the marine wedding.

so in all of my november craziness i got to attend wedding #4 of the year for my brother from another mother, scott. i have literally known him since i was in 3rd grade. he and my brother grew up together from pre-k. scott was always part of the family and pretty much my brother. while he and kyle took very different paths after high school, somehow they ended up doing the same thing! see kyle didnt attend college right away and then joined the marines at the age of 20 (ps i cant believe he has been in for 4 years already!). scott went straight to the naval academy at anapolis and upon graduation decided to also join the marines! weird, i know.

about 6 months ago (give or take) we got a text from scott that he was engaged! he had met a great girl named kelly through a friend at the naval academy and get this, they literally grew up 7 miles apart from each other in california! of course we would be at the wedding we told him after learning it was sometime in novemeber. as luck would have it landed the week before thanksgiving so we were going to head down south 2 weekends in a row haha! but there is no way i would be anywhere else:)

we left for southern california saturday morning since the wedding was on sunday afternoon. since we would be back down there a few days later we decided to only stay the one night. upon arriving we went to one of my favorite places, el torito! now i know its more tex-mex than mexican food but i dont care. i love it anyway:) we milled around in a big shopping area till we could check into our hotel later that afternoon and actually got rained on! and you thought southern california was always sunny, ha.

that night we met scotts parents for dinner at their house. i havent seen them in, well a lot of years, and it was time to catch up. we got a quick glance at the groom on his way in and out the door for dinner with the guys:) dinner was friggin delicious, as always! it was fun to just hang out and catch up.

the wedding wasnt actually until 3p sunday so we got to sleep in quite a bit that morning. we scored a late check out and just hung out in the morning. about noon we milled around to getting ready and then went to olive garden for lunch around the corner. the wedding was literally 8 minutes away from the hotel so we took our time. kelsey (my brothers girlfriend) met us there so we could all travel to the wedding together. it was still a little hard for me to believe that scott was getting married!

the reception was at a beautiful park that looked over all of fullerton and brea. it was outside and just pretty all the way around! it was a country wedding theme with the girls wearing brown cowboy boots, the boys in suits rather than tuxes, and the bride wore red cowboy boots underneath an ivory dress with pockets:) scott wore his dress blues and looked so handsome. they are so grown up now! my brother was in the wedding, but being deployed he couldnt exactly make it haha. scott actually kept him in the wedding and during the ceremony they said a prayer for him and all our troops abroad (most of the groomsmen were also military). can we say serious tears?!

after the first kiss as husband and wife it was time to celebrate! we headed off to the reception while the wedding party took pictures. they had super cute little appetizers and an open wine/beer bar! i did get a little sad and pretty teary eyed as i watched them taking pictures, i wont lie. it was a little tough to go to this one by myself so soon after the breakup. i knew we werent ready to get married, but just felt even further away from having that in the moment. thank goodness for the wine!

luckily kelly had put myself and kelsey at the kids table with people our own age and my parents at an adult table. it was fun to hang out with everyone and catch up with scotts brother, jeff. i hadnt seen in a really long time, along with a few others at the table. dinner was delicious and everyone just seemed so happy! i finally got to meet kelly and hug scott as a i now married man:) she was so super nice and was so excited we could finally meet, i guess shes heard stories lol.

 i scored a passenger seat in the car so i could have as much fun as i wanted at the wine bar! the guys at my table were very gentlemenly and i never had to refill my own glass:) we danced and gathered around to catch the bouquet, all the fun traditional wedding things! way too soon though we had to head home. all 3 us had to work the next day and it was a 4 hour drive home:/ we found scott (who had changed into a suit like the other guys lol) and kelly to wish them good luck and to say goodbye. this one seemed harder as we really didnt know when we would see them again. they were headed out on a mini honeymoon and then to beaufort, north carolina where scott is stationed. ps that is where the movie walk to remember takes place! then in januaryish scott is getting deployed for a year and kelly will head back to california to be with her family while he is gone. they are too cute and going to be adorable to watch grow married together!

 

congrats scott and kelly!!

the reno wedding.

last summer in the craziness of my first hike ever in the grand canyon came something beautiful...a proposal :) (if you havent heard that adventure, check it out here and here.) not mine, dont worry, but our friends andrew and stephanie. i had met them the year before at mike and loras wedding in santa barbara and they were so nice and inviting. richard and andrew had been friends for a long time but he lives in reno now so i finally got to meet him that summer. the proposal was beautiful, under a waterfall and everything! andrew did good needless to say. so earlier this year we receievd an invitation to the wedding on june 2nd, off to reno we went!

