants. Everyone was beautiful - the black and white theme was very classic.

Tessa was beyond adorable. I wasn't at an angle where I could see, but I could hear people giggling as she came down the aisle. I tried to snap a picture of her as she came past my row, but she was moving so quickly all I got was a blur! Julie told me after that she started out slow, throwing her flowers to either side. Then she looked down and realized she only had one left - so she just started to run, LOL. Something similar happened at Becki's wedding - I don't know why the florist doesn't give the flower girl more petals to throw!

Thus far, Asher had been a nightmare - he was NOT pleased to be sitting still. I tried bribing him with goldfish crackers and small toys, but he wasn't having any of it. And despite having fed him before we came, he kept crying for "pizza dinner!"
After Tessa was at the front, Asher ran up to her (not a far run, we were on the 2nd row.) I tried to get him to come back, as did did Tessa (her comment was - "Asher! You're not part of the wedding! You should have been at the rehearsal!") but he was determined to stay up front with sissy. When everyone stood for Andrea to walk in I darted up and grabbed him. He started to scream, of course, so I clamped my hand over his mouth and rushed inside with him. Luckily, Becki saw me and followed me in. She stayed with him inside so I could go back out and watch the ceremony - thank God she was there to save the day (again!) I would have been devastated not to watch!

Naughty - but cute!

Tessa felt very important in her role as flower girl, and had SO much fun with it. She immediately made friends with Andrea's nephews, DJ, who is 7 and Dallas (I think!) who is 5. They were ring bearers and the three of them made an adorable picture.

She also met a couple of Killians little cousins (2nd cousins?) Two darling girls who were also 5 and 7. The group of them played hide and seek together for most of the evening outside. It was freezing, but who notices cold when you're having the time of your life, right?
Tessa dribbled strawberry juice, or punch, or something down the front of her dress, but it doesn't look too bad. The dry cleaner should be able to get it clean, I'm planning to drop it off this week.
After the ceremony we went back inside. We toasted to Killian and Andrea (the kids got sparkling cider, which Tessa loved, of course!) and had dinner. The reception was a lot of fun, just a party with friends :)



My parents came around 8:00 and took the kids home with them for the night. Both were ready to go by then!


Killian and Andrea left by limo (Andrea in a darling black and white going away dress) at about 9:30. We threw dried lavender over them as they left - so cute!

Matt and I changed there and left just before 10 to go to L'Jeans Birthday, which was lots of fun. More about that later. For now, here we are in our pretty clothes. Notice how tall I was! 4 1/2 inch heels, baby! I kept them on almost all night, too - took them off about 8:30, when I couldn't handle it for another second.





The wedding was beautiful. We're all so happy for them!
Here's a link to the rest of the pictures I took - didn't get any fantastic photos, luckily there were lots of cameras around!
http://s148.photobucket.com/albums/s23/1141Mandy/Wedding/