A Beautiful Day

This past weekend, D and I went to Philadelphia (ok, actually Conshohocken) for a wedding. My close friend L was finally getting married! I was thrilled for the weekend away and totally ecstatic to watch L and her husband (!), also an L, get hitched.

We left Friday morning, got through New Jersey before suffering through some rush hour traffic outside of Philly, eventually getting to our hotel. Shout-out to the Residence Inn Conshohocken--the rooms were great, the staff was very friendly, and the hotel looked really nice. The ambiance made up for the fact that it is situated right next to the commuter rail line.

After checking in and dumping our bags, we hopped back in the car to go to dinner with some other friend's of ours, M & B, and their sweet 2 1/2 year old son, C. We had a great time reconnecting and meeting C for the first time. He was very sweet and fell in love with D over dinner (of course D had bought him a truck that they played with across the table, so that may or may not have had something to do with it).

After dinner we took a walk around the King of Prussia Mall, partially to spend some more time and partially do let C walk off some energy. And I may or may not have forgotten my cardigan for the wedding, so I actually did have an excuse to shop. But I was well behaved (since we were with company and all) and that's all I bought.

It was so good to see our friends and I'm so glad we had an opportunity to see them in addition to traveling for the wedding. I always feel more productive when I travel somewhere and am able have more than one purpose.

Some of our other friends (M & K--the bump twins from our Vermont Girls' Weekend) got into the hotel late and stopped by with M's husband, N, before we headed to sleep. Waking up we got a great breakfast at the hotel to line our stomachs for an afternoon of margaritas, and inevitably, shenanigans.

The wedding was at noon and L had arranged for a friend to have a van shuttle guests the 1/2 mile from the hotel to the restaurant (good idea, L!). We arrived, met a few of our other friend's and got ready for the ceremony.

(I've stolen these photos from K because I don't have mine yet. D took a whole bunch of great shots, but is still playing with them, so I don't have them in my files yet. So it was either steal from K or wait on this post. I think K would have encouraged me to steal.)


The weather was perfect. It was a little overcast early, but very warm. It eventually got very hot and sunny, but no rain for an outdoor wedding is perfect.


L was so pretty. Her dress was perfect and everything was simple and beautiful. There ceremony, performed by her childhood pastor, was tailored specifically for the two of them. And her father, also a minister, read them their vows. It was a perfectly touching ceremony.

Upon being presented as husband and wife, L&L made a beeline for the frozen margaritas. The rest of the guests followed suit, and soon enough we had a real party on our hands. Well, actually a fiesta--it was a Mexican restaurant after all.

from left to right: M, H, B, L, me, and K. Yes, the two pregnant chicks appear to be holding margaritas. And yes, they are non-alcoholic.

The traditional dances took place and I love watching them. For L&L, you could see throughout the entire day exactly how in love they are. I think this picture captures it all.


D has a little issue wearing plain white shirts, so he decided to go for a fiesta-appropriate color. And so did K's husband A! I love it when boys coordinate.

mine is the bald one

And of course, about 4 weeks later, we have new bump pictures from the mommies to be:

M is supposed to find out what they are having this week, but K already knows they're having a boy! Congrats!

UPDATE 6/21/10: M & N are also having a boy! Yea!

After wonderful food, many margaritas, a lot of dancing, a lot of hugs and tears, and maybe a few more margaritas, the reception ended. We went back to the hotel, changed into more comfortable attire, and intended to hit up an after-party at the hotel.

Except the bride passed out and didn't make it to the party. Hey, it was hot, she had a long day, and several long months of planning (and being a med student and all), I don't blame her one bit.

So after visiting with groom L's family and friend's for a little while, we decided to hit up a nearby Dave and Buster's. Saying Dave and Buster's is D's favorite place in the world is probably pretty accurate. Anywhere he can get beer and play unlimited video games is a good place.

So M and her husband N, K and her husband A, and D and I took a little ride and started playing some games. Skeeball and racing are two of our favorites; our friends loved anything that gave tickets. K was a mission to get a lot of tickets and cash them in for a really good prize. Imagine her excitement when A decided to play the Spin & Win (literally, you spin the wheel and hit a button when you want it to stop).

notice that the green light is on the 1000 marker at the top

Yes, he hit it for 1000 tickets! What does 100 tickets look like, you ask? Like this:


Shortly there after, we cashed out. Most of the tickets were redeemed for SweeTarts, but a Bop-It was also awarded.

Back at the hotel, I realized I was actually pretty much hung-over. It was 10:00 pm, but since I started drinking at about 12:30 pm, it wasn't too unreasonable. Shortly thereafter, D realized he wasn't doing so good. So to bed with us, rising much better in the morning and prepared for our drive home.

It was a fabulous weekend and a beautiful wedding. I wish L&L nothing but the best in a life of love.