The Rehearsal Dinner

Wedding weekend was a whirlwind and looking back on it now, it all feels like a blur.  Friday all of Josh's family and friends got in and we got to visit with them.  It always blows me away how fast the nieces and nephews grow up.  We also picked up suits and checked in on my engagement ring (that's a whole post in and of itself).

Brianne gives us the highlights

After all wedding errands were finished, Josh's groomsmen had a bachelor's party/night planned for him.  Crazy enough some of the girls ended up crashing the whole event.  I tried to bow out because I mean I'm pretty sure the bride isn't supposed to be at the bachelor's party but the guys were insistent.  In the end it was great to share dinner with them before sneaking out for a cocktail or two of our own.

I believe I was telling my engagement ring drama

Saturday was rehearsal day.  Thankfully we got to sleep in a bit before having to run down to the lodge.  Things got a little hectic when we were running late and then didn't have a room reserved for the actual rehearsal.  At this point though I think we were just happy to be visiting with friends we hadn't seen in awhile and just wanted to get to dinner.  Brianne (wedding planner) got us all lined up and we quickly ran though the gist of things banking on the fact that we could just wing it on Sunday.

Russ and Caleb catch up

My dad practices his duty

Dinner was by far the best part of the day.  It was so nice to sit down with everyone and just relax.  It didn't hurt that the restaurant was amazing.  Not only were the food and drinks to die for but they did such an amazing job accommodating us.  They provided toys for the kids and pretty much kept the back room empty besides us as long as they could.  One of my favorite parts of the night was handing out the gifts to everyone, especially our parents.  It was so neat to see the reactions on the kids and our friends faces.  Our parents were priceless.  We ended up getting them "family tree" like items to symbolize the new make up of the family.  They loved it! (and were already asking when we could add more names to them.  Talk about a subtle hint!)

The dads at the dinner

After the dinner, my bridesmaids, their "others" and us went to get a few drinks and watch the game.  It was great to be able to sit with just them and catch up.  We laughed so hard as they shared "funny Jen" moments.  Apparently I can be a little blunt sometimes...

Arthi and Vik at the dinner

Josh and I headed back to my parents after and crashed.  I think at this point I was still in disbelief that THE day was tomorrow.