Apryle & Phil's Wedding - Oct. 7th, 2006

Apryle, one of my oldest and best friends, got married this weekend - it was lovely. I'll add more pictures when I get them from our unofficial photographer, Marcia (thanks for the ones you already sent, babe!) but here are some nice ones.

Reflections / recap on the weekend...
FRIDAY: Afternoon rehearsal at Apryle's church. It was surreal hearing Apryle and Phil go through wedding vows. Then the rehearsal dinner at Gilligans with the bride/groom, bridal party and Phil's parents. I chatted it up with Dani (Phil's mom) about figure skating (she's a skater, too) and we made plans to visit each other's respective Adult Skating Clubs. "Fettuccini is a grown-up's version of Mac & Cheese," was a wise observation made by Marcia. After dinner, the girls spent the evening at the Velencia's house for brownies, cheese, wine and home videos of us from high school. Nostalgia. Apryle left around 10 pm. Funniest quote of the night: "I am a rocket." (Marcia, in reference to how quickly she gets up and gets ready in the morning)

SATURDAY: 6:30 am wake-up call. Showers and hair for the bridal party (we all did our hair and makeup ourselves) who stayed at the Velencia's house. Hot cooked breakfast courtesy of Paul. 8:00 am arrival at Apryle's house to meet up with the Bride and make final preparations. I did her hair (and it turned out surprisingly well, thank God). We caravaned to the church in Reading around 9:30 am... gorgeous church with stained glass windows. Final dress and prep... lots of tears and emotion. We were told to hide tissues in our bouquets, not down our bras!

We walked down the aisle a little after noon. Apryle looked stunning. Apryle's bouquet was off-white hydrangeas. The bridesmaids carried antiqued hydrangea bouquets (green). Emily and I cried when AJ walked down the aisle with her dad. Apryle cried when she saw all of us crying (to which Marcia nudged Emily and told her to cut it out, "You're embarassing me!") Ceremony was just right... not too long, not too short. Sweet D played "The River." Pics afterward. Reception followed at Phil's house. Pasta bar, eggplant parmagiana, wine, salad. Dan was the M.C.... Doug and Carrie played/sang the song for the first dance, "It's Your Love." We had a great time hanging with Phil's sister, Carrie (one of the bridesmaids), who was delightful. Phil made the wedding cake and it was gorgeous and tasty. The bridal party turned rowdy and tried to rock-climb the front of Phil's house after more than a few drinks. Again, totally surreal day, but it was a lovely afternoon into evening. The first of my "sisters" is now a married woman! We welcome Phil to the "Team" as "Down with the Brown."















5 minutes before walking down the aisle. Isn't she a gorgeous bride? And we don't look so bad ourselves in "Lettuce" (the color of the gowns)! Unfortunately, we're missing Carrie, the 4th bridesmaid, in this shot... but I'll get one up of all of us soon.















Marcia and Kristina















Emily and Marcia















Dan and Kristina