He Truly is the Best Man

The first weekend in December we attended a wedding in the eastern part of the state.  DH was the best man as the groom was a good friend from high school. 

The Country Inn - I slept fine, but DH thought the beds were horrible

We stayed in a hotel that was within walking distance of the banquet hall where the ceremony and reception would be taking place, although we were surprised to learn that other than the maid of honor, we were pretty much the only ones staying in the hotel for the weekend.  So much for hanging out in the hotel! Oh well, I enjoy staying in hotels and even though I hate spending the money on a basic room to sleep in, it was a cost that we couldn't avoid, so I might as well make the most of it, right?

The ceremony was short but very sweet - actually very similar to our own wedding ceremony.  The bride and groom recited personally written vows and there were definitely some tears.  Immediately following the ceremony everyone headed directly into the reception, since it was just off of the lobby of the banquet hall.  There was a lot of downtime for me, since DH had to go and get pictures with the wedding party and I didn't really know a soul there.  But I befriended the wife of one of the other groomsmen, so it was nice to have someone to talk to during that hour long wait for them to return from getting pictures.  

DH gave the man speech, and as always with his speeches, totally rocked it.  His speech was funny but still meaningful and other than one slip up where he forgot to make a point he was driving towards (and I'm not even sure that anyone noticed) the speech was a hit.  Later, in the hotel room some of the bridesmaids came up to our room to have a drink and weren't surprised to learn that he was a public speaking teacher, based on his excellent delivery of the best man speech.

 Dancing followed and thankfully I had been loosened up by a few drinks or else I probably would have steered clear of the dance floor.  It was a small-ish reception and there weren't very many people dancing.  I enjoy dancing at weddings but not when over three-quarters of the room is sitting down and watching. But fortunately I was able to ignore any self-conscious feelings and ended up getting some cute and fun pictures on the dance floor.

The happy bride and groom - I blame my slow shutter speed on her half-closed eyes, but it's still a good picture!

DH with the groom!

With one of the other groomsmen

Us with another groomsman

I decided to wear the dress that I bought last year for DH's brother's wedding, which I wasn't sure that I would ever wear again since it was dressier than something that I would generally wear to a wedding.  But I figured that since DH would be in a tux it would be more than appropriate for me to be dressed up more than normal as well, and I'm thrilled that I got a second wear out of this not-so-cheap outfit. 

 

For every wedding that we go to, I try to get at least one good picture of us together (since I'm always taking the pictures, I rarely am actually in them.)  You would think that this goal of one good picture would seem doable, but you'd be surprised at how often I fail.  Success on this account though - I love the picture above and we both look great!

This was my second December wedding (we went to one last December as well) and although I personally would be afraid of having a December wedding myself (the weather this time of year is just too unpredictable) I have come to appreciate the December weddings far more than I thought I would.  Weddings - especially when you have to travel to get to them - can be exhausting and having a half-dozen weddings crammed into three months each summer often led to a feeling of burn out near the end of the summer and spreading them out through the year has really helped me to prevent that burned out feeling.  Believe it or not, we have yet another wedding next weekend.  Fortunately that one is closer to home so no hotel stay will be required. 

Anyway, congratulations to the bride and groom!