Another wedding blog post

I went to a wedding over Labor Day (see that post here), and I had another one this past weekend. This one was for a sorority sister, so I already figured I'd have a pretty good time: I'd know a lot of people there, and it would feel like a college mini-reunion. And that's exactly what it was.

Here were the highlights:

Image found here

• The venue: These two college friends got married at the Meadowlark Botanical Gardens in Vienna, VA. It was so beautiful! I love gardens and all nature-related things, so I can't believe I had never been there before. The ceremony was outside in the sunshine (we were wearing our sunglasses it was so bright!), and the reception was inside the atrium, which has a babbling brook running through it. 
• I was sitting at a table of all Thetas (and a few husbands), so that was a lot of fun. Most of the girls live in the DC area and I see them somewhat regularly, but I hadn't see some people since our 5-year reunion in 2016, or even since graduation! It was great to catch up. And it was really cute to see how the married sisters interacted with their husbands; so romantic!
• Since both the bridge and groom went to Dartmouth, a lot of their friends were alumni, too. They wanted an all-Dartmouth-alumni photo, and the photographer muttered, "Wow, there are a lot of you." People were kneeling on the ground, some of us sat on chairs, we did what we could to get probably 30 of us in that picture!
• Our take-away gift was a lei made of candy! The bride is originally from Hawaii, so that was a fun connection. Plus, who doesn't love Starbursts?
• The bride and groom danced in college, so they are quite good dancers. It was fun to see them swing dance, do salsa, etc. As a dancer, I wanted to join in, but there weren't many leads there who knew how to dance, so I just hung around on the edge of the dance floor. 
• The funniest conversation of the night was when we were discussing how, no matter what wedding you go to, you end up seeing the pros and cons of the event. Someone suggested that there should be a Yelp for weddings, where people could rate them. Of course this sounds like an awful idea: we don't need to be pouring more hate into the world. BUT, as someone who generally doesn't like weddings, I suggested "PettyWedding.com," (pending a TradeMark. Ok, only kidding, but actually...) where people could complain about the weddings they go to. So then this became a running joke throughout the evening. I said, "The chicken is a little dry. #PettyWedding" and the like. Please feel free to use that hashtag.

My complaints (which I think are actually pretty minor):

• There was no music during the ceremony. I feel like music not only creates atmosphere, but it also offers cues to those walking in the event. It felt strange sitting in silence: you know you're not supposed to talk, but you're also confused about what's going on. I was afraid someone had forgotten the music.
• The ceremony was a little long, because each of the four parents had the opportunity to speak. The bride's mom went on and on about how the groom embraced their family traditions, including making Christmas cards. She even brought cards to show to us! While this is very cute, it was really sunny and I was sweating in the heat. I kept thinking, "Wrap it up!" Also, if I had to hear one more story about how they met in Chem 5 class, I was going to scream. WE GET IT, move on. 
• The music for the reception came from a computer that the bride's sister ran. I understand that a live band can be quite expensive (and probably would have been too loud for that space), but not even a DJ? However, I see how running a computer is pretty much what a DJ is doing, so they saved a couple hundred dollars.
• While I was pleased that it was an open bar, the mojitos were pre-made and not very good. And the bartender had quite the attitude! She wasn't very helpful at all. Even the white wine had been pre-poured (i.e. it wasn't cold anymore). The open bar just didn't feel very fun. 
• The pace of the event seemed to go kind of slowly. The last one seemed to have things planned down to the minute, and at no point did I feel like I was just sitting around. But once the cake was served, everything seemed to die down, especially if you weren't dancing. I felt kind of bad, but I was one of the first people to leave. But things were kind of done, and so was I.

Candy lei!

All and all, this was a fun wedding. But already knowing so many of my friends would be there, I didn't really doubt that. My next one isn't until next August. Whew!