We're back!!!

Did you miss us?

We missed you all...family and strangers.  I'm glad to be back to document some of the great things that happened this last week and a half.  Really that's it, only a week and a half has passed but it seems like so much longer given all that we have done and seen.

Last Wednesday Dan and I left Brooklyn bright and early to head to Chicago.  We got on the smallest plane I have ever been on and had to walk on the tarmac to get to it.  There was no overhead space so we had to scurry and get all our precious items into our little bags (can you imagine if the rings were lost and all the cash for tipping?? yikes) and cram my wedding dress into the small space above the seats.

We got to Philadelphia and enjoyed a short layover and grabbed some pretzels.  Man were those good...me want more.  Rocky Pants liked them too.

Then off to Chicago where we landed on time and all the bags popped out of baggage claim, thankfully.  We grabbed a cab and took it to Mandy's work where we picked-up her car filled with all the decorations.  We then went straight to the reception venue to do the final walk-through with the caterer.  Personally, it was a waste of time but oh well.  Then we dropped our bags and Mandy's apartment and headed to get the marriage license.

Both Dan and I thought that getting a marriage license would be like going to the DMV and we would have to stand in line for hours.  Wrong.  We waited maybe 2 minutes before getting to a clerk and were in and out of that place in under 15 minutes.  Who knew it could be so easy? 

We then met up with my older sister, Jessy, who had just arrived and did odds and ends before picking Mandy up from work.  We dropped the Welcome Boxes that Mandy had assembled at the hotel and then ran into Terri Mom and Allen right when they arrived!  We left Dan with his parents while my sisters and I went to the airport to pick-up my parents.

It was just the five of us again for dinner and it was just like old times...a mix squeezing in the back of a car with a lot of loud bantering/joking/chiding.  Hugs all around.

Later, we picked-up Dan and headed back to Mandy's place for the night.

The next day Jessy did the hair and make-up run through which looked great and poor Dan sat bored as a brick while we did girly things.   I am so grateful my sisters are so talented and generous in offering their skills to help with the wedding.  I was so happy with my hair and make-up and so comfortable with my sister who I totally trusted to make me look classic for my wedding day.  Thanks Jessy!!

For lunch Dan and I met up with both of our parents for their first "meet."  They were fine, totally didn't even need us there to do the introductions, in fact, they were already seated and chatting by the time we got there.  Got along fantastically, just like we knew they would. 

After lunch, Jessy and Mandy and I finished off the day with manicures and pedicures and then off to an amazing dinner with two of my good friends for a fun bachlorette party (more on that later) 

The days before the wedding were stressful to be sure and certainly not without their dramatic moments but on the whole everything went really well and peace was relative going into the rehearsal day.