The Wedding of the (Last & New) Year!

Remember this?



Well, the little sis and Dru are finally Mr. & Mrs. The lucky ducks are on their honeymoon right now in warm and sunny St. Lucia.

Their wedding was, of course, absolutely gorgeous! They certainly know how to throw a wedding and a New Year's Eve party. The venue was awesome enough to let the party continue on until 2AM as opposed to midnight as every other venue we had looked at. (Yeah, those venues wanted to shut us down at midnight...on New Year's Eve, plus charge extra for using their venue on New Year's Eve. I'll be honest I'm still trying to figure out the logic behind this one.)

The wedding ceremony didn't start until 8:30PM, so we had all day to get ready for the big event. As you may or may not know we woke up to a bit of snow on New Year's Eve, but nothing too major. Meg didn't seem to worried which was good. We started off with some manis and pedis before getting our hair done.

The bride getting her hair done.

The groom getting a shave.

Brief note: I wish I had more photos to share with you guys, but as the Matron of Honor my day was pretty busy and my camera went dead mid-afternoon. I didn't get to charge it until cocktail hour, so I only have a few photos to share. However, once the photographer sends Meg the link to her wedding photos, I'm hoping I can share it with you all.

The ceremony itself was amazing.  The ceremony and the reception were held in the same room, so for the ceremony we had hired someone to create a smaller room with curtains within the reception room to make it more intimate.  There were candles everywhere, so it was really beautiful.  Meg walked down the aisle to "You and I" by Michael Buble.  We did get a chuckle out of the crowd though when Meg's bridesMAN had to hold my flowers when I did a reading.

After the ceremony was cocktail hour.  Everyone was ushered into a smaller side room and the ceremony room was torn down and the reception room was created.  It was a very cool transformation and I really think it took everyone by surprise at how the same room could be used for more than one thing.  Some of the wedding party hung out in the bridal suite during this time.  I was able to get this picture of the bride.  (Sorry it isn't that great. This is why I won't quit my day job.)

After the intros all the normal wedding formalities took place.

The first dance to "Anything You Want" by Roy Orbison

The cake.  The pattern on the cake matches Meg's dress.  Everything on the cake is entirely edible.

My brother, me, and our dad.  The pin on my left strap was my MOH gift!

Me giving my MOH speech.

(There was not a dry eye in the house.  Except for me.  I practiced this speech so many times and every time I started crying.  By "go-time" I was immune to my speech, so my voice only cracked once or twice and I managed to keep the tears in check.)

Megan and Dru, you guys make a gorgeous couple.  And you're not only beautiful on the outside; you're both beautiful on the inside as well.

Dru, you and I haven't known each other for very long.  However, in the past year I've had the opportunity to see why my sister loves you so much.

While [Stonewall] was deployed and I was incredibly pregnant, you helped me out so much.  You carried my laundry up and down the stairs.  You took my trash out, you carried in my groceries and you took my dogs out in the freezing cold.  You baby sat when I asked you to and you put together baby toys.  The list can just go on and on with all the ways you helped me.

I know you helped me not just because I was your fiancee's sister, but because that's just who you are.  When someone needs help you are there to help them.  So I know you will always be there to help Megan and to take care of her, your house, and your future children.  I have no doubt that you are going to be an amazing husband and father.

That being said, if you screw this up I will beat you with the stroller you put together.

Meg, you gave me a time limit and I can't possibly say all the things I want to say right now in such a short time.  We are sisters and best friends.  It's impossible to fit 25 years into a few short minutes.

So there's a story I want to share with you that reminded me of you and me.  It's from Winnie-the-Pooh.

"Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind, 'Pooh,' he whispered.

'Yes, Piglet?'

'Nothing,' said Piglet, taking Pooh's paw, 'I just wanted to be sure of you.'"

Megan, no matter where we are in our lives or what is going on, I am always one-hundred percent sure of you.  I know all I have to do is reach out my hand and you will be there to take it.

However, there are times when I don't think you're as sure of yourself as I am of you.  So no matter what life hands you and Dru there is something I want you to always remember: You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think.  And no matter what, even if we are not together, all you have to do is reach out your hand and I will be there to take it.

Megan and Dru, today was a huge step in your lives.  Today you took a leap of faith and love and I couldn't be more proud of you both.

Please join me in raising your glass to the bride and groom.  I wish for you a beautiful life full of beautiful children and beautiful memories. Cheers!

(Just writing this now I'm starting to get teary eyed...)

The rest of the evening was an awesome party!  We didn't have dinner.  Instead hor d'eourves were set up at different stations and were butlered around the room. Right before midnight all the guests gathered on the dance floor with their champagne and masks (the favors were italian masks).  We counted down the seconds and at midnight we all "unmasked" ourselves as the confetti cannons fired confetti and feathers everywhere.  It was crazy fun!

Defintely the wedding of 2009 AND 2010!