Weddingbee Blog

Picture this: a gorgeous, sunny Seattle summer day. Nary a cloud in the sky. It was amazing, and the epitome of summertime in Seattle. The Seattle Tennis Club was calm and quiet as the girls got dressed and ready for the big day. Club-goers sat outside eating their lunches under umbrellas, and the only sounds were the quiet lapping of little wavelets on the shore, birds chirping, and…

Guest photo

..the sweet, melodious call of a vuvuzela.

Guest photo

Yep. Those pesky groomsmen brought a vuvuzela to the wedding. And blew it off the balcony. Multiple times. Apparently it was quite loud, although I somehow could not hear it from where I was getting ready. Thank God! Probably would have flipped my ish at the time.

Guest photo

Anyway, the guys apparently had a lot of fun just hanging out before all of the wedding craziness started. Who knows what they were doing—whatever guys do when they are left to their own devices with cookies, booze, and vuvuzelas. They chilled on the little balcony that was connected to their manly getting-ready room (why didn’t I have a balcony?!), and they ate lots of food. (I see they had cookies in their spread. Why didn’t the girls get cookies too?! I am sensing an unfair trend going on here.)

Guest photo

The groomsmen consisted of Mr. CA’s two brothers and his three best friends. They are all hilarious, and at times slightly inappropriate (see: vuvuzela), but I love them all dearly and am so happy they were standing up with Mr. CA and me.

Once the food was gone and Chris arrived, they started to get all gussied up. Can I still say that if they are men? I think I can…

Cue the requisite “men getting ready” shots. I will let the photos speak for themselves because, well, they are self-explanatory. I don’t think I need to tell you when some dudes are putting on socks, buttoning shirts, tying ties, etc.

Oh how I loved Mr. CA’s shoes. I still do! So does he; he wears them to work quite frequently.

Oh, and his tie. Look familiar? It is still my favorite tie ever. We got one for all of the groomsmen, because I wanted them to be all pretty and matching. Remember, I am obsessive and anal.

Closeup of a bout

Here, brother—let me help you with that collar-stay!

Isn’t he dashing? Although he looks a little confused here. Probably trying to remember his vows. Or is in awe of groomsman M’s vuvuzela-blowing skills.

I don’t know why, but I love those two pictures of Mr. CA tying his tie. Maybe because he has his “concentrating” face on, but something about them just gets me every time. Love him.

Some help from Groomsman M. His groomsmen’s names all start with either M (three of them) or J (the other two), so I can’t really differentiate between them based on first initial. Oh well.

How does this go again?! HELP.

Oh yeah, and they drank. A lot. Or so these pictures tell me. Did I mention that they had a crap-ton of booze in their getting-ready room? Apparently all man caves are equipped with a fireplace, a vuvuzela, and whiskey. One or more groomsmen may have been slightly, erm, intoxicated for the photos. And perhaps the ceremony as well. Maybe. But you didn’t hear it from me.

Classy

OK, apparently some of them needed a little bit more help than others with their ties.

Cheers! I love these guys.

Especially that one. He is so happy here! Surrounded by his bestest guys. (He would probably kill me if I ever called them that in his presence.)

And with that, everyone was ready! It was time for our first look.

Did you have any *ahem* intoxicated members of your bridal party? Anyone else have a vuvuzela make a surprise appearance?

• Recaps commenced. Sort of.
• I got over my dress regret.
• We made it official. Legally.
• I stressed out big time.
• We did some last-minute prep.
• We rehearsed.
• Our wedding day arrived!
• The little details fell into place.
• I got all gussied up.

**All photography by Sarah Rhoads Photography unless otherwise noted**