He's Her Lobster

On September 23, 2016 my blonde bestie Kate married her lobster Bill.

Kate and Bill are such a fun couple and it was truly my honor to stand up them on their special day.

The day started early on Friday morning with hair and makeup at Salon G in Hamilton.



When we walked in we were greeted with Mimosas and breakfast.


Kate said yes to Bill and I said yes to champagne!  That's the same thing, right?

Post Glam Shoot

It was a pretty chill atmosphere in the salon.  Everyone was calm and excited.  The country jams were  pumping through the speakers and we all sat around chatting and giggling.  Mimosas+girl talk+being serenaded by Luke Bryan?= My kinda party!

Kate getting glam

A little Maid of Honor/Best Friend Bonding session courtesy of SnapChat

We then went back to Kate's house to get ready for the wedding.

Kate looked incredibly gorgeous!  Kate is one of those people who looks amazing without makeup on, too.  Some of us (me) look like Death's ugly sister when we wake up, but Kate wakes up looking glamtastic.  She looked insanely gorgeous on her wedding day!

Gorgeous!

All hail the veil!

Seesters 

The photographer took pictures at her parents' house and we all got ready.  Shout out to Kate's dad for being the only one who could lace up our bridesmaids' dresses!

We then piled into the limo and drove off to the church!  When we got there, we were greeted by a bag piper!  He was a surprise from Kate's dad as a nod to Kate's Irish culture.  It was so romantic and added a fun upbeat element to the entrance.  We MAYBE felt like we were being ushered into a real life fairy tale.  #Cinderellagoals

The ceremony was a beautiful service given by Kate and Bill's childhood priest.  I always love when the clergy knows the couple because it makes the service more personal and special.

Getting ready to greet the couple

After the wedding, we piled into the limo and the party started.  There was a ton of dancing, champagne sipping, and laughing.


Our first stop on the Kate and Bill Wedding Photography Tour?

The elementary school where Kate and Bill met.  So sweet!  Bill's class came out and they took a group shot with the newlyweds.



After the elementary school cuteness, we went to Princeton University for the majority of our shoot.  It was the perfect day...80 and NO HUMIDITY!  My hair thanked God for this!

Next, we headed to Point Pleasant for some pictures on the beach.



Finally, we ended our tour at the reception hall.  We went into the Lobster Shanty and we were filled with anticipation about the upcoming night's festivities.  First of all, the food?!  OHHHMYYYLAWWWD!  We munched on calamari, veggies, fruit, cheese, lobster rolls, wontons, pretty much anything and everything!

How cute is this cake?!  He's her lobster <3 

The bridal party then was summoned to make our grand entrance.  To keep up with the school motif, the 3 groomsmen and I came out by leap frogging.

Kate's dad gave a great speech welcoming Bill and his family into their family.


 Bill's dad sang Frank Sinatra's All The Way for Bill and Kate's first dance.  It was beautiful and so touching that his dad was able to perform it.

The band started to play and from their first note to the last note, no one left the dance floor.  The band was so good!  They were awesome because there was not "break"!  Every few hours some band members would go take a break, so the band was never "off".


Kate's sister gave a beautiful speech that was both funny and touching.

Dev killing the MOH speech

Bill's best man, Charlie, gave a funny speech and revealed some secrets!  Everyone was cracking up.

Charlie making the room laugh

Dinner was amazing!  I'm pretty sure I ate more seafood that day than I have in my whole life.  I regret nothing!

Yep...get jealous

There was a cake AND a chocolate fountain.  This is a wedding trend I can get on board with.  I dipped strawberries, pineapples, marshmallows...and all the cookies on the dessert table into the chocolate.  It was perfect!  Some people may have judged me for eating all.the.brownies. but I don't care.  Bridesmaid privilege.

Maria and my adopted Aunt Dee! 

Everyone had a great time and I was truly sad that it was over.

The happy couple

Kate and her dad's father/daughter dance

Pretty much sums up the night

Love those smiles 

Kate's Annie Banks Mackenzie Father of the Bride-esque sneaks 

The next day we all reconvened at breakfast and talked about what a fun night it was.  There was so much love and family sitting around the table that even though it was raining outside, it seemed to be sunshiny and bright.

This was the fruit cup.  I kid you not.  

It was a beautiful weekend and I am so happy for Kate and Bill!  I can't wait to see what the future holds for this beautiful color!  

XOXO,

E

Weekend Recap

Happy Oxymoron Day,

How was everyone's weekend?

Mine was super bueno!  Busy, bustling, and full of friends.  Just the way I like it.

