So to escape Wendy's incredibly contagious and deadly swine illness (refer to wendy's June blog post for details) I went to Aurora, Illinois for a wedding. Aurora, by the way, is just outside of Chicago (one of my very favorite big cities).
Before I get into the wedding details, a fun blonde moment on my part. The Cubs are my favorite baseball team, I dream of the day I can go and watch a game at Wrigley Field. So knowing when the wedding was I looked up their schedule and was very, very disappointed to see they were out of town that week. Once I got there and we were enjoying the rehearsal dinner with the tv on, I found out that if I had just looked closer I would have seen that they were "away" playing the White Sox across town. I am very special.
I digress. My trip was wonderful. I had a super great time. My friends Jeremy and Kate were getting married where she grew up, in Aurora, although she's currently teaching in NC. (Technical sidenote for Jeremy's benefit.....I was his friend first.)
I flew in the Friday before the wedding just in time to meet our other friend, Kim, at the airport. We rented a car together and drove in to Aurora, thankfully, missing the bridal shower just getting there in time for the Girls Night Out at an italian restaurant in Geneva.
The incredible thing I discovered is that just outside of Chicago there are normal little cities/towns, and incredible amounts of gorgeous green open space. Each little town has a historic street with the old buildings, and the businesses in them are still very much in business. It was so fun.
In between two of the towns we found this windmill that was just beautiful.
Long story short, with some more pictures to come. We had a great night, and at my hotel Kate and Jeremy left me a special package with maps, and itinerary and some snacks for my room. It was so sweet.
Saturday we spent all morning at the Swedish Days, which for some reason was in the town Geneva (not Swedish), and instead of any Swedish food there was bratwursts (not swedish) and pickle pops. Apparently pickle pops are quite popular in some parts of the country, so much so you can actually buy them at the grocery store. I hope to dedicate a blog to the subject in the near future.
Saturday night we went to her parents house for the rehearsal dinner and then on to the church for the wedding rehearsal. Both of their family and friends were incredibly friendly and nice, I really liked them. At the Lutheran church the pastor went through the entire ceremony, word for word. Basically they were married the night before, we tried to use that as a reason for Kate not to be nervous. =) I've never heard anyone make them go through the entire ceremony word for word before hand.
Sunday, the big day. I was not really part of the wedding party, so I got to hang around my hotel room all morning reading, and doing nothing. I got myself all dressed up, and my heels on....that's right heels. I should have taken a picture of them. I practiced for two weeks ahead of time to make sure that I: A: Could walk more than two steps without falling over. B: So my feet would learn to enjoy the excruciating pain and C: So I wouldn't look like a man in a dress and heels.
I didn't fall over all night, I did lose my balance once or twice, got stuck in between boards on the deck once, and by the time we left the reception I had to take them off to walk to the car. All in all, i feel like it was a success.
Back to the wedding, Kate was beautiful, so beautiful. The ceremony was nice, and the reception was just a fantastic time. Somehow she sat me at the most perfect table in the world. She put me with her middle aged cousins. On one side her cousin John, a landscaper, on my other side her cousing Jeff, an underground utilities installer, including water lines. Needless to say, I had a great night.
I even got to dance with the groom's brother, Justin. If Kate ever sends me the pictures I might post them. But instead here are pictures of all of us friends, one of the bride and groom, a horrible one of me with the bride and groom, and some pictures of the incredible views from the reception.
**Another post to come: While driving my friend Kim around all weekend, she learned a lot about fire hydrants, how to identify them, which brands are ugly and which is the cutest, etc. She has since spread the doctrine of fire hydrants to her children, husband and mother. So what can I do but post something and spread it on to you...although I guess most of you who read this already know. =)
Before I get into the wedding details, a fun blonde moment on my part. The Cubs are my favorite baseball team, I dream of the day I can go and watch a game at Wrigley Field. So knowing when the wedding was I looked up their schedule and was very, very disappointed to see they were out of town that week. Once I got there and we were enjoying the rehearsal dinner with the tv on, I found out that if I had just looked closer I would have seen that they were "away" playing the White Sox across town. I am very special.
I digress. My trip was wonderful. I had a super great time. My friends Jeremy and Kate were getting married where she grew up, in Aurora, although she's currently teaching in NC. (Technical sidenote for Jeremy's benefit.....I was his friend first.)
I flew in the Friday before the wedding just in time to meet our other friend, Kim, at the airport. We rented a car together and drove in to Aurora, thankfully, missing the bridal shower just getting there in time for the Girls Night Out at an italian restaurant in Geneva.
The incredible thing I discovered is that just outside of Chicago there are normal little cities/towns, and incredible amounts of gorgeous green open space. Each little town has a historic street with the old buildings, and the businesses in them are still very much in business. It was so fun.
In between two of the towns we found this windmill that was just beautiful.
Long story short, with some more pictures to come. We had a great night, and at my hotel Kate and Jeremy left me a special package with maps, and itinerary and some snacks for my room. It was so sweet.
Saturday we spent all morning at the Swedish Days, which for some reason was in the town Geneva (not Swedish), and instead of any Swedish food there was bratwursts (not swedish) and pickle pops. Apparently pickle pops are quite popular in some parts of the country, so much so you can actually buy them at the grocery store. I hope to dedicate a blog to the subject in the near future.
Saturday night we went to her parents house for the rehearsal dinner and then on to the church for the wedding rehearsal. Both of their family and friends were incredibly friendly and nice, I really liked them. At the Lutheran church the pastor went through the entire ceremony, word for word. Basically they were married the night before, we tried to use that as a reason for Kate not to be nervous. =) I've never heard anyone make them go through the entire ceremony word for word before hand.
Sunday, the big day. I was not really part of the wedding party, so I got to hang around my hotel room all morning reading, and doing nothing. I got myself all dressed up, and my heels on....that's right heels. I should have taken a picture of them. I practiced for two weeks ahead of time to make sure that I: A: Could walk more than two steps without falling over. B: So my feet would learn to enjoy the excruciating pain and C: So I wouldn't look like a man in a dress and heels.
I didn't fall over all night, I did lose my balance once or twice, got stuck in between boards on the deck once, and by the time we left the reception I had to take them off to walk to the car. All in all, i feel like it was a success.
Back to the wedding, Kate was beautiful, so beautiful. The ceremony was nice, and the reception was just a fantastic time. Somehow she sat me at the most perfect table in the world. She put me with her middle aged cousins. On one side her cousin John, a landscaper, on my other side her cousing Jeff, an underground utilities installer, including water lines. Needless to say, I had a great night.
I even got to dance with the groom's brother, Justin. If Kate ever sends me the pictures I might post them. But instead here are pictures of all of us friends, one of the bride and groom, a horrible one of me with the bride and groom, and some pictures of the incredible views from the reception.
**Another post to come: While driving my friend Kim around all weekend, she learned a lot about fire hydrants, how to identify them, which brands are ugly and which is the cutest, etc. She has since spread the doctrine of fire hydrants to her children, husband and mother. So what can I do but post something and spread it on to you...although I guess most of you who read this already know. =)
Comments
I'm glad to hear your dinner companions were so well matched to your interests! She must know you all well, to match you up that well. I'm really glad to hear it was a good night for you.
It was good to hear about what is up in your life. I am so looking forward to your next post.