It’s an OU wedding!
This past weekend Dan and I hopped in the car and headed back to Ohio (but this time to a different part of the state). We were headed to Athens, home of the Bobcats. I admit, coming from Marshalltown, Iowa, I am used to the red and blue Bobcats so was a little thrown off by the green Bobcats, but whatever.
Anyway, we had the joy of being a part of one of Dan’s college friends (and fraternity brothers) wedding weekend. Dan was a groomsmen and I was playing the part of his other half, as always. This was actually the first time Dan has been in a wedding so I kept reminding him that this would be great practice.
Upon arrival we quickly checked into our hotel, changed clothes, and headed to the lobby to meet another groomsmen and his wife to head to the rehearsal. The church is on the Ohio University campus (where the bride and groom met) and was a very beautiful, small, church. I was pleasantly surprised to find that this tiny church had air conditioning which was helpful during a very sunny and hot weekend.
After the standard introductions, I sat in the back of the church with two others playing the part of “other halves” and watched the show. I payed close attention to the interactions between the bride and groom. I had just met Hannah (aka: Bride) and had only briefly met Brad (aka: Groom) so this was a fun way to get to know them a bit, if even just from afar. Instantly I could tell there was a very strong love between them. I have been to a lot of rehearsals and they seemed so relaxed, laid back, and just plain happy. They didn’t care if something went wrong or if something was not figured out. They just rolled with it. You could tell they had so much trust in one another and that no matter what it would work out and it was a happy time where nobody should be stressed out.
I should mention that Hannah and Brad had two groomsmen step down at the very last minute. Brad’s younger brother was deployed to Iraq and another college friend’s girlfriend was dilated and very close to giving birth to their first child. They just rearranged things a bit, had two groomsmen have two girls, and it was solved.
After the rehearsal we headed to the rehearsal dinner where we chowed down on appetizers, bread, salad, pasta, and a delicious chocolate dessert (well, for me). Then it was time to hit the town! Well, the campus bars at least. ;) Dan was very excited for me to see where he hung out during his college days and it was fun for me to see where he spent these crazy times in his life. It was also nice to see Dan around his friends (who are slowly becoming mine as well). Life is different in Iowa. My friends turned into Dan’s friends. I have somewhat taken that for granted and forget that it is hard to be on that side of things. After many beers, shots, pool, and photo hunt, we headed back to the hotel for a few hours of rest.
Saturday I took the opportunity to spend a little time relaxing after a very hectic month of June. I put on my swimming suit and headed to the outdoor pool for a little vitamin D. I spent the next 3 hours bathing in the sun, hopping in the pool, and doing some reading. I would periodically have guests join (mainly as a pit stop while waiting for others) but it was nice to get to know the others at the wedding a little better. I finally decided at about 2:00 it was time to head to the room and get ready for the 3:30 wedding.
The wedding was beautiful and for a couple who have been dating for almost 10 years, it all was very natural. Even when the unity candle kept going out, they improvised and just pushed their two separate candles close together and had a good laugh. Below is a picture during the ceremony (kudos to Dan for looking at the camera right when I took it!)
After the ceremony we took a few quick pictures and Dan headed off to the limo.
I was off to pre-reception drinks with my small group (Buffalo Wild Wings!) and then we headed to the outdoor reception back at the hotel. I was happy to see that my table was under a nice tent to block the sun,although unfortunately for the bridal party, there table was directly IN the sun. I enjoyed a vegetarian dish, an amazing portabella lasagna, as well as some conversation with some terrific girls I had the pleasure of getting to know (a girlfriend and wife of two other groomsmen who had both gone to OU as well).
It was then time to dance the night away! We spent a good two hours laughing, talking, drinking, and decorating the bridal suite before we headed back to campus to hit a few bars to end the weekend. Dan wanted to make sure we got one picture in the bar where he spent a lot of time during his college days (new life meets old life).
Thanks Hannah and Brad for an amazing weekend! And Congrats on your new life together. We look forward to doing it all again in Iowa in September!
