Serena's wedding: Part 2

The morning of the wedding, I arrived at Serena's parents house bright and early. I did the usual things—painted my nails, helped curl people's hair, brought my handy travel steamer for use on the wedding dress and veil. Serena's adorable 12-year-old cousin told me it was her first time getting her hair curled, and asked me the cutest questions throughout—"Are you a hairdresser? Am I related to you?" It was darling. Everything was a busy flurry of activity and just as I was beginning to think we would never be ready, everything finally came together and we were off to the church!

And Serena! There has never been a sweeter bride. With her beautiful dark hair, blue eyes and pink cheeks, she could have been the model for Snow White. And she was absolutely radiant.

Frank sat right behind me with our good friend Molly, who did a reading during the ceremony. Frank and I couldn't help looking at each other and grinning from time to time. It's so much fun to be at a wedding together and remember our own!

And this couple—they couldn't be more wonderful if they tried. They were simply beaming love and happiness all through the wedding Mass.

When they finally kissed, after saying their vows and exchanging rings, the whole church erupted into spontaneous cheers. That's how excited we all were to see those two get married!

Serena and Anthony have possibly the most romantic love story I've ever heard. I don't want to go into too many details, since it's not my story to tell, but let's just say that Anthony knew she was the one the first moment he laid eyes on her before their freshman year of college at the University of Dallas. Serena, on the other hand, was somehow totally unaware, thinking they just happened to be best friends who had a lot of fun together and got along really well. Anthony patiently bided his time, until after three years he finally asked her out. She hesitantly agreed to one date, but of course she ended up falling in love with him right back, and the rest is history. Their patiently built love story is so beautifully evident in the way they know each other so well and cherish each other so deeply.

Can't you just see the joy on their faces? And that dress—it's just perfect for her! Everyone exclaimed over how beautiful she looked.

We took a bunch of pictures at the church... Here's what the bridesmaids wore if you'd like to see. Serena chose the prettiest, most elegant dresses you can imagine. We all loved them!

Finally it was time to head over to the reception. Here is the lovely couple just before they were introduced as Mr. and Mrs. for the first time!

The reception was elegant and beautiful, filled with all kinds of thoughtful little details that are so Serena. At the head table, there was a little vase of water for each bridesmaid's bouquet:

For favors, Serena made rose-scented candles ... out of tea cups! (Remember when she was collecting all those tea cups a while ago?) I couldn't believe she actually made all of them herself. They even came with coordinating books of matches.

And the wedding cakes fit beautifully with the theme. One was gluten-free, since Serena and some of her family are allergic to gluten. The tea cup on the gluten-free cake was from Serena's first tea set as a little girl.

The toasts were all fantastic. Serena's dad started by asking everyone to clink their glasses so Serena and Anthony had to kiss. Then he said, "I never thought I'd be asking people to help me get someone to kiss my daughter..." That got a lot of laughs! But then he said that Anthony is the one man he would want to kiss his daughter, because he's such a good man who loves Serena so much. It was incredibly sweet.

Serena's dance with her father was spectacular. It started with a sweet, slow song, and then after a minute it picked up into something fast, jazzy and fun (I wish I could remember what the songs were—Molly or Rachel, maybe you can help me?). Serena and her dad can dance! As Frank said, "I saw a whole new side to Serena!" It was a delight to watch and got us all smiling.

The best man was Anthony's brother and he had some darling stories about Anthony as a kid. We found out Anthony took a briefcase to kindergarten—isn't that the cutest mental image? There was also a story about Anthony's love for pens as a little kid. He was always sensible and mature beyond his years, and very sure of what he wanted. How fitting for his sweet love story with Serena.

Then Rachel gave her maid-of-honor speech. I told her she was born to give that speech—it was one of the best wedding toasts I've ever heard. That girl has the sharpest wit and so clearly loves Anthony and Serena so much. She started with, "Now I know that opposites attract ... because Anthony is actually able to get places on time." That brought down the house, and it only got better from there. The speech focused on the virtues Serena and Anthony share that will help strengthen their marriage, and she demonstrated with hilarious and touching anecdotes about each. By the end of the speech, I was crying with laughter—and then it was time for the mother-son dance.

