Karen's wedding was so.much.fun. And I mean, this is me, anti-mooshy, anti-stupid ceremony girl, and I had fun at what was probably the most traditional wedding I'll go to in my life. I think that I will attribute my much-fun to the company, all my old friends and some new ones who really know how to have a good time. Oh, and alcohol. Karen plied us with continual sources of alchohol starting Thursday night and continuing to her open bar during the reception. In Karen's word "I want a proper wedding. A proper wedding has dancing. To have dancing, you must have drinking..."

A few random stories. Hair and makeup. Neither Sarah nor I ever do our hair or makeup. Ok, sometimes hair, but never makeup. So we head to the salon on the wedding day (wakeup call: 9 a.m.). My instructions to the hair dresser: "I'd like to wear my hair down and straght. But could you pull back just a few pieces off my face, maybe in some sort of pretty twist or braids to make it look more styled?" An hour and a half later, she showed me the mirror and the complicated up-do that you can see in my flickr stream to the right. Sarah was to follow: "I don't care what you let her do to your hair, Becca! I'm too picky, I won't let her do that to me, I just want it straight with the top part pulled back so its out of miy face." A couple hours later, Sarah's hair was in a complicated pull-back style of tight curls.

We all did look lovely though, despite our inability to control the hairdresser.

Then the makeup artist. The first question "So, what do you normally wear?" Me: "I don't wear makeup usually." Her: "Well, what do you have on your face right now?" Me: "Umm, soap?" Her: "I see...." Contrast this to the other bridesmaid, a PhD Chemist who used to work at a Bobby Brown makeup counter and admitted that sometimes she goes into the bathroom at lunch and changes her lipstick "just because its fun."

Later "I take it you don't know how to put on this mascara?" Me: "Yep, you take it right." At least I was receptive to the need to wear makeup to an event like this. I usually have mine professionally done, I figure I wear makeup so rarely, its probably cheaper to pay someone to do it than to buy my own makeup to put on every 6 months.

The priest was really funny too. He had a British accent, a sense of humor, and crazy hair, which made me think he could have easily been a member of the cast of Monty Python. During the rehersal, he was like "Ok, now we'll pray, and pray and pray. Then I'll bless and bless and bless. Then I'll say to Karen and Brian..." But my favorite was during the actual ceremony. At the point he said the traditional "If you have any objections..." and paused. No one spoke up (obviously!) and then he covered up his microphone, looked up toward the heavens, and muttered under his breath "Good" so softly that only the bridal party could hear him. I had to try very hard to keep a straight face.

Up until the last minute, I was hoping Byron could make it. He ended up in the simulator for the weekend, so I spent a lot of the wedding explaining to people where he was. It was very funny, because both Karen's and Brian's family seemed incredibly well informed about my love life. I got a lot of "I heard you were supposed to be bringing your boyfriend. He's a pilot, right?" from all sorts of people I didn't even know. That was pretty funny. It turns out Brian's mother reads this blog too, so Hi Judy!!

Anyway, my friend Kent from college made an excellent and gentlemanly last minute substitute date. He is so entertaining, and he took the date thing very seriously. I'd get up to go get a drink, and he'd be on his feet, "Oh, I'll get it for you" or "Let's dance!" all the while grinning away. I think he's the only man in the universe that actually enjoys weddings.

Karen and Brian looked the best I've ever seen them. They seemed truly happy the entire time (happy being far more improtant that beautiful/handsome, which also described them). In typical Karen and Brian manner, they had clearly "studied up" on all the ins and outs of weddings - from the perfect-form first dance, to perfect little square slices cut out of their wedding cake. I wouldn't expect anything less from those two!

I hear their photographer will be posting pictures in the next week on his web site. I can't wait to see. They tracked Karen like the paparazzi. I had never noticed this detail of a wedding before. The number of "faked" moments was actually pretty shocking to me, but I am sure the photos will turn out lovely and in a decade or two everyone will forget which moments were real and which were posed. I look forward to seeing the truly candid ones too. I hope he got some pictures of my really hot 4 inch-heeled shoes, in addition to the several thousand he took of Karen's wedding dress!