i keep a diary

June 20, 2009

Byron and Victoria's Wedding

Byron and Victoria, friends Meredith met in school, invited us to attend their wedding!

Saturday, June 20th

me, meredith, murdo
We rented a car and picked up Murdo on our way heading north to Salisbury, CT.
driving ˆ sunglasses ˆ me ˆ meredith ˆ murdo
Hello, New England! Who in the world drinks a TWENTY-FOUR OUNCE can of Budweiser and Clamato (yeah, that's tomato juice and CLAM JUICE in case you didn't know)? It makes the huge Sparks can look tiny!
clamato ˆ gross ˆ sparks ˆ wtf
The wedding guests settled in and waiting for the action.
crowd ˆ wedding
me, meredith
Me and Mer.
us ˆ wedding ˆ me ˆ meredith
byron
Byron and Victoria exchanging vows.
wedding ˆ byron
All the guests had different kinds of bells under the seat in front of them and we were encouraged to ring them at the end of the ceremony. Awesome.
The weather didn't cooperate and it was POURING rain for pretty much the entire wedding. Luckily, they had a whole intricate system of tents set up! Pre-dinner cocktails.
Jess, Shep and Sandy.
bridget
Kapow! Meredith and Bridget looking tough. (Check out Bridget's short film project on Kickstarter.
bridget
They had a photo booth set up!
A little before 8pm...
...we walked through a tented-maze into...
...the main tent. It was enormous and wonderful. Circus-like in its size!
Every single individual guest's name written on card pinned to a clothing line. They randomized the seating chart to ensure that no guest would be seated on either side by someone they know! Ensuring that everyone at the wedding would have to meet new people instead of just talking to your date all night.
It was awesome watching everyone's reaction as they came in, discovered the clothing line seating chart and then wandered off on their own to find their table and have to introduce themselves to the entire table each time.
Victoria's mom giving a speech.
Byron's mom.
Victoria's dad! I was lucky enough to get seated next to the father of the bride! How cool is that?
Byron!
Everyone that spoke was great.
Father of the bride!
The four groomsmen, Murdo, Sandy, Shep and Brooke (who were four of Meredith's college housemates) each spoke!
A couple of drinks later and Bridget and Meredith's toughness had softened up a bit.
It was lovely in the tent.
Bridget and Mer.
Brooke and Murdo. Haha.
Cigar shotgun.
meredith, murdo
Hahaha. Exactly.
best ˆ cigar ˆ drunk ˆ rain ˆ tent ˆ meredith ˆ murdo
It was raining so much that even the grass under the tent that was shielded from the rain was flooded with water!
After dinner and dessert, the whole reception moved through the tented tunnels...
...to a tented room up by the house with a dance floor! Byron on the loose!
The ladies responded with a much larger circle.
OWNED.
BRO-provement!
This is not an illusion of perspective. No, no. This is, in fact, a photo of the largest mosquito I'd ever seen.
The dining hall tent as seen from the dance floor tent!
Out on the dance floor with the "raise the roof" cam in full effect.
We got schweaty.
12:30 and the dance floor was still jam packed.
Everyone was dancing.
It was awesome.
Murdo and Byron.
Mer and Jess.
Meredith stole my tie...
...and turned it into a headband.
Hahaha. Yes! I love this photo. Victoria and Mer. Get a load of this bride!
End of the dance session smooch! A little before 1am, we all piled into transport vans and were chauffeured...
...back to the dormitory of a nearby private school where they had gotten accommodations for all of the guests. It was like being a freshman in college all over again. Haha.
By the end of the night, everyone's cuff were covered in mud!

Sunday, June 21st

On Sunday, we packed up...
...and bid our awesome accommodations behind.
This is the kind of place I always pictured Holden Caulfield attending in the beginning of Catcher in the Rye.
We packed up our rental car...
...and headed to a brunch back at the house.
The rain had finally let up and it was a beautiful day.
Back porch brunch! Jess and Shep.
Murdo and Bridget.
Sandy and Mer (who gets mad at me for taking photos when she's eating).
Hopped in the car for...
...the picturesque drive home.
As soon as we hit the open road...
...Meredith put her bathing suit over her head (YES!) to block out the sun and headed for Napville. Hahaha.
Home on the horizon! Congrats, Byron and Victoria. Thanks for having us!

5 comments

  • nylundjune 3, 2011

    Isn't that just an ordinary and harmless crane fly?

    http://www.scientificillust...

    • sbjune 10, 2011

      Yeah, that's like the anti-mosquito.

    • kmeghanjune 24, 2011

      we always called them 'mosquito eaters'. big and weird looking for sure though!

  • kayjune 6, 2011

    dude, you have clearly not been hanging with mexicans. a michelada is the mexican bloody mary and it's delicious. granted, the budweiser canned version is not as legit as a mexican beer & clamado.

  • r_macka3june 17, 2011

    As a Canadian I am completely jealous about the Budweiser and Clamato combination. Long a hangover cure here, no one has thought to combine it in one giant can. Count yourself lucky to have had one. Guess I have to go south of the border for it :(