Is It Over Yet?

I think I’m more exhausted from Chelsey’s wedding then I was after my own. Man. What a weekend.

Friday was spent talking down the bride and running errands. She called me at 9 am, worried because she hadn’t heard from the other bridesmaid in two days. Cheryl was coming in from Las Vegas, and has one of those 24-7 types of jobs. I did my best to reassure her that it was all going to be ok, Cheryl would arrive at 1:00 just like she said. Then I was busy getting all the last minute details for things, calling the local ENT doctor to get an appointment for Jason. I had to run an errand for Chelsey, then get back up to Jason’s school by 2:10 to pick him up for a 3:00 appointment. After that, we had to go and get some lab work done that his other doctor had ordered last week. Then I had to go to my Mom’s house to see if she could fix the bridesmaid dress from Hell. Now that was an adventure.

My dress was pretty. I loved the color. But the fabric was an odd weight, and my Mom said it was fabric you would normally use for lining. On top of that, the seams were terrible, but the worst part was the collar, which was made all wrong. There should have been interfacing inside of it, and it should have been attached in a completely different way. Ugh. Bad, really bad. (If anyone is considering having a wedding gown custom made in Houston, I can tell you who *not* to go to.)

Saturday morning started early; Jason went to my parent’s house for the weekend, and we had to be on the south side of town by 10 am for the wedding rehearsal. From there we were off to Tony Mandola’s for lunch, where Chelsey gave us our bridesmaid gifts, including robes that are just like the ones they use at Canyon Ranch! Mmmm… Lunch was followed by our manicures and pedicures at Sunset Body Works at the Rice in downtown Houston. While Chelsey had her manicure/pedicure, Cheryl and I headed to Kaveh Kane’s to get her some more coffee. The time change from Vegas to Houston is not easy!

After we had our nails done, we went to Chelsey’s house to get things ready for the rehearsal dinner. While I made the menus, her sister-in-law and neice worked on tieing the cards on to the ribbons for the favors. Mike helped her pack things up, and we moved everything from my car to Cheryl’s for the girl’s night at the B&B.

The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun – it was nice and casual at a Mexican restaurant in Pearland that Chelsey & her family have gone to for years. Very tasty! It was fun to catch up with people and just take some time to unwind. Time that we really needed, since after dinner Chelsey still had to pack for her trip to Ireland! Eep! So we went back to the house so she and Doug could pack. After she was done, we loaded everything in to her car and headed off to the B&B.

The wedding was held on Sunday at Hidden Oaks Bed & Breakfast on the south side of Houston. The girls went there late on Saturday night (2 am or so) so that we would be able to just wake up Sunday morning and start are day off there. We spent the first night in the Bessie Suite, and it was perfect. Sunday morning we got up, showered, and then went to have breakfast downstairs in the dining room in our new robes. The makeup lady, Danielle of The Perfect Face, arrived at 12:30 and started doing our makeup. She is truly fabulous! She airbrushed our foundation, which was a good thing – the wedding was outside and it was nice and warm! Airbrushing helped keep everything in place! As the afternoon went on, Chelsey’s mom and some of her friends arrived. They helped us with all the little final details, and everything went so smoothly! I don’t think the bride had any meltdowns, which was the most important thing to me.

The wedding was at 6:30 pm and it was gorgeous. The bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome, and the guests were great. After the ceremony, we took group photographs. Then the reception began! Dinner, the first dance, and then it was time to party! Doug and Chelsey disappeared to go and take more photos, and so Mike and I did our best to get everyone out there on the dance floor! Their DJ was great, he did a good job of keeping the crowd moving. All in all, we had a good time! It seemed like it ended too early – I was ready to dance the night away! (I guess when the margarita machine is empty, that means it’s time to go home, huh?)

After the wedding, Chelsey & Doug got settled in to their suite and then came back in to the main house of the B&B. Cheryl, Mike & I joined them as they opened the gifts and cards that they had received. It was a nice way to unwind before we all headed off to bed.

Monday morning we all woke up sore and tired. It seems that if you don’t dance the night away all the time, dancing for a few hours is really hard on the legs! We had breakfast in the dining room at 9:00 with some of Chelsey’s family. Then we got them all packed up and ready for the limo to come and pick them up. After we sent them off, we visited awhile longer with Cheryl, then headed towards home ourselves.

Before I could drive very far, I had to stop and wash Chelsey’s car. When the groomsmen asked me on Sunday night which car was hers, I asked them NOT to decorate it. I told them that they weren’t taking it the next morning, and if they decorated it then I would be stuck cleaning it. They did it anyways. Grrrrr… So after I went through the car was two times and cleaned the windows by hand once, I was finally able to drive home. What a pain. I’m so glad no one decorated our car when we got married!

Once we got home, I had to get Chelsey’s two Bichons settled in. Then I had to call Kymberlie’s ex to let him know that we were home so that he could bring Bella over. In one day, we acquired three pets. Granted, the dogs will go home later this month, and Bella is living outside – but still. It’s been an interesting change. I think Chelsey asked us to watch the dogs because she is trying to convince us that we want one. They are such sweet dogs, and really low key. I looooooove them.

So that is where we have been. I think I’ve finally recovered from the wedding, and the dog routine is working out just fine. I still need to add things to her Knot bio for her, and I’m sure she will want stuff updated on her website when she returns, but for now it’s finally quiet, and I’ve been enjoying that silence.

Now it’s time to return to the regular swing of things though!