Sorry for the lack of posts, but I've been pretty busy lately with finals at GGC and then with Jake and Brittny's wedding. I did good on my finals, only having three out of five classes. I finally received my grades for my classes, and I made straight A's, so I'm happy about that. On the last day of finals (which was last Thursday), the little Tuesday/ Thursday lunch group met for probably the last time. We talked about what foods we liked and disliked and other random things. It was enjoyable.
On Monday, Seth and Mandy began their finals for Geneva. I stayed at home both Monday and Tuesday, cleaning the house. On Tuesday night, Mom "organized" a little science study group for her science students. We ate fried rice and potstickers, and the students mixed studying with goofing off. On Wednesday, the Geneva students finished their finals and began their Christmas Break.
Mandy's cough is doing somewhat better. She's not coughing as much as she used to, but if she runs around, she begins wheezing. So, Dad and Mom have her under strict orders not to run around or be too active. I've come down with a cold that has turned into a hoarse cough. Last Thursday, Seth left school early because he wasn't feeling well, but, as usual, he recovered quickly. Dad's attempting to keep us on our vitamins, but we haven't been as faithful in taking them.
And now, to talk about the wedding. The craziness of the whole thing started on Wednesday, when the bridesmaids, the bride, and the bride's future mother-in-law, grandmother-in-law, and mother got together at Pottery Barn to paint bowls. We had a good time, and it took the bride's mind off of the wedding and helped her stress. On Thursday, Mom took us kids shopping for things for the wedding. We bought makeup for me, a new outfit for Seth to wear (which looks great on him), a few White Elephant gifts for Christmas, and I bought a gift for a friend. When we got home, I had to get ready since I would be spending the night with the Greers that night and would not be able to be home until late Friday night. It was hectic, and I admit that I was not in the best of moods. Finally, Mom dropped me off at the church for the rehearsal. I had bought new black shoes to wear for the wedding, and standing in them for ten minutes killed my feet. I was glad to switch shoes to my other high-heels. The rehearsal went well, except the flower girl Lydia did not walk down with her escort, so we decided she would walk down with her mother instead. After the rehearsal, we drove to the rehearsal dinner, which was very good. There was meat, mushrooms, stuffed tomatoes, potatoes, rolls, salad, and cheesecake. After the meal, everyone gathered in the living room for a little movie/ slideshow chronicling Jake and Brittny's lives. Then people had the opportunity to stand up and talk about Jake and/ or Brittny. After that, while everyone prepared to go, the groomsmen took some beer down to the basement for a little "party." From what I heard, they played poker and dared each other to leap from a hot hottub into a freezing cold pool. Anyway, I went home with the Greers since I needed to get my hair done in the morning. The Greers had guests staying with them, so I shared a bed with the maid-of-honor Bethany. Now, I've heard Mandy tell horror stories about sharing a bed with Bethany, and now I can say that they are all true. She tried to steal my blanket, forced me to put my legs on top of hers to keep them from moving, and slept right beside me, breathing right in my ear. Oh, well. I lived.
On Friday morning, we ate breakfast and then Brittny, Bethany, and myself went over to John Hudson's hair salon to get out hair done. We had fun taking pictures of each other during the process. Bethany and I wore smocks to be able to take our shirts off without damaging our hair, and it was cold outside. Brrrrrr. I wish that the brief period of summer temperatures had lasted longer. Anyway, while we were waiting, Brittny got hungry since she hadn't eaten breakfast. Mr. Hudson was generous enough to let us snack from his popcorn tin. It was just after 2 PM when Bethany was finally done. We had to go back to the Greer house to pick up a few things, and the car died right in the driveway. Thankfully, Brittny's cousin Nathan drove us over to the church to get ready. When we got there, we bridesmaids started putting on our dresses and applying our makeup. Many of the bridesmaids had trouble zipping into their dresses, and many of them also had trouble pinning the cloth at the top of the dress. Well, we finally managed to get ready and get started on pictures. Pictures took a while, and we had to go outside for a few of them, which was freezing cold even though the groomsmen were convinced it was hot inside the church. After pictures, we snacked in the little kitchen and began to get ready for the ceremony. The last hour, especially the last thirty minutes, were the hardest. I kept thinking "let's get this over with. Hurry up, clock!" Mr. Greer spoiled his daughter by buying her a "sinful" burger, fries, and coke from Burger King. The bridesmaids got pictures with the bride, re-applied makeup, and sat around waiting for the guests to arrive. In the last half of an hour, there was a problem with Brittny's zipper. The dress was tight around her waist and could not be fully zipped up. Mrs. Greer and the wedding coordinator Mrs. Raney were busy trying to fix the dress so that it looked decently zipped up. The bridesmaids went into the hall, waiting to go, but they were delayed because the mother of the bride was busy trying to fix her daughter's dress. Finally, we got started. We bridesmaids had adrenaline running, and we were excited.
Dorothy Forrester, who's married to Brittny's cousin, went down the aisle first. Then I went second. The groomsmen were waiting in their places, and they took the bridesmaids' arms to their positions. Brittny had organized the bridal party in such a way so that there was a groomsman, a bridesmaid, and another groomsman in a line. There were six bridesmaids and seven groomsmen, so Brittny's little brother Caleb provided the needed balance. I was excited when I walked down the aisle and wasn't that nervous. I couldn't see a thing without my glasses, so everything was in a blur. All the attendants and the flower girl had come down, and now it was time for the bride to show. The music began, and she entered on Mr. Greer's arm. One of the bridesmaids later told me that Brittny had been crying a little while walking down, and I noticed during the prayers that she was dabbing her eyes and cheeks with a tissue. The ceremony began with a short prayer and then a song. I was afraid of fainting or falling, so I kept bending my legs. And, heeding the advice of my mother, I did not close my eyes during the prayers. It helped keep my balance, and I suppose the step that I leaned against helped as well. The ceremony went well, and there was the usual "she's all yours," motioning that the bride and groom can kiss. Then, we walked back down the aisle and went into one of the rooms. I was told we didn't need pictures, so I rode in the van to Covenant for the reception.
The reception was beautiful, and the ladies who did it did it well. There were Christmas lights under the lace tablecloths, some of the food in, what looked like, Christmas present boxes. The groom's cake was clever. It was a piano with chocolate frosting and looked adorable. The bride's cake was pretty as well. The bride and groom arrived and greeted the guests. Then, there was the cake-cutting. On the groom's cake, Brittny shoved it into Jake's mouth, and the result was chocolate all over her cheek. After a while, it was time to toss the bouquet. I was close to catching it, but another girl caught it. Then, there was the matter of the garter. It went missing, so people had to go find it, which they did. Ben, brother of the bride, caught the garter. Later, the guests received their "wedding rice" to throw upon the bride and groom as they departed. Some people, claiming it tasted like sprinkles, began eating it. Then, the bride and groom appeared and ran out. Someone dumped a whole bunch of the "rice" all over the two of them. The wedding car was covered in toilet paper and the "just married" in some type of cream. The two drove away, and the wedding was over. Mom and Dad stayed behind to help clean up. After eleven PM, I was exhausted from such a big day, so Dad took me home.
The wedding was busy yet enjoyable. This was my first involvement in a wedding since Uncle Jason and Aunt Nancy got married ten years ago, but this time I can actually hold the memories. I've got pictures, but I haven't uploaded them to the computer yet, so you'll have to wait for them. I will be sure to post them soon. Well, I gotta dash. Today is the Christmas feast at Grandpa Mike's house, and I don't want to miss out the meal.