1 year ago!

in the beginning we tried to coordinate with other friends going, but that went arye quickly and decided making our own plans was a better idea. we were all staying in the same general area and arriving within a few hours of each other, plus reno isnt that big. richard and i made our way to the airport around 1130a friday morning and were off to northern nevada on the bumpiest/scariest/i thought the plane would fall apart any second i have ever been on. he tried to distract me, it didnt work very well. we arrived at the small airport to find that my bag didnt make it! apparently a belt broke that morning in vegas and luggage was being misplaced all day. so we left my name and the hotel we were staying at with the very nice southwest man and hoped it would make soon.

as we walked over to the rental car counter we ran into lora who was headed to the rehersal dinner once mike got their rental car! our car pick up was actually located off the property so we arrived by shuttle to find a mini-van. we looked at each other as the rental guy was checking the car and told him no-way-jose. apparently they were all out of mid-size so they figured we would want this instead? turns out we got a ford escape instead and headed to the hotel for check-in. we arrived to mini-champagne while waiting in line and our room ready! after finding out our other friends plans we wandered around the main street for awhile playing tourisst before heading to the riverwalk to find some dinner and walk around for a bit. the riverwalk wasnt nearly as exciting as we thought but we found a rockin pizza place for dinner! they had these garlic potatoes, omg good! oh, the very nice southwest man called as were leaving to say my bag was here and would be sending to my hotel within the hour :)

the famous sign:)

he had a man vs food moment!

omg the pizza was yummy.

the wind had picked up even more so we went into a few casinos and found out reno really was like just fremont street haha. now i know it was the area we were in, downtown, but it was a little creepy! once it got dark and we had some ice cream/snocones to satisfy our sweet tooth we made our way back to the room to wait for our late-arriving friends. there was nothing on tv, so that didnt last long. there was a casino downstairs of course so we decided to gamble instead. well my $20 lasted about 20 minutes then i was done haha! see, this is why i dont gamble lol. afterward we met with our friends that had finally arrived and about midnight when they were all still ready to gamble i headed to bed. i was exhausted, needed to run in the morning, and watching other people gamble is one of the most boring things i can think of (right up there with watching boys play video games, yuck). when richard rolled in about 4am i knew i made the right choice lol.

the bike rack was so cute!

saturday afternoon was the wedding so that morning i was able to get my run in no problem. ps no one warned me about the hills in that city! i took off from downtown, rounded the university, took the hill up mccarran, and had a rockin downhill back to the hotel. between the hills and the elevation my butt was thoroughly kicked all morning. i headed back for a shower and then downstairs for some coffee while richard slept (4am remember, lol). i ran into the groom and the best man heading to the park where the wedding was taking place to start getting ready and the grooms family later on as they shopped. it was cool to see everyone and find out the details of the day. turns out that the grooms aunt and uncle have a grandson also in marines as well who is also stationed in san diego (i know thats a long way to get there lol)! richard was finally up and was in need of food. after a stop at mcdonalds we ran into matt and heather looking for breakfast. a drink, round of craps, and grabbing peter we were finally on our way to find lunch. we settled on a grille near the riverwalk with great sandwiches!

from the top of reno!
our hotel is the 1 with the ball in front.

trying to reduce the "puffiness" from the night before.
i am not joking.

we needed to head back pretty quickly to start getting ready for the afternoon wedding! richard and i changed rooms to bunk with the mike and lora for the second night but still had the space to get ready since they were with the bride and groom. we took our time and even a quick nap before heading to the park for the ceremony. we got there a little early and got a glimpse of the bride before heading to our seats! it was a perfect afternoon and the spot the chose was gorgeous. the rest of our friends arrived and before we knew it, it was time to get married!! their friend steve married them, he actually also married mike and lora in santa barbara 2 years ago, so it had a special touch. after all the i dos and the vows we watched them skip off to married bliss, yes, skip, it was so cute and very them.

the mamas:)

father and daughter.

with this ring...

i thee wed...

and they lived happily ever after :)

the reception happened at the ranch house also in the park and lots of personal touches. all of their reno friends had volunteered in shifts to help serve the thai food from their favorite restaurant and pour all the drinks. it was definitely a bit of a different wedding, but fit the bride and groom perfectly. we hung outside in the beautiful weather and talked with friends for the rest of the evening. the newlyweds had a perfect 1st dance plus the toasts were so funny and thoughout. this year has been anything but traditional weddings for me, and this one was no different. the cake was actually made out of donuts and they had ordered dozens of donuts for all the guests! like i said, very unique and very them :)

the vegas group!

the first dance :)

we even grabbed the bride and groom :)

you thought i was kidding!