Anthony and his mom danced to a song I'd never heard before—"A song for my son" by Mikki Viereck. Have you ever heard it? It's really beautiful ... and it might make you cry. As I listened to the words of the song—"Be kind, be sweet, be a gentleman"—I thought about how Anthony's mom had taught him those values every day of his life. It's so evident in the man he has become. I thought about the little boy he used to be, who carried a briefcase to kindergarten, and how he loved Serena for so long. I began to tear up a little bit. Then it was time for his and Serena's first dance.

Rachel and Maura, another bridesmaid, sang and played guitar for Serena's and Anthony's first dance. They chose the beautiful song Tailor Made by Colbie Caillat (listen to it on Youtube if you can—it's gorgeous). I'd never heard it before, but the lyrics described their love story so perfectly. And as I watched them dance, lost in the moment and staring into each other's eyes, I just lost it.

I started bawling into my napkin. One of the other bridesmaids, Blanche, grabbed my hand and we cried into our napkins together. Then we smiled through the tears and started laughing, because we were so darn happy. Serena and Anthony were made for each other.

Dang it, guys. I'm getting emotional just writing this post. If I keep going I'm going to start crying again, and we can't have that.

All I can say is, it was a privilege to be in this wedding. I feel like a better person for having witnessed it. Anthony and Serena give such a beautiful example of what marriage can be, just by being who they are. I sure love those two.

Serena's wedding: Part 1

Normally I don't cry at weddings. I didn't cry at my sister Lillian's, or my best friend Maggie's, or even at my own. But I cried at Serena's—the first wedding that ever moved me to tears. Let me walk you through this unforgettable weekend and tomorrow's post about the day that made just about everyone present tear up with joy.

Serena grew up in the remote North Country town of Malone, NY—best known as the setting for Laura Ingalls Wilder's Farmer Boy—and that's where she decided to have her wedding. After weighing all our travel options, Frank and I decided to drive to the wedding. Alllll the way to Malone, NY. It was the only way we could both go, really, and luckily we love road trips.

Our car, ready to go with blankets, pillows and a picnic basket of snacks

We took Friday and Monday off from work and divided the 13-hour drive into two days, with overnight stops both there and back to make it manageable. At the reception, a few people asked, "Are you that couple that drove from Chicago?!" We felt proud to have acquired such a reputation. :)

We decided to make a full vacation out of it and visit the Wilder Farm on Sunday before we left. I read Farmer Boy aloud to Frank on our way there in preparation. By the way, that book is a great read-aloud. We've tried reading books out loud in the past and it didn't go well, mostly because we're both visual learners who struggle to retain auditory information. But the Little House books are so visually descriptive—everything is described in detail, from Father's barnyard to Almanzo's red mittens—that our visual brains easily stayed engaged. We also had a great time discussing the story, but I'll tell you more about that in my post about the Wilder farm.

Anyway, the rehearsal was supposed to start at 5:00 pm. We hoped to arrive in town before 4:00, but traffic on the two-lane highway to Malone slowed us down. It was 4:45 pm when we finally rolled into the hotel parking lot.

We had the pleasure of witnessing this fine vehicle on the way there. I'm just impressed they actually wrote "Ford" on there.

To make matters worse, I was dressed in the oh-so-fashionable attire of yoga pants and Frank's over-sized hoodie (it was comfortable but darn ugly ... Frank said, "I think your style theme for this trip is homeless"). I quickly laid out a plan—"Ok, you check in, I'll run upstairs, we'll change really fast, I'll do my make-up in the car"—and I couldn't help but add, "Everything will be fine as long as we don't run into Serena's or Anthony's parents before I get a chance to change!" Of course, as soon as we stepped into the hotel, Anthony's entire family stepped off the elevator right in front of us. I sank into the wall and hoped they didn't recognize me, but Anthony's dad (sweetest man on the planet) saw me and happily greeted me, "Hi Tess!" I turned ten shades of red, but of course smiled and said hi back. Luckily his mom didn't see me, and I was able to redeem myself by being very presentable at the rehearsal dinner.

