A Winter Wedding Continued

So we made it to the reception, despite the crazy winds, in one piece. As Halley, Sara (another bridesmaid and college roommate), and I exited the car bundled in our winter coats, scarves over our heads and teeth chattering, we ran into the photographer who hinted that we may be taking photos outside...what??? Well at least we'll be able to wear our coats--no? no coats?? So we trekked upstairs to round-up our fellow groomsmen and bridesmaids who had arrived before us and were already hitting the open bar. We took the elevator back down and met Kristin and Steve in the foyer, before heading outside and walking several blocks to a nearby park where we were taking pictures; and yes for a few of the pictures we de-coated and braved the freezing winds. We were then allowed to put our coats back on and take the rest with coats. However, Kristin had no coat, just arm length gloves and a faux-fur capelet. When Halley and I returned to the reception hall, it took a tasty margarita to warm us up. We were announced, toasts were given and dinner finally came. Unfortunately, I could barely eat anything because only 2 days before the wedding I got the bug that Jen, Kevin and the rest of the continental US seemed to have and upon arrival at Halley's, I had to quickly excuse myself because I got sick (sounds eerily familiar to Mike's first meeting of Jen and Kevin). The first picture is before the toasts began of all the bridesmaids and jr bridesmaid, minus the maid of honor. The three of us in the middle were roommates with Kristin senior yr.

Mike was in charge of pictures and he missed some picture opportunities of the Macedonian bread dance. Step right, left, right kick left, kick right and step with your right foot. The matrons of the family hold a hanky and lead the dance--Kristin began it, then her mom, then her grandma. At the end of the dance Kristin's uncle brings a huge loaf of sweet bread into the middle of the dance floor and Kristin and Steve break it--the one who ends up with the most on his/her half wears the pants in the relationship; Kristin won! Then the bridal party dance with our matched groomsmen, I can't remember my partner's name, but he was the only sober groomsman besides the best man.

The next pictures are from the bouquet toss--the big black mark on Kristin's shoulder is a tattoo, the cover-up makeup she bought didn't cover it. One of the flower girls, a cousin of Kristin, caught the bouquet and she looked MAD, disgusted almost by the bouquet, but she wasn't--just a picture caught at the wrong time. It was brought to my attention by both the flowergirls and jr bridesmaid's parents that they thought I was hilarious--I did my best to keep them entertained during pictures since I noticed they were getting bored and starting to pick at their flowergirl bouquets. Overall, we had a great time, though we were a little bummed more people didn't dance--the largest number of dancers were during the Macedonian dances. Just before we left, with 15 mins or so before the were sending us out, Kristin and Steve's cousins gave the DJ some music they had brought with them: heavy metal. It was interesting. The 3 guys and their dates started a 6 person mosh pit, to which Kristin joined. Very different. But it was a lot of fun to see my roomies and see Kristin get married!