I've decided to start with the Rehearsal Day. Even before Rehearsal Day, the week of the wedding had lots of wedding stuff going on. Despite some car trouble, Terrence came in early to enjoy the wedding chaos (and beat the kids at Mario Cart if I believe the tales!). Gavin's family spent the week before the wedding helping out with errands, last minute to-do's and everything else that needed done (no small list, let me tell you). I really don't know what I would have done without their help. I even needed Gavin's dad's paramedic background at one point (more on that later, maybe.)
Our house is relatively quiet, so I was a little nervous of what would happen to my house, and my nerves, with the addition of four kids. I have to admit, although the noise and excitement was a bit much at times... It's hard to beat Gavin's nieces and nephews for hugs!
Wednesday night, Kenny, Kelly, Jake, Melinda, Terrence, Emily and Matt stopped by to hang out for a while. I hardly slept at all that night, I was too excited!
The Rehearsal day was a bit like my port in the storm when the wedding planning seemed a bit... well, stormy. Initially, it was going to be pretty straight forward: practice for wedding, eat dinner. But, through some awesome luck, my rehearsal became a dream event instead when, due to the awesomeness of a friend, we successfully landed reservations at Club 33!! (this will get an entire post of it's own, very soon!)
We arrived at Disneyland bright and early, and surprisingly, so did a bunch of the rest of our party! (The rest trickled in throughout the day) We couldn't meet up with everyone, but we did get to spend some time with some of the wedding entourage. The morning was beautiful, quiet and we zipped from ride to ride, as the day went on, the lines got longer and the weather got hotter and hotter. But, we had to be back to get ready for dinner early anyway.
A day at Disneyland surrounded by friends and family is hard to beat.
After a quick shower at the hotel we headed back for the wedding rehearsal. I'll admit, this was about the closest I came the entire weekend to a meltdown. My biggest mistake was allowing Gavin and I to be separated while we tried to make sure everyone got in the limo to get to the rehearsal. After carefully ensuring that Gavin would be around to soothe my nerves as much as possible on the wedding day, I just bombed it here! Plus, the entire experience was surreal. With each limo full of my closest friends to arrive, I felt a bit more like I was slipping into a dream world. Gavin and I have so many friends and family spread across the US and globe, that to see them all together in one place was strange and exciting at the same time.
I started getting anxious to have Gavin near me while I waited for him to arrive from the hotel. I had an offer for a substitute... but I've only got eyes for one!
Eventually, everyone had arrived, and were, besides some pouting by Terrence, happy and ready to go. The practicing went pretty well, as far as I remember. To be honest, I was still in this half dazed state and feeling pretty unorganized (not like me at all) and out of control (maybe this is like me a little!)
After everyone learned how to walk, it was time for Club 33!!!! But alas, you'll have to wait a bit longer to hear about it.
Love the group shot!! Sorry I'm hiding your dad!
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