We showed up at the church at 5:15, with me panicking because we were late, but to my immense relief Serena and the other bridesmaids hadn't arrived yet. I shouldn't have worried. Serena and I met when we were serendipitously placed as roommates at the ISI Honors Conference, and we bonded over the fact that we were the last to arrive at breakfast every single morning—generally skating in with just enough time to grab coffee before class. Running late is kind of our thing (for better or worse).

The rehearsal went off perfectly and the rehearsal dinner was a delight, with a heartfelt and loving toast from Anthony's dad. Frank and I made new friends and discovered that we knew a lot of people in common with the rest of the bridal party. Serena gave us bridesmaids beautiful rose earrings and necklaces (in keeping with the wedding's pink rose theme), and fussed over whether Frank and I were well-rested because she is the most thoughtful bride in the world. I really enjoyed spending time with her lovely friends who made up the rest of the bridal party and her older sister Mary Jo, who is now teaching my little sister's high school English class. I gushingly told Mary Jo how much my sister loves her class, but Frank the ever-helpful cocked an eye at her and said, "So, you're Caroline's new English teacher. I heard you gave a really hard quiz last week." I pretty much died of shame, but afterward when we told Caroline about it she was immensely pleased with Frank. I can't understand it!

Ok, I won't say any more for now—this post is already long enough. But tomorrow I'll be posting all about the wedding, with tons of pictures, so check back then. :)

p.s. Today is my birthday! I once heard that there are two kinds of people in the world: those who hide their birthdays, and those who proclaim them. I'm definitely a birthday proclaimer! The morning got off to a great start with delicious breakfast in bed from Frank—more like breakfast feast—and lots of presents, including a potted rose plant for our kitchen and our family's traditional birthday cupcake. I'm the happiest girl today!

Serena's Bridal Shower!

Serena's shower in St. Louis was perfect and beautiful. Her fiance's cousin—who just happens to be an event planner—put it together, and she did the most marvelous job. My favorite part of all, though, was getting the chance to meet Serena's friends and new family.

Friday evening I slept over with Serena—and of course our conversation included all our usual sleepover topics like Anna Karenina, Kristin Lavransdatter, and everything else we've been reading lately. Saturday morning began with a late breakfast at her fiance's family's house; her wonderful fiance Anthony and his sweet dad cooked an impressive feast.

 

^^I couldn't get enough of the apple-topped fence posts at Anthony's parents' house—a perfect touch since his mom is a teacher.

Serena is collecting teacups to use for the wedding reception (I can't give any more details than that as I don't want to give anything away for my friends who are going to the wedding!). She told me how Anthony's extended family has been so helpful, finding teacups from all over and bringing them home for her.

^^All the teacups were spread out on Anthony's mom's dining room table. They have over 100 already!

^^Pretty impressive! And on another note, isn't her outfit darling?

We sat around and talked for a while after breakfast. Anthony's dad is studying for the diaconate, and he had such great insights to share. I also enjoyed a good conversation with Serena's Maid of Honor, the lovely Rachel, who is absolutely a kindred spirit—but more about her later. :)

Finally we piled in Rachel's car to drive to Anthony's aunt's house for the shower. I walked in and pretty much began taking notes for Lillian's bridal shower, which I'm planning for next month. Everything looked beautiful!

