May 24

Because John got some "guy time" at the bachelor party, we had made an agreement that I would get some "girl time" the morning of the wedding day. So before John and Nathan woke up, I went over to a salon about a block away from our hotel and got a manicure. As I was waiting for the manicurist, I asked if they also did eyebrow waxing. I had forgotten to bring my tweezers on the trip and there were some stray hairs bothering me, so I thought it might be a good idea. I'd never gotten anything waxed before, so I had no idea what it was like. Surprisingly, it wasn't too bad. It made my eyes water a bit when she waxed the bottom of my eyebrows - I assume because you're getting onto the thinner skin of the eyelid, so it's going to be a little more sensitive. Except for making the skin a little red and puffy where the hair was ripped out, they looked great. After I was done, I stopped by the grocery store and got some donuts to take back to the hotel for breakfast.

We met the guys at the church between 2:30 and 3 and went off in search of some food, as John and I hadn't gotten lunch. Then it was photo time for Caleb and the groomsmen with the photographer. Nathan and I just sat to the side and watched, but John did take some pictures of
Nathan and I. After a while, Candy and the bridesmaids came out from the powder room and more pictures were taken. Candy seemed very calm! John thinks it's because she's used to stress, being a grad student.


Nathan was beginning to get a little sleepy and cranky, so I took him in to the church to find a seat. I sat a little ways off to the side, so I could take Nathan out easily if he got fussy. But I nursed him before the ceremony started and he slept through the whole thing (again!). Everyone gathered outside for a group photo and then we all headed out for the reception.

John has trouble following direction when I'm telling him where to go, so we drove around the hotel about 3 times before I finally convinced him to use the valet parking. The wedding gift we had bought was extremely heavy anyway and I didn't want to have to attempt crossing the street with it. The valet was free for wedding guests; something that Robbie (the other groomsman) forgot about. He decided to park in the parking garage, tried to fit into a spot that was too small, and ended up scraping the end and side panel of a Mercedes-Benz with the front of his rental car. Ouch.

There was a cocktail hour before the dinner with an open bar and very yummy appetizers. After all the guests were seated, the wedding party was introduced (Candy had included Nathan and I in the introductions, which was very sweet of her to do!). We all sat at the same table and had the most wonderful dinner. Salad, filet mignon, champagne, wine, and then a fabulous cake (I have no clue how that frosting was so fantastic).

The speech by Yu (the best man) was hilarious. He had the whole room in hysterics. And then, Candy's sister Cindy (the maid of honor) had everyone crying when she gave her speech. She barely got the first word out before she started crying. Candy also cried when she thanked everyone and I ended up all teary again because of it. Caleb's dad gave a great toast - he said that he hoped they would approach their marriage as him and his wife had, by making God the center of it. It was very sweet. Caleb's parents are definitely an amazing couple and I enjoyed watching them interact. They have a great relationship.

There was plenty of dancing and Nathan loved it! We danced the chicken dance and Nathan laughed hysterically through the whole thing. I was next to Caleb's mom and she thought it was the funniest thing she'd seen. The bridesmaids were practically obsessed with Nathan, so they watched him while John and I took part in the couples dance. Nathan cried just once, and was the perfect baby during the whole reception. Everyone kept telling us how amazing he was. I agree!

It was definitely a party and it just went and went. Everything seemed flawless and so well put-together. Candy was just as calm as could be throughout the entire thing! We had the most amazing time and it was hard to leave. We were very definitely worn out by the time we got back to the hotel, but it was that good sort of worn out. Nathan kept surprising us with his great attitude and was still all smiles when we arrived back at our hotel around midnight. He had barely slept all day; I have no clue how he was so darn happy. Everything was such a blast and I'm so pleased that we were able to make the trip to be a part of their wedding day.