Fun times at my Sister’s Wedding

Okay, so it is past time that I went ahead and made my post about my sister’s wedding down in California.

We had our travel stuff already planned out before last week, well, at least our flight and hotel stuff. I made the registration for the car rental and our bags were packed and ready to go by Wednesday, even though we didn’t leave until Friday. Friday morning came and we were up and out the door by 6am. Got to the airport and went through the security stuff… which was… interesting. I’ve always heard how it was to go through security, but this WAS my first time. We got our bag checked, got our boarding passes and then went through all the scanners. Thankfully, they didn’t make the boys take off their shoes and do a bunch of crazy stuff, but they did have to empty their pockets and go through the metal detector. After that, it was a quick breakfast/coffee break and on to board our plane.

It was a smaller plane, and apparently overbooked, because people were having a hard time putting their carry-on bags into the overhead compartments. Steve was seated a couple of rows ahead of me and the two boys, but this girl in the seat across the aisle from me was kind enough to switch seats with Steve. The boys were given Wing pins by the pilot, which was super cool and then the engines came on and we started taxiing down the runway. As the plane got to the other end and began accelerating for take-off I burst into tears.

Yes, I admit it. I have a ridiculous fear of heights and flying. So Steve reached across the aisle and grabbed my hand to try to help me calm my nerves. So as we gained altitude I cried some more, though not hysterical screaming and crying, just tears streaming down my face. Oh I was so nervous!! But after we hit cruising altitude, I calmed down and all was good. It was actually kind of cool looking down at the clouds beneath us. The flight attendants brought our beverages and offered snacks. The flight was only about 2 and half hours, as we were only flying into Burbank, California. I also only yelped once when the plane touched down, as I was not expecting it to touch down so hard… have I mentioned I don’t like flying? After we touched down, we collected our bag and went to pick up our car. THAT was a bit of a pain in the ass, but we finally got it and it was a decent little car.

After that we drove like maniacs to get to Castle Green for the rehearsal. Unfortunately, we missed the rehearsal, and I was in a foul mood, which wasn’t pleasant… When we got there, Jen had just gotten done with the rehearsal and everyone was out in front of the castle. Jen and some of the other ladies were getting manicures and I wound up going with them and got my nails did, lol. I now know why I’ve never gotten them done before. It HURTS! Seriously, that lady was doing something crazy with my hands (the lotion/hand massage was nice however) and my fingers were stinging like crazy! I chose to have my nails painted a lovely lilac color to complement my dress and after they dried, I met back up with Steve and the boys (who had gone to check-in at the hotel) and went back for some down time.

Aiden and Finn cashed out towards the end of dinner

The boys went swimming in the pool for a bit, and then we got ready for dinner with all the family at Buca di Beppos in Pasadena. Wonderful restaurant, if you’ve never been… you should definitely find one and go. Just so ya’ll know, there IS a Buca di Beppos in Seattle, which is also very nice. The food was delicious, and the cheesecake was to die for. The boys did great during dinner, though by the end they were snoozing at the table, haha!

I had a nice time chatting with my aunt Sharon and uncle Jim (my dad’s sister and brother-in-law) as well as my aunt Ashley and uncle Jamey, who live in La Jolla, California. I haven’t seen Ashley in AGES, so it was really nice to see her again.

After dinner, we walked back to Jen’s hotel and picked up our car and made our way back to the hotel for the night… Jen’s wedding was the next day, so we needed to get our beauty sleep.

I overslept a bit, and didn’t get to Jen’s hotel until close to 10am, two hours AFTER I was supposed to be there… which was totally my fault, and it didn’t give us much time to finish up the flowers, but with the help of the bridesmaids, it got done. We made our way to the salon to get Jen’s hair and make-up done, and the rest of us bridesmaids got our hair curled and made pretty as well, though we opted to do our own make-up. Made our way back to the hotel, got the bridesmaids dressed and made-up, got MY dress on and make-up done and finally made our way to the limo to head over to the castle to get Jen in HER dress.

