Finally back from Saginaw.

I think that Mother Nature has it in for me - our flight from Saginaw was delayed because of bad weather in Chicago. They couldn't assure that our flight from Chicago to LAX would go through or not, since so many flights were delayed/cancelled. We were in the plane in Saginaw for about an hour and a half, and then they brought us back to the gate. After some debate, we decided to try and catch a Northwest flight (we were on United) to Detroit, then to LAX. Fortunately, the weather wasn't in Detroit yet, so our flight to Detroit and from there went off without a hitch. *whew*.

Anyway, after my hellish commute to Saginaw, I got there in one piece, driving out there with Dave and his dad, and getting there at 4am. And the bridesmaid call time was at 6:45am, so we could get makeup and hair done. I thought I had 2 hours to nap, but then I realized that Michigan is in the Eastern time zone, so it was 5am. So I just stayed up.

I was pretty exhausted, but once the day started, I didn't feel tired at all. It was great to see Rachel and Jen again, as well as the other girls, and to meet the ones I hadn't met yet. I felt a little bad that I hadn't taken part in a lot of the pre-wedding activities, but I know that they understand. It was fun to be girly and get our hair and makeup done. The guy who did my makeup was hilarious, and he was overjoyed to find out that I was from California. Turns out he lived in California for a while and did makeup for the stars. Got a lot of good celebrity gossip out of him.

It was so great to be part of the wedding party, to watch Rachel get ready and watch someone else get the pre-wedding jitters. Her dress was made in the Philippines, and it was so detailed and intricate, it was gorgeous. She looked so beautiful and radiant...I was so happy for her. When we got to the church, I could feel the excitement from Manny...it's been a long time coming!

I think my favorite part of the ceremony was watching each of the guys come down the aisle. They gave Manny a handshake and a pat on the back. He was just so full of emotion. I speak from experience when I say that there's nothing better than to have your best friends with you, surrounding you on the best day of your life. We were all standing in place, and then Rachel came down the aisle. She looked just like a princess (I know I used that for Jen's wedding, but it's true!). It was so wonderful to see the look on Manny's face - a mix of adoration and love. He was so happy to see her, so overcome, that the rest of us all got teary eyed, too. Luckily I had some tissue hidden in my flowers. I always cry at weddings!

We had good times in the limo, and the alcohol was flowing. We had a great time, toasting, laughing, seeing the best Saginaw has to offer. Once again, we had to make a beer run at the local liquor store to stock up on drinks. You can't get a group from U of I together and NOT run out of alcohol.

The hall where the reception was held was spacious enough for the 450+ guests they had. It was like a U of I reunion - there were so many people from college there! Dinner was super yummy, and my partner Jerry kept me entertained. He likes to call himself 'Evil Dave', saying that he is what Dave would be if he were from another dimension and evil. The dance floor was huge, and the open bar was open all night. Which led to some great dancing and some funny drunks. People puked, people dropped other people when dancing, there were battles on the dance floor, an impromptu conga line started with the glow necklaces, we had the biggest Casper Slide Michigan had ever seen, and Manny breakdanced. Even after it was over, people still lingered, not wanting the night to end. Fortunately, the hotel had a shuttle that came and picked people up from the wedding.

One thing that I'm left with after being at the wedding is how touching it is to see other people in love. I guess when you're in love yourself, you see love all around you, and you appreciate it. Just to watch couples dancing, looking into each others eyes, so in love...It makes me fall in love all over again.

I'm so happy for Manny and Rachel, two people I love very much, finally tieing the knot.

Here's my pictures:

Click here to see all my pictures...

Posted by Yano at May 31, 2004 01:33 AM

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