Weddingbee Blog

I don’t know if our engagement party was really the best ever, but it was the best one I’d ever been to. The food, the music, the decorations, the guests—everything was exactly as it should be. It really warmed my heart and Mr. Kettle’s heart, too. Now we only talk about eloping when confronted with overly detailed wedding decisions instead of every time we think of the impending too-big-to-succeed wedding.

Momma and Daddy Kettle, along with some help from friends of theirs, put together a wonderful affair.

We had our engagement party at the lovely L26 restaurant, and it was better than I could have imagined. So, onto the recaps.

Mr. Kettle and I agreed he wouldn’t take any gigs the days of wedding events. He forgot this agreement and took a gig the day of the engagement party. I was concerned he would be late or miss his own party, but I didn’t request he cancel the gig. Interestingly enough, I was the one who made us late to the party because I was last-minute shopping in Orland with BM Milk. But I ended up with a great dress. I don’t have any full-length pictures of me standing up wearing it, though. I can’t believe I went all night without getting one. Recap fail.

Personal photo: This is the only photo I have where you can see the whole dress. It is lovely even sitting down, isn’t it?

One of the better surprises of the day was my best man, BM Doc (’cause he’s in medical school), deciding at the last minute to come to the party. He got on a bus from St. Louis that morning. I tried to track down a ride for him amongst the bridesmaids, but a friend of mine ended up picking him up. They seemed to hit it off, and she’s coming with Mr. Kettle, GM Dark, and me to St. Louis this month for a weekend of hanging out.

When I finally got home from the mall, I gave Mr. Kettle the new shirt and shoes I bought him, and he and I hurriedly dressed. BM Doc was already ready to go. Momma Kettle called us at around 5:45 (the party started at 5:00) to see where we were, and luckily we were just up the street. Mr. Kettle dropped me off at the door and went to go park the car since it was raining.

I arrived at the restaurant to see a sea of faces sitting there. They were just…staring. They were staring at me expectantly and smiling as if I were supposed to break into song and dance or entertain them somehow. It was incredibly awkward. Momma and Daddy Kettle weren’t letting anyone eat until we got there. And we were bringing the speakers, so the DJ, GM Mac (cause he owns everything they make), couldn’t properly DJ. So there were crickets and I was looking for an escape. “Um…I’m going to get Mr. Kettle. He’s parking the car.” I hightailed it out of there before anyone could respond.

After I met Mr. Kettle at the entrance of the hotel that housed the restaurant our party was at, I explained what had just happened and how I was apprehensive to go back in that room where everyone was dripping with expectation. While we were walking, we ran in Mema and Poppa Kettle who were also (as always) late. The four of us walked in together, and it just got much better after that. When we got back to the room, everyone wasn’t just sitting there anymore. The cameras were out and ready to take pictures of us. Momma Kettle came and pinned Mr. Kettle and me with pins that read “Future Bride” and “Future Groom,” or something like that.

I began taking photos of the lovely event.

Personal photo: They took this picture of us right when we came in. Poor Mr. Kettle is still decorated with raindrops on his shoulders.

Personal photo: They had this photo of us outside the room. I was so impressed by how nice it looked with the balloons. I love balloons, so I relish chances to use them since they’re not “fancy” enough for our wedding.

Personal photo: This is an up-close shot. This photo is great, isn’t it? It looks like it was taken outside, but it was just in front of a window. It’s one of my favorite pics of us as a couple.

Personal photo: Our menu of our delicious food

Personal photo: Our delicious food—beef skewers, chicken wings, shrimp on cucmber, punch, fruit. Perfect hors d’ouevres.

Personal photo: The favors table. Can you see all the cute boxes? Lots o’ M&Ms, and the world’s cutest napkins.

Personal photo: A closeup of napkins. They’re in our wedding colors!

Personal photo: Our cake! It was tasty. Momma Kettle understands my strong love for whipped cream and my strong distaste for buttercream. The frosting was whipped and delicious!

Personal photo: A shot of the table setup. That fuzzy baby shot was of me. They had lots of matching photos of Mr. Kettle and me on the tables. This was one of the cute ones. We also had our college grad photos, which were cute. But there was a terrible one of each of us…

Personal photo: More table setup. I had to include another nice photo. They also had our pics from high school graduation. I am definitely not showing the picture of us from elementary school. Let’s just say it was rough!

In the next post, I’ll finish my recap of the best engagement party ever!