GONE TO TEXAS: (Part Two: the Wedding)

Good morning!

So yesterday, we told you about the Alamo-- and today, the wedding event itself! We drove back to Austin and a little past to Vintage Villas, a hotel and events space high on a hill overlooking Lake Travis.

Side note: While we'd originally chosen a Fiat 500 for our rental car (zippy, right?!), its low-to-the-ground undercarriage had been horribly abused by whoever rented the car last, and began flapping loudly against the guts of the car as we sped down the interstate, owing to three of the four screws that held the plastic piece in place being missing. COME. ON. We traded out for a Hyundai (I don't even care, it was reliable!), and as I stalked angrily across the car rental lot, the sales representative called behind me, "This one has XM radio! You folks will really enjoy the XM radio!". Surprisingly, after the dust settled, we did! Elvis Radio....24 hours of Elvis, 365 days a week? Sign me UP. We barrelled through Texas to a lot of the King's music, and it was downright pleasant!

Here's a few of the 1,000,000 photos of us taken in the hotel after we'd gotten ready, but before we actually left for the ceremony. Isn't it funny how you rush to get ready for an event, and then you're all the way ready already sitting in the hotel room? That was where we were. But I still thing they turned out well!

Oh my God, natural lighting? DAYTIME NATURAL LIGHTING? I know you've never seen so well lit a photo of me on this blog, and you might not again, so enjoy! Do you know I felt exactly like Wallis Simpson in my little rhinestone clip ons, necklace, and braided coronet? You should have seen how that skirt swirled on the dance floor!

The funniest part about this photo was that I was afraid Matthew's vintage navy-issue formal coat and ruffled Danny Zuko shirt would get too wrinkled in his carry on luggage, so he wore this throughout our trials and trails with flying and the rental car, my cute was dressed like the handsomest little Mariachi man east of the Pecos!

I lurve him. See me trying to keep his porcupine hair out of my eye? It does what it's doing in the first  photo with absolutely no product or styling. Does that even make sense to you?

I was too busy enjoying myself to take a lot of photos of the venue, but if you're local to Austin and planning a wedding, I would say this place was top notch! Here are some photos I swiped from the Google + page (is that even a thing anymore? Why does it persist?) :

This is where we we for the wedding. We were seated on the aisle, so I bet there are a bunch of photos of me trying not to cry in the background of the wedding party principals coming down the aisle! Such is life. I'll let you know when Caroline gets her pictures back how bad of a bomb I was! The girl of the hour was elegant in this goddess-y, full length gown with a pretty lace detail in the back, and looked like a million dollars cash. Oh! What an entrance!

The circle to the left is where the buffet line was...even vegan-eating was easy because there was a FABULOUS salad and really good vegetables along with beef medallions and some kind of fish. I ate as much as I could on the greenery, seeing as the second circle, to the right, is where the open bar was. Oh, you open bar, you. Just beyond, where the doors are on the right, was the reception area where the dancing got under way. I actually did cry when the couple's first dance was "Into the Mystic" by Van Morrison, and even worse when the father daughter dance was "Nothing Can Change This Love" by Sam Cooke. I'm actually starting to tear up now thinking about the latter. Ugh! SUCH A BEAUTIFUL WEDDING.

This is a recreation of where I sat at the wedding, next to Caroline's angelic niece, Eden, who was collecting spoons, blocks of cheese, and hearts as she plopped herself down at our table and carried forth, teaching a master's class in cuteness.

Here's a photo that Kelsey took of my gorgeous friend Caroline getting hitched; her dapper-as-I've-ever-seen-him newly minted husband, Eric, is doin' the draggin'. I'm slightly to the left of this frame, just beaming with pride for my friend on her big day. I am so happy for the new Mrs. Bowers!

That's day two-- we still have a) the dresses I bought and b) the food I ate! Have you been to any beautiful weddings lately? Had any particularly mind-blowing venues chosen by the couple-to-be? Danced all night on the reception dance floor? Let's talk!

That's all for today, see you kids tomorrow! Til then.