Weekend of Weddings

Patrick and I's planned weekend get-a-ways are slowly but surely coming to a close. Just to rewind...first we traveled to New York, then Michigan and this past weekend we headed to Maryland for a 4th of July wedding! This trip was our last out-of-state trip. Sadly, I think we are both a little happy to see them end...I know we're both craving a few days to just veg out, something we haven't been able to do in awhile. But for sacrificing our weekends we in turn got some great memories this summer, which ultimately is most important! :-)

We were actually supposed to head to Annapolis on Friday but our plans changed when I got an invite to my longest friends wedding shower. Kate, who has been my best friend since 1st grade, was actively planning a Halloween themed fall wedding but recently decided to move her nuptials up to this very month!!! When I got the e-vite to her shower I begged Patrick to change our plans and it all worked out for the best I think.

Because we didn't leave on Friday, Patrick actually got to help out some friends by letting them crash at his apartment. Tim and Christy we're passing through Pittsburgh on their way to Philadelphia for a wedding. They took a pitstop and crashed on Patrick's couch.

Our weekend travels were nothing compared to theirs...get this, they traveled from Ann Arbor, Michigan to Pittsburgh then onward to Philly (for a wedding) and then joined us in Annapolis to go to the same wedding we went to, then back to Michigan again of course...all in ONE weekend! WOW!

They were super sweet and it was so nice to meet them and spend a little one-on-one time with them. Up until this weekend I had only met 3 of Patrick's Duke friends (Erin, I count you as a Dukie since you now work there and he knew you when he was there!) so I was looking forward to meeting all of the people he hung around with in college. More on the Dukesters later in this post :-)

On Saturday, Patrick granted my wish and I got to attend Kate's shower! It was at a cute little BYOB Italian place on Mount Washington called "La Tavola". I had been there once before and will definitely go again. It's a charming little place tucked into one of the side streets. It boasts no fabulous view of the city but has delicious food. We feasted on Chicken Parm and Lasagna...YUM!

Kate got a ton of great stuff, which will come in handy at her new house! Kate and her fiancee Matt actually closed on their new home just a few days before I closed on mine. I've yet to visit but I've seen pictures and it looks super-cute! One of my favorite gifts she got was some framed artwork from thealphacanvas.com. (Hint, hint when I get married...haha!) If you are ever wanting to buy something very unique for a shower or wedding, this is a great site to check out! I wasn't quite as creative with my gift...I instead decided to "spice" up their lives with a pre-filled spice rack that they had on their registry. Funny story...I had long ago said to Kate what a great idea it would be to give someone a spice rack with the spices already in it because spices are kinda pricey. She told me they existed and I didn't believe her until now haha! So when I saw it on her registry I had to get it!

Matt showed up at the shower after his work shift. Kudos to him for bringing some beautiful red roses :-) Below are some more pictures from the day...

Matt's Arrival :-)

Colleen, Kate and I

Soon-To-Be Mr. & Mrs.!












After the shower Patrick picked me up and we started on our 4 hour trip south...literally! We got in a little tiff on the way and it was probably the most miserable car ride EVER! Fortunately we cleared everything up and managed to enjoy the rest of the night and the rest of the trip. When we finally arrived in the "Old Line" state we headed straight to a cookout the brides family had for out-of-town guests. While there I got to meet a lot of Patrick's Duke friends :-) I cannot even begin to tell you how nice they all were! He is so lucky to have such a great group of friends. The only question is why did he hide them from me for so long?!?!

The wedding was at 4:30 PM on the 4th of July so we got to do some exploring before the big event. We met up with our friends Ryan and Erin (Erin is my blog buddy under the name "Living The Wood Life" and was also my inspiration in getting started with blogging!) in downtown Annapolis. Each first Sunday of the month there's an arts festival in town so we decided to check it out. Erin and I share the same passion for creativity so we both enjoyed seeing different ideas for things we could recreate ourselves. One of my favorite inspirations was fashion jewelery made from flashy buttons! Super chic and cool!

After browsing some great art we grabbed a bite to eat. You know you HAVE to do seafood when in Maryland :-) We took a shot in the dark and went to The Middleton Tavern. All of us got the crab cake sandwich, which was Miss Erin's first crab cake ever! After we grabbed some ice cream cones and took some photos by the water. All in all it was a great afternoon :-)

The wedding was absolutely fabulous! It was an outdoor wedding which was just breathtaking! Mainly because of it's beauty but I cannot lie a little because it was SO HOT outside! It was about 95 degrees and there was no shade whatsoever! Patrick looked like he was crying the entire ceremony but in reality it was beads of sweat rolling down his face lol! I can't poke too much fun though because I was just as damp as he was...I just got to wear less layers then him (one of the few perks to being a woman!) Anyhow, I had always wanted to attend an outdoor wedding and it really was lovely :-)

The bride, Allie, was escorted by her father who carried a white umbrella to shield his daughter from her groom until she officially walked down the aisle toward him. Allie looked stunning! Her dress was gorgeous and gosh, you never would have thought she was standing in the same hot weather we were. She was just flawless!

This was the first wedding I have attended that was not a Catholic wedding. It was different but it was very nice. One thing I must say is that I have never been to a wedding that was so focused on God, it really was a beautiful thing to see. Matt and Allie wrote their own words to each other them recited promises to each other before exchanging wedding rings. Congratulations to Matt and Allie...may your love grow stronger with each passing day :-)

After the ceremony we moved it inside to the AIR CONDITIONING! The wedding was at an old mansion so there were lots of different rooms as opposed to just one huge room. Dinner was buffet style and there were three different tables in three separate rooms. After dinner the bridal party made their entrance followed by the first dance. Matt and Allie danced to Michael Buble's version of "Crazy Love".

Then, the party started and Patrick and I hit the dance floor! We had a blast! Below are some pictures from the wedding....

The beautiful cake display!

Patrick & I taking a break from the dance floor!

 Ryan, Patrick, Allie and Shannon

Just us girls!

 The handsome men!

My absolute favorite part of the wedding was the sendoff. I had never been to a wedding with a sendoff, but had always said I wanted one since watching "Father of the Bride" lol. It was adorable :-) As we exited each person was given an extra-long sparkler. Fire went down the line and when all was lit Matt and Allie passed through hand-in-hand. At the end of the line stood their bridal party and families and their decked out car complete with streamers, paint and pop-cans! It was fabulous :-)

All the best to Mr. and Mrs. Matt Martindale :-) Next weekend Patrick and I are making our last weekend trip together for this summer to Conneaut Lake, PA to visit my parents at their lake home. I'll keep you posted on what goes on :-) Until then...