Sarah's Wedding

I was able to go home for a week to attend my sister's wedding. Flying in on Thursday, I was a little nervous. Parisians were striking about the increase in retirement age, and I was worried there would be problems with my flight. Luckily, I made it to MSP, and met Ben downtown. With our carry-on luggage in tow, we walked to the restaurant in Uptown for the bachelorette party my little sister had organized. I think my jet-lag made me quite a light-weight, as I felt a little drunk after one drink while waiting for the party to arrive to Chino Latinos. Anna did an amazing job organizing the party, and during the great meal (that wasn't too pricey) we played a game to see who knew Sarah the best. I was a little disappointed in myself for not winning (I don't know my zodiac signs apparently, and didn't know Sarah's favorite color) but the gift was a candle, so it was appropriate it went to a girl.

Following dinner, we went to a comedy club across the street. The humor wasn't the best, but it was enjoyable, and definitely family friendly. They re-enacted how Sarah and Mike met, which was cute. I took a lil movie.

After the comedy club, Drabe was going to meet up with us, but Anna, Sarah, Ben and I were tired, so we went back to the house in Lindstrom.
The next morning was a day of preparation. I was playing the piano for the wedding, so I practiced my butt off in the morning. Last minute, I was given a couple of other songs to learn, which were luckily more modern and chord based. However, I hadn't touched a piano for a month, so I was a little rusty.
Ben, meanwhile, was in charge of the name-tents. It was really hard to format them correctly on the computer, and they kept printing incorrectly. At about 2, we realized we didn't have paper left to finish the cards. Ben and I made a wild dash to Office Max in Forest Lake, only to find that they didn't have any paper; Ben insisted that we check at Walgreens, but again, no luck. We finally had to ditch the effort and went to the rehearsal practice. I was excited to work on the timings for the music, but Pastor Oldenburg passed over most of the music pretty quickly. I was able to practice a bit with Rick, thank goodness, who was the soloist for the wedding.
The rehearsal dinner was mostly good. The groom's parents brought us to Eichten's Bison Farm, and we enjoyed soup and undercooked pizza. This was the first time I met the groom's parents, and they were kind. So far, I like Mike's family.
The wedding day itself was a little hectic. After breakfast, I continued practicing piano and trying to get all the pieces to sound at least slightly polished. When Ben and I went to the church, I got a frantic call from my mother, because Sarah had lost her bridal bra. Last minute craziness. Gotta love it.
The wedding itself was really beautiful. The music was, hopefully, decent, and Sarah and the bridesmaids looked fantastic.

I really liked how they used the pashminas with the purple dresses. And Sarah, of course, looked wonderful.
The reception was also a great time. Ben and I were at table three, with Uncle Keith and his girlfriend Jean, my cousin Emily, my nephew Sammy, and my step-brother Ben. The dancing was great, and the wine flowed freely. A little too freely for my friend Ben, but something that I do not need to go into detail here.
Sunday morning and my mom wakes me up at 8 am. She is sick from food poisoning or something, so I have to drive down to the hall with John to clean up. It turned out to be nice, because I got to see Sarah again, and then they all came up to Lindstrom for brunch. Two egg bakes later, and we all watched Sarah open her presents. I got her a traditional Bulgarian pot, and I hope she can put it to use. If not, it would be nice to just have as decoration.
It was a beautiful wedding for a beautiful sister.