YUM!

we decided around 1030p we were still hungry so we joined steve at golden flower for vietnamese food near our hotel. it was a bit of stretch for both us and i was super proud of him for trying something new. it was delicious and before we knew it was after midnight, time for bed! we got back to the hotel right before mike and lora and we all fell asleep soon as our heads hit the pillow. the next day we were all heading home and the sleep was for sure needed.

my love:)
another amazing wedding together.

the next morning we drug as long as possible before heading to the airport. after getting us a little lost on the way back to the rental car return we made it in plenty of time. one word of advice...do not count on eating in the reno airport! there are only 2 places, both with sandwiches, and super expensive. i guess we are a little spoiled in vegas lol. we came back to the heat all too soon and couldnt believe the weekend had gone by so fast! it was great time to see friends and be part of such a special day. we have gotten to see their love grow the last few summers. 1st at mike and loras wedding in santa barbara when they had only been dating about 3 months to the 2nd summer of the engagement in the grand canyon, to 3rd summer for their wedding in reno! congratulations to the newlyweds :)

the phoenix wedding reception.

last friday richard and i headed to the airport early to fly to phoenix for one of my college roommates wedding reception. kristin and her now husband had been married 3 weeks earlier in hawaii with just a few close family and friends, so now they returned meaning it was time to celebrate! we were both super excited to get out of town and be with some of the people we love the most. it turns out that now my best friend and richards best friend now live in phoenix as well so we would be surrounded with great people all weekend. 

my best jessica picked us up at the airport in mesa friday late morning. we flew allegiant air which meant we were headed to a tiny airport on the outskirts. note to everyone, do not ever fly allegiant unless you have to! they have terrible customer service, tons and tons of fees, and that $25 flight they tell you it is will be $130 by the time youre finished. anyway jessica collected us and we immediately headed to my favorite place from college, oreganos! seriously, its like an institution in flagstaff and they have a few in phoenix which meant that was the 1st place we went to for lunch. it was just as delicious and amazing as we remembered! 

alfredo the dark!

afterward we hung around downtown tempe and mill avenue then headed to a bar to watch the suns basketball game. we stopped in a candy store and bought bertie bots to try and gross each other out with jelly beans that tasted like dirt and earwax! it was great to walk around and just hang out with jessica. that evening we headed back to mill avenue with some of jessicas friends to celebrate her birthday that was actually the day before. since graduating college we havent seemed to be in the same place for each others birthday, so of course we had to celebrate. that night richards best friends mike and lora also got to join us! it was seriously fun night:)

happy birthday to my spouse!

cute, cute!

my love.

saturday morning i woke up and got a few miles in before everyone was up. we met jessicas family at a great mexican restaurant not long after for her birthday lunch at a great mexican restaurant. i hadnt seen her family in quite awhile so it was fun to see them again :) afterward we headed to a huge mall nearby to just walk around for a bit. we had such a huge laugh in 1 of the accessory stores where jessica and i, even richard tried on ridiculous headpieces and funny headbands. we may have spent a little too much time there because after grabbing richard wayyy too much chick-fil-a we were a bit short on time to change and get to the reception on time. 

we arrived maybe a couple minutes late, but luckily it didnt officially start for a bit after 5p. none of us were exactly sure how the night would go, i had never been to only a reception before so i was interested to see the whole evening. kristin had made the best guest book i have ever seen and something that was sooo her. she and sean were dressed party clothes and were walking around to greet everyone:) there werent assigned seats so we could sit where we liked and watch all the people come in. they started with a fun game to get everyone going and get the order of tables going to eat where a member from each table had to grab something from the audience like a salt shaker or a mans tie. each time the participants went to grab something a chair was taken away so in the end there was only 2 left. jessica was our representative and lasted a few rounds, but not quite to the end. 

the super cute guestbook!
each person gave a thumbprint to look like a balloon
all to follow the volkswagen:)

dinner was delicious plus we got to see the bride and groom of course. the mood of the whole evening was light and airy plus everyone seemed to have a really good time. dancing soon began which of course always a good idea. we all joined in and danced the night away bringing back lots of college memories:) on our way home we decided to go see american reunion, omg hilarious! it was great to be with 2 of my favorite people to see such a hysterical movie. 

the first dance :)

roomies!

photobomb.

sean, our honorary roomie, hehe.

my date:)

more photobombs, ha!

too cute!

the next morning we met mike and lora for breakfast at the waffle house! it was sooo good and we got to spend time with everyone. we headed back to mike and loras after to spend the afternoon with mike while lora went to work. although we didnt really much, if anything at all, it was sooo great to just hang out. all to soon we had to head to the airport to come home. this weekend was so many things for both of us. spending time with such great friends made both richard and i remember to always make time for the ones we love the most:)

phoenix friends = best friends!