 

^^Serena with her Maid of Honor and me, the "bridesmatron." :)

A huge highlight of the trip was getting to meet Rachel. You know those moments when you meet your friend's friends and realize you have a ton in common and were pretty much meant to be friends? It was one of those moments. Rachel teaches high school English, and her insights about various books (and just life in general) were fantastic. I could have listened to her talk about literature forever. (And lucky for me, she has a blog where she writes about all things literary—I fully intend to stalk on a regular basis!) I think this is one of the best parts about getting to be in Serena's wedding—the chance to connect and bond with her friends from high school and college. I love it!

And last but not least, Anthony's aunt has a fantastic teapot collection. I admired it all through the bridal shower, and finally decided I just had to take a picture for you guys:

My favorite is the one on the bottom left—if you look closely, you'll see that the lid is a little tea table. 

And now, it's Friday. Frank and I have big plans for this weekend—just kidding, our plans mostly involve sleeping in and probably visiting a new parish for Mass on Sunday. We've heard so much about St. John Cantius that we decided this week we have to go. Does anyone else go to Mass there? Any tips? Last but not least, I'm hoping to try my hand at making homemade bread this weekend using a recipe book that sweet Sukie sent me for a wedding gift. Wish me luck!

Heading to St. Louis!

This picture was taken in July of 2010—incidentally, a solid year before I even knew Frank existed. I was a rising senior in college. That's me on the left there, and Lillian on the right. And the girl right next to me, the one with the chic dark pixie cut, that's Serena.

This picture was taken at an ISI conference in Annapolis. You know how I mentioned ISI and the awesome connections it's brought Lillian and me (namely, our husbands)? Well as it turns out, my husband wasn't the only awesome connection I made through ISI.

When I did the Honors Fellowship three years ago, luck and serendipity gave me Serena as my roommate. Serena was a rising senior at UDallas. We shared a love for the great books and a passion for late-night intellectual conversations, but more importantly, we shared an inability to wake up on time (possibly related to the love for late-night conversations).

Every morning, without fail, the two of us would dash down to breakfast 5 minutes before our first lecture of the day, and spend the lecture gulping coffee while trying to stay awake. After a few days of this—the evening conversations and the morning struggle-fests—we realized we were meant to be friends. I mean, books and conversations and sleeping in; could there be a better foundation for a friendship?

When the conference was over we went back to our respective schools in Texas and Indiana. We tried to stay in touch, but as the school year passed it grew harder, and we were just about to let our friendship slip into that sad-but-sometimes-unavoidable realm of "friends you only talk to on Facebook" when graduation rolled around. I was getting ready to move to DC and start my first job when I found out Serena would be starting grad school and moving to DC too! Cause for celebration! We were joyously reunited and embarked on a regular regimen of sleepovers, movie nights, mani-pedi dates and pretty much any other fun thing we could think of.

Like hanging out at the National Basilica

Anyway, the point of this whole story is this: Serena is getting married to wonderful Anthony in September, and she's asked me to be her bridesmaid. I was thrilled. I mean, getting asked to be a bridesmaid (or in my case, a bridesmatron) has to be just about the greatest honor a friend can bestow, you know? And just to give you an idea of how awesome of a bride Serena is... her bridesmaid dresses are going to be from Shabby Apple, my favorite dress source ever. I'm already itching to get mine in the mail so I can start wearing it to Sunday Mass!

Today Serena's having a bridal shower in St. Louis, where her fiance's family is from. How lucky am I that her shower is out in the Midwest, where I can actually attend it? In fact, I wrote this blog post on a Megabus to St. Louis for the shower. (And given the shaky state of wifi on this bus, I'm really proud of myself for finishing it and even putting pictures—small triumphs :)

When I moved to Chicago to get married, I thought our days of sleepovers and late-night conversations were at an end. But nope, here we are—our sleepovers have just moved, from Annapolis to DC to St. Louis. Somehow we always find ourselves back here: talking about books late at night, solving the problems of the world ... followed by a struggle to get up the next morning. At this point it's tradition.

Here's to a perfect Saturday bridal shower for my dear Serena. I'm so glad I get to go, and Frank and I already looking forward to the wedding!