mission accomplished

the long months of planning my cousin r's wedding finally paid off this weekend, starting with the rehearsal.  she'd grown up right around the corner from the old san gabriel mission, and so for her it was a natural choice for the ceremony.

although i'd been to her house a bazillion times, i'd never been to the mission before.  it was really cool, and super old - from the 1700s.

 

the bean wanted to know if this was jesus.  heh.

and then the big day was finally here.  being a cheap ass, i'd chosen to hit up a salon in pasadena for my hair instead of having it done by the girl r had hired to come to the house.  i also decided to do my own make-up - after being pleasantly surprised by my own handiwork for last month's junior league formal ball, i was confident in my cosmetical skillz.  so by the time i arrived, the girls were all in the process of being all done up.  but i think i managed to do okay.  this is my new favorite picture of me.  taken by...me.

r's dress was beautiful, simple, and totally her.  i tried to get a good shot, but realized my uncle's golf bag was in the background.  no matter - yellow was one of the wedding colors anyway.  ha!

i'd stopped at dots cupcakes to pick up some sugar for the group.

along with a cute pair of gray and yellow flip-flops and our jewelry for the day, r gifted us with these cute clutches, adorned with a peacock feather (which were also incorporated in the wedding flowers).

we were all so excited for the day!  r's friends and sister were awesome, and i really enjoyed spending time with them.

you know how the time usually flies by when you're getting ready for something big like a wedding?  for some reason, it wasn't like that this time.  it actually seemed like it was dragging a bit.  weird.  but it was finally time to get dressed, and r was stunning as she stepped into her gown.

when we arrived at the church, the florist had just dropped off all of the boutonnieres and bouquets.

not a whole lot of photos inside, because it's always so hard to get good shots with bad lighting and when there are a ton of people sitting in front of you trying to do the same thing.  the teen gave it her best, er, shot, though.

look, it's me!

the ceremony was lovely and very...catholic.  afterwards, we all gathered outside in the gloriously beautiful afternoon sun to do the rounds of photos.

it'll be fun to see this shot - the newlyweds sharing a kiss while the wedding party jumps up in the air in excitement.

can you tell we really loved our shoes?  it was really amazing that we were all able to find dresses and shoes that matched each other so well - without a single group shopping trip.  the overall effect of the gray and bright yellow was quite striking, i thought.

i managed to squeeze in a quick shot with the couple in between poses.  you already saw the actual picture, just the other day.

the bean had fought off a nap all day and fell asleep just an hour before showtime, so she ended up staying home with the ILs.  i was sad as i hadn't seen her all day and really missed her, but i knew it was probably for the best.  she'd have gotten bored and we'd have been really occupied with trying to entertain her.

my beautiful teen and me.

i was thrilled to be able to provide r with her "something old, something borrowed, something blue" - her dress served as "something new."  i'd gone up into the attic into the wedding box (yes, i have an entire box filled with mementos from our wedding, 5.5 years ago) and found the brooch that i'd pinned to my bouquet.  it had belonged to the hub's great-grandma, who passed away only a month before our wedding.  i thought it would be nice to lend it to r for her own flowers.

i'd also gone antiquing in search of a vintage piece of jewelry to present to her on the big day.  but because i wanted to surprise her, i didn't know if she had jewelry to wear already - and i just pretty much assumed (correctly) that she did.  so this ruled out a pair of earrings, a necklace, a bracelet.  i ended up finding a pretty, sparkly brooch by kramer of new york - apparently, a pretty popular costume jewelry designer back in the 30's and 40's or so - in blue rhinestones.  it was really cool to see her use them both.

when we were finally released by the photographer, the teen and i hopped into my car for the short drive to old town pasadena.  the reception was at a relatively newish space called "pandora on green," and we recognized it as having housed a fun vintage clothing shop from a couple of years ago.  it's a fantastic space - bright, airy, elegant.

the tables were beautifully set.

the restroom was really lovely, too.

we were happy to find that cousin seven was seated at our table.  we love us some cousin seven.

the teen REALLY loves her.

there was a fun photo booth set up in the corner, and you could take serious shots or pick up some props and get silly.

we were introduced and made a "grand entrance" just before r and mr. r, and clowned a little just before, with the limo in the background:

then it was their turn.

public speaking is not my thing.  from the moment i happily accepted the privilege of being r's matron of honor (ew, that always sounds so old and...uh, matronly), i dreaded the toast i would make in front of the entire party.  not to mention, i was anticipating being up in front of family members i hadn't seen in a long time - by choice, of course.  and in my typical procrastinating fashion, i really didn't prepare anything ahead of time.  i googled "maid of honor speech" and didn't find anything useful, but there's a pretty basic formula for stuff like that - especially when you're giving toast #3 out of 4.  keep it short and sweet, start off with something funny, toss in something sentimental, and end it with best wishes and congratulations.  i managed to pull it together, totally winging it as i walked shakily up to the microphone.  luckily, i was joined by the bride's sister, her maid of honor.

our traditional "cousins" group photo.  well, part of it.  i'm sure the photographer's version will be much nicer. anyway, it was really nice to spend time with some of them who i hadn't seen in ages:

seven and 420 were alcoholically enhanced - and HIGH-larious.

the teen doesn't dance.  not that she can't - she just doesn't.  it was comical as we tried to get her into it (nothing worked).

we finally made our exit around 11, just as the dj was announcing the last dance of the night.  it had been a beautiful, joyous day - and i was exhausted.  thank goodness the teen drove home.  i didn't sleep, but it was nice to just sit back and relax.

congratulations to r and mr. r!  it's only the beginning, and it only gets better from here.  you'll see.