I agree with Bob, the wedding season has begun. We spent this past weekend celebrating the marriage of Matt and Amanda, two very awesome people that are perfect for each other.
To begin, we went out to dinner Thursday night to Barcelona for some tapas. Now, we had reservations at 9:00pm but did not get seated until 9:45. Okay, I guess I could understand, it was pretty hoppin’ that night. Once we were seated, though, no one attended to us for 20 minutes. That sucked. Finally, Bob flagged down someone and we finally got our orders in. At least the food came out quickly, I guess that’s a plus. But then we had to wait FOREVER for the check. Not so good. It was great food but such terrible service.
Friday night was the rehearsal. It went off without a hitch. Everyone knew what was going on, people knew where to sit, stand, etc. We were all on the ball. Even the ringbearer and flower girl nailed it. Now, this is how cool Matt and Amanda are: they had their rehearsal dinner at Growlers! That is so the perfect place for them. They both are laid-backed, down-to-earth, unpretentious and it doesn’t hurt that they both enjoy beer. After good food, good beer, good company and Michael Jackson jokes, we all went our separate ways. The boys headed over to Gameday for darts, shuffleboard, and drinks, while I went and picked up a garter for Amanda. I even got to spend some girl time with the bride and bridesmaids and enjoyed a spa treatment:
Saturday was one busy, long day. Bob started his groomsman duties at 9 AM while I ran a couple of last minute errands for the wedding. I had to stop and get a Slurpee because it was:
Yep, you read that right, it got up to 102 degrees that day AND they were taking pictures at Forest Park. At least the wedding was indoors, though. Matt and Amanda got married at Florissant Presbyterian, where we got married and I thought I would tear up, but I managed to not ruin my makeup. Phew!
As far as the ceremony itself was concerned, it was a typical non-Catholic affair. One thing we hadn’t seen before was a sand ceremony, where Matt and Amanda combine vials of sand instead of a unity candle. Awesome! In the end, the wedding produced what all weddings produce: a happy and relieved couple:
Next, was picture time! The wedding party piled onto the limo-bus (including significant others, because Matt and Amanda are just that cool) so I came along to take some pictures of the wedding party at Forest Park.
Even the significant others got in on the picture action:
I took some awesome pictures if I do say so myself, and if you want a copy, it won’t cost you a penny.
We headed back onto the bus to get out of the heat, and motored on to Wash U for more pics, and then back to the reception. The wedding party was introduced by Corey Hart’s “Sunglasses At Night”, wearing their sunglasses, of course. Toasts were given by Amanda’s dad (heartfelt and emotional), Andrew (sincere, yet funny — he mentioned Matt’s swimming adventure in Camden Cove), and Lauren (sweet and emotional, yet still humorous, mentioning Amanda’s lazy eye). Once the toasts, cake cutting, and dinner were out of the way, then the party begun:
Matt and Amanda even extended the reception an extra half hour in order to keep the good times rolling. And to roll it even further, a bunch of us headed to Trainwreck for a nightcap!
Naturally, the bride and groom found their way onto the stage:
Finally, Trainwreck kicked us all out, and we headed home. Weary, happy, and partied out.
To Matt and Amanda, thanks for the awesome party! May each day be more fun than the last.
I’m really glad we have the two of you to take pictures of everybody. Thanks!
You took some great pics!
–Matt’s sis