Wedding Blog

After our night of fun singing around the piano with family and friends, Champ and I separated and my maid of honor and I stayed in the hotel room where we would get ready the day of the wedding. Champ and I actually live in the DC area, so our trip to Vail was great because I also got to visit my maid of honor and some of my closest friends who I don’t see often. There’s something about the connection of childhood friends that can’t be beat. My MOH knows me well, and she knew I wanted to start and end the day with a huge smile on my face. We woke up to a chilly February morning and noticed some HUGE icicles outside our hotel room. Being the five year olds that we are, we of course knocked all of them down.

After all the icicles were gone, we decided to take a quick trip to Starbucks before the bridesmaids came to get ready. Coordinating my travels out of the hotel was a bit difficult. Champ wanted to go outside and spend some boy time with his guys, and we just wanted to get to Starbucks without running into the guys. I’m not usually into superstition, but I really wanted to save our first moment for the church instead of in the hotel lobby. You might recall that I had some difficulty finding a hotel that wouldn’t break the bank for our guests, but I eventually got a great deal with the Holiday Inn. It’s unlike any Holiday Inn I’ve ever seen, and our guests LOVED it. We spent a ton of time in front of the fire in the lobby, and one of the best breakfast restaurants happens to be right in the hotel.

So,we managed to get out to the parking lot without running into the groom, but we got into my MOH’s car, and as she turned the key… nothing. Again… and nothing. We realized the light had been left on all night, and the battery needed to be charged. We asked two snowboarders parked next to us if they would jump our car, and I sat nervously looking around as we waited for the car to start. To give the battery a little charge time, we decided to take a drive to the reception location for a peek into the decorations.

I’ve lived in the Vail Valley for my entire life, and I swear it was one of the most beautiful snowy days I’ve ever seen.

We pulled up to the Donovan Pavilion and it was locked. When I looked in, I couldn’t believe my eyes- all of the decor was almost completely ready for a party! I noticed all the details I had spent so much time planning, and realized that it was coming together even better than I had hoped!

Seeing the venue almost completely set up got me really excited for the party. We snapped a photo and headed to Starbucks where my MOH decided it would be okay to turn off the car. BIG mistake. We searched the parking lot for someone to jump the car, but it seemed everyone was either too rushed or too cranky-pants to help us out. I started to panic a little as the bridesmaids and moms were calling me telling me they were all outside our hotel room waiting for us to get there.

Finally my MOH begged enough to get our car jumped, and we headed back to the hotel for a mimosa with the patient bridesmaids.

Mid-morning it was time to get our nails done, and I witnessed my mom’s first pedicure! My MOH was so great at keeping my focus on the marriage, and we had such a relaxing morning (minus the car jumping!).

After our nails, we headed back to the hotel, and it was time for me to get clean!

Makeup and hair, here I come!

Next up, the gift exchanges!

Previously:
Antlers and a Sing-along
The Practice Run
Finally in Colorado
A Quick Trip to the County Jail