My friends, Jen looked STUNNING. Really, she made a beautiful bride. We got all the wedding photos done and after the guests finished arriving and getting seated, the ceremony began. Aiden took his job as ring bearer very seriously, as well as Finn, who was the bubble boy (he wanted something more “manly” then flower boy, HAHA!!). Made my way down the aisle as the Maid of Honor and waited for my sister to come down the aisle. As the ceremony progressed, I teared up a little, and then Shahmin, one of the bridesmaids read a poem and started crying, and then Jen cried, and then I cried and we all had to share a tissue, because no one other than me brought one up, lol. But it was beautiful. They had a couple of traditional Jewish elements (the groom is Jewish) and after the mazel tov, the minister pronounced them married and the ceremony was over.

After the ceremony, everyone gathered in the great hall for drinks while we waited for the banquet room to be set up for the reception. They had a crazy little flip-book company come out to make little flip book for the guest, which was actually very cute and fun. A Little Scene flip books, I have to say is a brilliant idea and a fun memory keepsake from a wedding.

Finally, it was dinner time and the bridal party re-entered after we were introduced and it was time for speeches and food. Jen and Marc thanked the guests, and then Stephen, the best man and brother of the groom made a long speech filled with childhood memories and joy at his brother’s happiness and gladness to have my sister as a part of his family.

Then it was my turn. I tried not to cry. I really did. I had lots of ideas on what I was going to say, but when the time came, all I could do was comment on how 3 1/2 years ago, she decided to move to California and worried how I would do without her, even though she’s the younger sister. I encouraged her to go and find whatever it was she was looking for and hoped she would find it down there. And she did. I spoke about how she and I fought when we were kids, typical sibling rivalry, and how I tell my boys that they may fight now, but one day they would grow up and their brothers would be their best friends. And this is when I started crying. Because it was true. Jen and I fought (we still do on occasion), but we grew up and she’s my best friend. I love and miss my sister, but I was so happy that she found her happily ever after.

Dancing came after dinner, and Aiden turned into a dancing machine!! Seriously, the kid danced for like TWO HOURS STRAIGHT!! At several points in time, he had the dance floor cleared while everyone made a circle around him to watch him get his groove on. He and Lulu (one of the bridesmaids) had a dance off, and Aiden is insistent that he won, haha. I danced quite a bit, too. It was a lovely evening and we all had a really great time.

There were a couple of points where I will also admit to my feelings being really hurt and I had to give myself several time outs to collect myself and my emotions. It was my sister’s day and I didn’t want to make a scene and embarrass her. Which she apparently thought I was going to do. Which is why my feelings kept getting hurt. I really felt like she was ashamed of me. I couldn’t sneeze, cough, talk… hell at one point I wasn’t sure if I could BREATHE! I guess she thought that I would ramble on and make stupid commentary all night long. It seems like no one has any confidence in my ability to control myself and censor my words so I don’t say stupid or embarrassing things… which I honestly do from time to time, especially when I get nervous… but never when it’s really important. I know that if she was REALLY embarrassed of me, she wouldn’t have had me come, so that much I know is true. Sometimes I’m just overly sensitive about stuff. *sighs* My dad came and made a comment that at least he got to see one of his daughter’s married before he died, which made me cry. Jen and Marc have been together for a few years, and they got their happily ever after… I’ve been with Steve for near 15 years and we’re nowhere near finding our happily ever after… or if we’d even have one together.

The night ended and we made our way back to the hotel for our last night, as check out was early in the morning!! Got up, had breakfast, turned the car in, went through airport security and waited for our return flight home. I am pleased to say I didn’t cry or yelp on the flight home, though when we finally touched down at SeaTac, I was very happy to be home.

So! That was the fun times at my sister’s wedding. She and Marc are really happy together, he made a handsome groom and she a beautiful bride. I met his family and find myself liking them quite a bit, they seem like really amazing people and I’m glad that they love my sister. I am glad I got to go to the wedding, and that the boys and I had parts to play in the ceremony, which was very lovely. Aiden wanted to turn back time so he could go back to dancing, but I told him that there will be plenty of opportunities during his life for him to dance his little heart out.

So that’s it!

Many Blessings,

~ Ravenna