Laura's Wedding: Rehearsal & Groom's Dinner

Over the weekend, one of my dearest and oldest friends got married. Laura and I have been friends since she moved into town in 5th grade. She's the only person I've stayed friends with from grade school, so I was thrilled to be a bridesmaid in the wedding. Thanks to my photographer extraordinaire Adam, I have lots of photos to share (all photos taken by Adam unless noted).

As such, the first installment will focus on the Rehearsal. The wedding was held in the groom's hometown of Austin (home of Hormel and the Spam Museum). Adam's parents kindly agreed to watch Chester, so we dropped him off Thursday night so that we could head down right after work on Friday. We left at 3:30, and rolled into town at 5 with just enough time to quick check-in at the hotel and head over to the rehearsal.

At the rehearsal, we practiced lining up,

exiting,

entering,

 where to stand,

stepping down for the readings,

 presenting the new couple,

 and exiting again.

It was a Lutheran ceremony, so it wasn't terribly long. Definitely a good thing when you're standing in one place in heels!

Apparently I missed the memo for the bridesmaids to wear royal blue. But I was in navy so at least I was a shade of blue. It was a pretty funny coincidence though! I should have gone with my original plan to wear my royal blue dress!

Then it was time for the Groom's Dinner. The dinner was catered by Piggy Blues and held in the meeting room adjoining the church.

photo by Stef

 After dinner, we opened our wedding party gifts - gold earrings and Spam for the bridesmaids!

 I also made sure to get a photo with one of the stars of the show,

and my darling hubby.

photo by Laura

 Of course when it was time to leave, it was pouring outside. I joked that I would use my rehearsal ribbon bouquet as a bonnet. Luckily, my dear husband ran out in the rain and picked me up at the door.

We made a quick stop at Target for nail polish and heel pads for my shoes, and then headed back to the hotel. At the hotel, we relaxed in the hot tub with a cold beverage and enjoyed watching the lightning through the skylight.