Six Things, Wedding Edition (Part One)

Last weekend (November 11-13), Kenny and I, along with my parents and Lizzie and Doug, were in Albany, New York to attend Jackie’s wedding festivities. Without further ado, here is part one of a special wedding edition of my “Things” lists, full of pictures and details from our fun-filled weekend.

1. Rehearsal: Friday night was the wedding rehearsal and dinner. The church part went fairly smoothly, and then we returned back to the hotel to catch our school bus transportation to the rehearsal dinner at Brown’s Brewery in Troy, NY. Very cool venue, tasty beers, and a great way to relax and mingle with everyone before the big day!

 

2. Fall Foliage: Even though the colors are usually way past their prime this time of year, we were lucky enough to see some very pretty fall leaves in Albany while we were there. I kept exclaiming, “It’s just so pretty!” every time I saw another colorful tree. We don’t see that kind of natural beauty down here in Louisiana very much.

   

And, in keeping with the autumnal theme, the flowers Jackie picked for the wedding were simply stunning. I carried my bouquet all the way home to NOLA with me, and I got so many compliments on it while travelling!

3. Girl Bonding: Jackie was so sweet to treat all of her bridesmaids to a late lunch on Friday afternoon at a pub next to the hotel. It was nice to be able to get away just the six of us and relax for a little while before all of the madness began.

Then on Saturday morning, the day of the wedding, all of the girls spent a solid two hours at Complexions, a nearby salon and spa, to get our hair and make-up done. We had bagels and mimosas to enjoy while we were transformed from ordinary, every-day females into glamorous, wedding-ready bride and bridesmaids.

   

Successfully made up, pinned, and sprayed, we headed back to the hotel to get dressed. We didn’t have a whole lot of down time before the photographers showed up, and before any of us knew it, we were heading downstairs to catch our ride to the church. It was almost time to get Jackie married!

One of my favorite moments from this portion of the day was when Jackie started to tear up. Blotting with a tissue didn’t completely help, so she leaned her head out of the window into the fresh air. It made for a funny picture, but it worked!

Once we got down to the hotel lobby, I made Jackie pose with the dapper bellhop before we left. It was just too good an opportunity to pass up. Oh, and if you look at Kristen, the girl on the right in the other picture below, you can see what one of our gifts from the bride was: personalized evening clutches, handmade by the groom’s mother. Our other gifts were the shawls you see on all four girls, as well as smoky quartz and diamond bracelets, visible on Francie on the left side of the picture.

It’s no surprise, but my four fellow bridesmaids are something special. I had a great time getting to know all of them over the course of two days, and being in the company of such wonderful people made the weekend even better. And, of course, spending so much time with Jackie was just the cherry on top!

4. Pimpin’ Limobus: Our ride to and from the ceremony was a huge and fully stocked limobus. We certainly arrived in style everywhere we went, and the wedding party had a comfortable (and warm) place to hang out while the bride and groom took pictures outside on location in downtown Albany before heading to the reception. (Jackie did make us all get out at the first location stop, and while the girls did come very close to freezing our booties off, I must say I’m missing that coldness now that I’m back in Louisiana.)

5. Convent Church Ceremony: The wedding ceremony was at 3:30pm on Saturday afternoon at the Convent of Mercy Chapel. The whole thing took all of 15 minutes, and then Jackie and Pat were officially married. That might have even beat Kenny’s and my ceremony time, and this was even a Catholic one!

 

6. Reception Details: Jackie and Pat worked so hard putting lots of little details and touches into their reception, held at the 11 North Pearl Event Centre, a gorgeous converted space that once housed a bank, just across the street from our hotel in downtown Albany. The fall theme was abundant yet subtle, with table numbers burned into chunks of wood, real leaves scattered throughout, and lots of candlelight. The girls’ bouquets provided even more color in clear vases along the length of the head table, which was set up Tuscan-style, in the middle of all of the wedding guests.

   

Part Two coming up soon, including both traditional and random moments, northern customs, and, of course, lots of dancin’. Stay tuned!