Dave and Janelle's Wedding - Party time

You know what I like to do after I've said my vows?

Andrea is ready to party

That's right folks- it's time for the party to begin!



Dave and Jon

 Since Jonathan was the best man, the party started off with his amazing speech.  I don't know if you guys know this, but the hubs is a rather amazing presenter and does it for a living.  So when it was time to stand up in front of over 100 people and make fun of Dave, Jon didn't hesitate.  Needless to say, he was impressive.  I laughed.  I almost peed myself (which isn't very difficult to do these days really).  And I don't think I was the only one.

Kate with her sister

The girls did an incredible job as well.  Kate, the matron of honor covered Janelle's college years and beyond while Dave's sister Christina, the other matron of honor, talked about J from the years before.

Best man dancing with the Bride

Once all the formalities were over, it was time for some good ol' fashioned dancing.  And dance we did.



Partying with Andrea

 Gotta love a good party!



The thumbs

 I'll have to tell you guys about the thumbs some other time.  Let's just put it this way - dancing with Dave or Jon is kind of embarrassing unless you think that Elaine from Seinfeld is an awesome dancer.  And trust me, I am not exaggerating.  Oh the lengths that J and I will go to for our men.

The end of an awesome night

 But like any good party, it has to end.

Now Janelle and Dave are sitting in the warmth that is Aruba, enjoying a cocktail or two while the rest of us had to go back to work and reality.

I guess I can't hold that against you, my dear newlyweds.

Dave and Janelle get married

You know what's great about being in a wedding?

The Bride in her dress and shawl

Being a Bridesmaid means that you get to be in on all the action.  You get to see the ins and outs of the gruesome process that is wedding planning.

Chillaxin' with her Bridesmaids

You get to hang out with the family and friends, getting to know them really well.  You get to help plan the details, wear a super cute dress, and attend all the awesome occasions like the shower and the bachelorette party.

Andrea and Janelle

Being a Bridesmaid means that you're super duper important peoples.

Janelle and I

Sure there are some responsibilities that come along with it like planning the super fun events or getting your dress fitted, but really, who minds those?

Kate and Janelle

The real downside to being a Bridesmaid as I see it is that you get a limited number of pictures.

Liz and Janelle

Oh sure, you get the pictures of the pre-events like the hair and make up.

Christina and Janelle

And you might even sneak in there when the dress comes out.

In the limo

But what about the real thing?  The walk down the isle.  The look on the groom's face when he lays his eyes on the beautiful bride?  The tear in the corner of dad's eye as he gives away his little girl to another man?

Bridesmaids in the limo

That's the stuff the wedding's made of.  And unfortunately, this is the end of my coverage of the ceremony since I was indeed a Bridesmaid.

Loving the ride :)

And as much as I love getting in the face of the bride with my flash, I have to turn over the photography to the real pros and report to my duties as a Bridesmaid.

Oh Christina...how I love your face

But you know what? I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Dave and Janelle's Wedding - getting started

Here's a little fact about Dave, Janelle and Jon that you probably didn't know.

Bride and Groom at Rehearsal

When they were all in 9th grade, Jon and Janelle started dating.

Groom with a couple of his groomsmen...and no- they don't really have piercings

It was the kind of "dating" that makes you question what exactly constituted your as boyfriend and girlfriend rather than some classmates running into each other on occasion.  Their parents drove them to the movies where they sat next to each other, silently, and then went their separate ways.

The Bride getting her hair done

Their "relationship" didn't last very long and by 12th grade Dave decided that enough time had gone by and he would ask his buddy's ex out on a date.  Jon gave his blessing and Dave got enough guts to ask out the super cute blondie.

Hair - check!

The two lovebirds were a perfect match for each other.  When it was time to go to college they decided to stick together and spent the next 4 years (well, 5 in Dave's case) commuting to see one another.  These 4 years make or break a couple.  In Dave and Janelle's case it totally made them into the strong couple they are today.

Double fisting already

After college, Janelle moved to New Jersey for a job while Dave finished his 5th year of school.  This is around the time that I met Dave and Janelle.  It was around this time that Janelle and I figured out that we were long lost sisters.

Coffee and alcohol go great together

When Dave finished school, he moved in with J into her apartment in NJ.  Their relationship continued to blossom.  Then Janelle got an offer she couldn't resist which would move the two of them to CA.  With Dave's support, Janelle took on the opportunity and the two of them moved across the country.  We missed them beyond belief.

Gorgeous Bride

2 years later Dave popped the question on a gorgeous beach and Dave and Janelle got the opportunity to move back to the Northeast and start their wedding planning.  Fast forward to this past weekend and here we are.

Putting in the veil

It's been amazing to watch these two as a couple.  I know I've only been around them since they graduated college, but I feel like those are really the important years.  Sure the foundation was already there, but they became the couple they are today in those last 5.

I love this picture....J - you're gorgeous

Janelle and Dave are one of my favorite couples.  They're like Peanut Butter and Jelly...Pastrami and pickles.   They love each others sense of humor, support each other in every way possible, and always just make it work.  They're patient with each other when they need patience and push each other when they need a push.  But best of all, they let each other be themselves.