A little prep for the conert

Friday started out with a much needed OFF day from working out.  The girls and I went to Florida Georgia Line.  Thomas Rhett and Frankie Ballard opened for them.  All of them were fantastic.  TR performed a new song off his upcoming album and he told us his wife asked him to write a song that wasn't about beer.  So he penned a beautiful love song for her.  I melted.

FGL killing it!

Male entertainers rarely dance and bounce around the stage, but FGL kills it!  They jump around, bounce around, and dance.  It hypes everyone up.  If you want a party concert--you go to FGL!

Their logo

The girls getting ready to get our Shine On

FGL did a great job and we dance all night long!

Sometimes you can't really dance to country music, but FGL makes it easy.

25K strong

Random hibiscus flower in the bathroom…because why not?

Saturday was a packed day.  It started with my favorite kind of triathlon:  Zumba, Spin, and Pilates.  I also did a weight session.  After the workout frenzy, I headed to get my nails done.  My manicurist saved me the last bottle of O.P.I.'s Cajun Shrimp nail polish--she's a gem!  (It really is the best color, thus being sold out frequently from every store…EVER)

Cajun Shrimp FOR THE WIN!

After my mani, I headed home to prep for Amanda's beautiful engagement party!



I made watermelon, goat cheese, balsamic, and whole wheat petit toasts.

OMG!  

Flavor explosion!  These are delicious--creamy, crunchy, sweet, tangy, strong, mild--all things wonderful!

The beautiful bride and me!  I wore pink to match our bride's maids dresses

Adorable napkins picked out by the groom-to-be

Add caption

The beautiful happy couple!

Matron of Honor and two bridesmaids 

Lilly cups!  Green cups with pink sangria and a pink and white straw :)

Monogrammed water bottles?  How cute!

The beautiful cake that her aunt made!  The top layer was mint chocolate chip, middle layer chocolate chip, and bottom layer was vanilla.  I actually miss this cake. 

The delicious cake!

Cheers to chocolate covered pretzels

As a friend there is nothing better than seeing your bestie deliriously happy and in love.  I'm so excited to be a part of their big day.  I always feel like when my friends are settled and happy, I'm happier.  

Sunday was spent with a long 10 mile run.  The last 10 mile run of my training!  Next week starts 11 miles!  Every mile longer I realize that I'm 1 mile closer to Disney World.  I'm really excited :)  As you know, I've been dealing with a boy ghost (the worst kind of ghost) for a while, but last week I finally released him and my speed went down by a whole minute.  I think it's my karma reward for letting go :)

source

Post-Run fuel, no?  

Amanda's aunt made these, too!  I ate the stem and shared the rest with the parentals.  They were mucho appreciative.  And yes, it was as delicious as it looked.

The rest of the day was spent meal prepping for the week.  Lunches and dinners will be garlic, lime, sriarcha chicken with Southwestern Quinoa salad.  I will post pics later before I demolish it.  

Sunday night, Kate and I went to Woflgang Puck's American Grille (not sure why an American restaurant is spelling grille the English way?  But I digress) at the Borgata.  We pretended we were real Housewives of NJ.  I had the Salmon Hong Kong style.  It was face rocking amazing!  

Sangria Cheers!  Note the matching Cajun Shrimp nails
#soulmates

Your lips taste like Sangreeeeeuhhhh!

*Fun Deb Story* Deb hates that song because she's like, "Why would anyone want to kiss someone who tastes like wine?  That's gross"  LOVE HER

Delicious Bread.  Seriously the square piece tasted like Thanksgiving

Triangle pizza flatbread thingy

Salmon Hong Kong Style

Kate's pasta dish!  We played switch-a-roo and hers was amazing

Doesn't this remind you of Belle's library in the Beast's castle

Ariel/Finding Nemo moment

Ahhh, gluten free chocolate cupcake :)

Classy girls wander AC with dessert

Reality of how we eat and wander the casinos 

Isn't this the cutest sign?  I love the message--little life happinesses

Elevator Photo Shoot

Because that's what we do

When we get bored

Fun fact-we kept sending the elevator to different floors so we could play and take pix.  

Anyway, I heard there's a farmer's market trip for me tomorrow so I'm off to bed so I can scour the cream of the crop (for real lol…like my pun?  I'm a dork, I know)  I'm in the (farmer's) market for peaches, zucchini, and maybe some raw honey.  Can you guess what I'm going to make?  I'll recap it and post the recipe soon!

Tomorrow the girls are coming over for The Bachelorette finale!  Whose team are you on?  I'm Team Shawn, but I have to say that I think he's too good for her.  I'm totally Team Ben Z. for Bachelor 2016, though.  He even sits like a hot guy!  He's so cute :)  I digress.

I'm going to leave you with a FGL quote that I'm fawning over:

Follow your trouble like a champagne bubble.  

Eventually it will pop and be like nothing was ever there.  

See you later,

E