Travel Journal 2: D.C. Wedding Weekend

After our trip to Orlando for Christmas, we returned to Atlanta on the 26th for John to start his busy week working on the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Of all of his projects at work, this event is the biggest. Since he would we working the entire week through New Years, it was perfect timing for me to go to Washington D.C. to be the Matron of Honor in Heather's wedding, who is a dear friend from college!

After working on the 27th and feverishly doing laundry and packing (from D.C. I would be heading straight to Tahoe, but more on that in a later post!), I left for D.C. on the 28th. Remember that sweet surprise birthday dinner that John planned in Orlando? I really appreciated his forethought since the 28th was my birthday and we wouldn't be able to celebrate together. 

I arrived in D.C. just in time for the bridesmaids/close friends luncheon. It was so much fun to honor Heather and celebrate with each other.

Yay for being the token blonde! The bride is Heather, who is in the middle of the picture.

We then went back to Heather's parents' house to get ready for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. The dinner was lovely, and it was special watching the slideshow of Heather and Chris through the years.

Bridesmaids and bride at the rehearsal dinner

Then, wedding time! We spent the morning getting pampered as we had our hair and makeup done. The entire time we were getting ready, it was snowing outside of the window... so pretty. We danced and sang to 90's music to get pumped up for the big day ahead. I was so impressed my hair was actually able to stay curly the whole day and night too!

We then headed (in a limo!) to the reception place for some pre-wedding pictures. With the newly fallen snow it was simply beautiful.

Vandy bridesmaids: Me (Matron of Honor) and with curly hair!, Aysha (Maid of Honor), and Kathryn

With the bride

We always have so much fun together!

The ceremony was also special since it was complete with parts unique to Heather and Chris... like Heather high-fiving people down the aisle and the pastor making jokes during the sermon. One highlight: In the busyness of the day, I forgot to get Chris's wedding ring to give to Heather during the ceremony. Thankfully, the Best Man had both rings, so I had to awkwardly reach across and get the ring from him for the exchanging of rings, oops!

The reception was just as fun as the newly married couple! It started with some appetizers before we were served a delicious dinner. Aysha and I, and the Best Man, gave our toasts, and then it was time to dance! It was so good to catch up with Vandy classmates and dance the whole night. We did take a break to snap some pictures at the photo booth too. It was a wonderful wedding weekend!

That would be me with the goofy sunglasses on

A few of us stayed in D.C. through New Years after the wedding and had a great time exploring the city and hanging out. More to come on the second half of D.C. in a later post!