The Bride - ready for her dress

Now how to get the two of them to start having some babies so Peanut can have a best friend...that is the real question.

Commercial break

We've had a busy weekend - our 9th (and last) wedding of the year.  I'll be trying to put together a few post.  In the meantime, here's a teaser.

The wicked mature groom with his equally mature groomsmen

The bride

The flowers

The big day

The party

And while you're trying to make sense of exactly what went on at this wedding, I'd highly recommend getting a head start on your holiday shopping.

For your convenience, I've put together some gift ideas (and I'll keep them coming) for the different peeps in your life (as well as my Wish List in case you don't have someone to shop for and want to send me presents instead...or just steal my ideas. Whichever).

Heather & Jeff's wedding - continued

Let me tell you a story from my college years.

Heather and Jeff's first dance

Sometime around the end of our first semester at college, Jackie (a dorm mate) and I decided to be daring and get our faces pierced.

First dance

Heather, the amazing and supportive friend that she is, decided to come along with us.  You know, to keep us company.  And to hold my hand.

The Bride with her dad - melt my heart

When we arrived at the tattoo/piercing parlor, Jackie and I picked our rings; hers - a small stud for her nose; mine - a dumbbell for my eye brow.

Bride & Groom at their table

A fierce-looking, tattooed and pierced head-to-toe girl came up to us and escorted us to the back room to get us ready.

Change of dress? Why, of course!

Jackie's nose-piercing took absolutely no time and, apparently, no pain.  I braced for mine.

Cutting the cake

Heather stood by my side and held my hand.  When the girl got ready to pierce my face, Heather squeezed my fingers hard and said "O-M-G-K-A-T!"

Awwww cuteness

The girl looked up at us and said, "Oh - is that some sort of a secret language?"

Heather and I just giggled and said, "No, it's A-I-M!"

Of course, my parents threatened to disown me, told me to never come home again and I had to take my eye brow ring about 2 weeks after I got it.  But you know.  It was still 2 weeks of rebellion on my part.

Heather & Jeff's Wedding

Let me take you back a bit.

It's 2001 (don't go calculating my age) and my first day at the University of Massachusetts.  I'm going to say this again and try to point out an important word here.  My first day at the University of Massachusetts.  Got it? Okay, moving on.  Because it's a big public school, housing overbooked the rooms.  Shocker, I know.  Anyways, I was nervous just like every other Freshman about to meet their roommates for the first time.  I walked in to my lounge space posing as a room and eagerly awaited my 3 roomies.  Instead, I met Elissa, a friend of one of my roommates from her hometown who also happened to be living a couple of floors above us.  Oh, and she was from Jersey.  As were my 3 roommates.  At a school in Massachusetts.  Is anyone seeing anything wrong here?   Moving on.  A few minutes later I saw a tall, skinny, long-haired blond chick walk in to the room with bins of clothes in her hands and her dad in tow, mumbling something under his breath about security this or another.  That chick was Heather.

Heather with her dad on her wedding day

Our other 2 roommates joined us shortly.  We all spent a few minutes saying our brief hello's and ushering our parents out of our bedroom so we could finally relax on our own.  When they finally left, the 5 of us (did I mention that Elissa pretty much lived in our room already?) plopped down and chatted, trying to get to know one another.  We also talked about sleeping and closet arrangements.  Heather and I took one side of the room, while our other 2 roomies grabbed the bunk beds across the room.  I eagerly claimed the top bunk while Heather was happy to take the bottom.  We placed our computers on the table by our beds, each taking a side of the table.  We didn't know it back then, but this little setup set off the beginning of an amazing bond and friendship. 

The rest of the semester Heather and I got to know each other even better and become closer than ever.  We spent our days hanging out on our computers, often sending IM's to each other, making fun of something or another, dilly-dallying to classes, pretending that we would actually stick to a workout routine, watching TV, ordering pizzas, and procrastinating studying for tests by dressing up and running around hallways.

Heather was by my side when I foolishly pierced my eye brown (O-M-G-K-A-T!) and then consequently took it out, when I decided that I had to meet every single person in our dormitory by knocking on their doors and introducing myself (the next 4 years people said hi to me when I had no clue who they were, woops),  when we foolishly decided to "borrow" some pumpkins and street signs, when I wanted to explore the fraternity houses (I swear that fridge looked just like our bunk beds), and even when I thought that it was a good idea to stay up all night to "study". 

When the first semester ended, Heather and I moved to a regular double-room together.  The following year we moved to another dorm, but remained roommates.  She became my best friend, my companion.  I could never imagine my life without her.  Sadly, we ended up splitting up the last 2 years of school because I became a Resident Assistant while Heather took on a single in the same building.  We remained close friends and this past weekend Heather got married.  *Sigh*  Why do we all have to grow up?

On that note, here are some things from the past so you can make fun of me.

Me with my 3 Jersey roomies on move-in day

Heather, Elissa and I going to...borrow pumpkins

4 original roomies + Meg in our "lounge"

Hanging out with Heather after graduation in Jersey

Heather, Tamar, Kristi and I on Halloween Sophomore year

Hanging out in Heather's hometown (and her daddy's bike)

Oh memories.