On the morning of June 6, 2009, I woke up with a start at 4:15. Very, very early. However, it wasn't quite early enough. Somehow, in a haze of sleepiness, I had turned off my alarm when it went off the hour prior... I was supposed to have woken up at 3:15am. Reality was that I had FIFTEEN MINUTES to shower, finish packing, get ready, and get my butt out the door. My flight was scheduled for 6:00am, and I was already going to cut it close. So, I jumped out of bed and into the shower, frantically packed, braided my hair, skipped out on makeup, and ran down the stairs at 4:34 to meet Cameron (who I had convinced to accompany me to the airport). Needless to say, I was very impressed with myself. :)He and I walked down to the foggy bottom metro stop to ride to the airport.... and we slowly realized... that the metro doesn't open until 7am on Saturdays. Cameron was like, "So, you wanna take a taxi?" It seemed my only option. We looked over to the road, and low and behold, a taxi was sitting there, waiting for dumb people like us to show up, thinking that the metro was going to be open at such an unholy hour of the morning. The problem was that neither of us had any cash. The cab driver said he would take us to an ATM. So good, problem solved. I made it to the airport on time, the flight was horrible, I was very hungry, all the usual stuff.
Fast forward to the WEDDING! Well, actually, I have to say that I met Meghan at the airport. We hadn't seen each other since that fateful day when I drove away from Provo, leaving behind my glorious BYU with the soul roommates. So it was AWESOME to see her. I was so excited!! Meghan is way too amazing. I love her so much.
Anyway, we rode the train together, and then Kyle picked us up and drove us to Kaitlin's house. I was very excited to see Kaitlin as well. Everything I said about Meg applied to Kaitlin too-- it's just a little bit of a different situation because Meg is going on her mission soon, and I will still see Kait in the fall. :) I still can't believe that she is married though... so weird. But she looked GORGEOUS. She was just on her way out, ready to drive to the temple. We were given our bridesmaids dresses, and shown to a room to get ready in. Kaitlin had little presents for Meg and Me. It was so sweet! We had really pretty necklaces to wear with our dresses and cute little notebooks.
During the sealing, I sat in the lobby with Spencer's sister. Meghan was lucky and actually got to go to the ceremony. I was super jealous-- but it's okay. I know I will be able to go to a sealing someday...
The weather for pictures after was perfect. It was cloudy and the sky looked very threatening, but it was cool, and not too bright. I loved being important enough to be in the professional pictures. I hope the photographer man got some good ones! I'm slightly obsessive about how I look in pictures, so I was kind of worried. :)
We had several hours after the wedding until the reception, so me and Meg got settled in the room we were going to stay in (at the next door neighbors house. The neighbor lady was like the nicest person I have ever met. SO awesome), then went to help set up the reception. We had a lot to do, but I swear, there was like an army of wedding set-up people. It was awesome. When we were all done, I couldn't believe how amazing it looked. This reception was the prettiest wedding I had ever been to. And I've been to a lot of weddings. I'm being totally serious. It was perfectly gorgeous, and I want my wedding to look just like it. I asked Kait's mom if she would do my wedding... I don't remember if she said yes, but it'll happen.
Best flowers at a wedding, EVER.And then, Meg and I took a much needed/deserved nap. I was suffering from a 3-hour night's sleep and was exhausted. We slept for like an hour, but then I had to get ready! We were told to be back at the reception at 6 to finish the last set-up and take more pictures! Me and Meg were the cutest bridesmaids ever. And Kaitlin had a friend, Lauren, who actually grew up with her in Georgia who was a bridesmaid too, and she was awesome. We become such good friends in that one day!
The reception was SO FUN! Me, Meg, Lauren, and Kyle played guard duty at the entrance. We took turns taking presents and telling people to write in the sign-in book I made.
After a while we took a very long break to eat food and sit at the table that was "RESERVED for the wedding party."
We felt really cool about that. And the food was really yummy. They had a chocolate fountain, this amazing cheesy dip stuff (that, after having like 3 servings each, me and Meg finally just filled a whole cup up with and got a whole plate full of chips!), ham and turkey, lots of fruit, 5 different flavors on the most beautiful wedding cake EVER, etc.
I was pretty much in love with this wedding. MY FAVORITE EVER.After Kaitlin and Spencer left, we all helped clean up, and then it was immediately hot tub time. We had been eying that small body of water ALL DAY. We jumped right in and proceeded to get pruny in the hot tub until about 2 in the morning. Probably not the best idea ever, considering my high level of sleep deprivation, but I had to spend as much time as possible with Meg! And it was fun to hang out with Kyle and Lauren too.
We had to get up the next morning at 5, and Kait's Dad took us to the airport. My flight left at 7:30, and I made it just in time. And, GUESS WHATTY?? The plane was nearly empty, so I had a whole row to myself, I got a blanket the moment I stepped onto the plane (so I was warm), and I got to sit by the window on a plane for the first time EVER!!! Plane rides are a million times more enjoyable if you are warm, have a lot of room, and can look out the window!! It was great. And, I was home and in my bed by 10am that morning. I slept pretty much all day.
Spending the money on a flight to be at Kaitlin's wedding, I think, was a very good decision. I'm so glad that I was able to go! I wanted to go SO bad, and I finally just spent the money that I didn't really have on a ticket. I'm so happy that I did. I loved being there for Kaitlin- helping her, and supporting her on her day, and I loved seeing Meghan. It would have been horrible not to have been able to spend that time with her. I'm going to miss her so much. She leaves SO SOON!Also, I LOVED GEORGIA. It was SO PRETTY! Somehow, I didn't expect it to be so amazing. And the Albas are like the coolest family ever. I love them! And seriously, spending that short 24 hours in Georgia kind of made me want to live there! It was just so perfect and pleasant and beautiful. Since coming out to DC my eyes have been opened to the fact that there are other places in the world worth living than Utah- and particularly, St. George. Virginia is really pretty too. I love all the greenness!
Anyway, it was the best 24-hour vacation ever. I loved it, and I'm so happy for you Kaits! And sorry, ya'll. This is a really long post.
