Wedding Weekend

I'm finally getting around to blogging about Joy's wedding and our weekend in California. I had an awesome time visiting my old hangouts and showing Tim the West coast! In fact, we are ready to go back so we have more than 2 short days there. We flew in to LAX on Friday and by the time we settled in to our hotel, it was time to drive to Malibu for the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. We stayed at the Marriot in Marina del Rey and it was FABULOUS (pictures to come soon)!! It reminded us of the hotel we stayed at in New York only this had the California flare to it. As you walked in, the smell of fresh flowers was overwhelming. The decorations were very modern and they always had complimentary fruit infused water.

Joy and Todd's rehearsal dinner was at the Michael Landon park in Malibu across from Pepperdine. We had Wood Ranch BBQ (one of my faves!) and just enjoyed the scenery. From there we went to the chapel to run through the whole she-bang. I was a little worried about how everything would come together, but it went rather smoothly. After the rehearsal, a group of us headed to Casa Escobar in Malibu for some drinks and appetizers. It was a great place to sit outside under the heat lamps and relax before the big day. What's funny is that that building used to be a Pizza Hut when I was in college. I'd have to say that Casa Escobar is a step up from the run down pizza place! Another bonus was that my sister loaned Tim and me her little Mercedes for the weekend...lots of fun on PCH!

Saturday morning I drove the Mercedes to meet Joy and the other girls in the wedding party at Main Attraction nail salon in Santa Monica. I had a relaxing manicure and pedicure. While I was sitting at the nail dryer table, I was doing a little people watching of the street outside. I saw a guy that I knew and I was trying to figure out where I knew him from when he looked in the window and smiled. I was so excited because it was VINCE VAUGHN!!! I told the other bridesmaids and they ran outside to see him. You would think I would get used to seeing famous people after living in Malibu for four years, but this was the first time that I saw someone who was actually famous at the time...not someone from a tv show that aired years ago! That made my weekend.

We chilled at the hotel's super cool patio until it was time to get ready for the wedding. Tim and I decided to leave early so that I would have time to show him all over Pepperdine's campus. Plus, I wanted to be there to watch Joy get her hair and make-up done. The campus was as beautiful as ever! During my senior year, they started construction on the hill next to my apartment and now there is a beautiful graduate school campus and executive center. Tim and I drove all the way up to the top to see Pepperdine's Hero Garden, which was built in dedication to those killed on 9/11. It was really peaceful and beautiful up there. Joy was getting ready at our friend, Kelly's place in Malibu. Her make-up and hair stylist did a great job. Joy seemed so relaxed and happy! All the girls got ready there and we enjoyed having some bubbly before the big event.

I was worried that Joy had gone out of her mind when she decided that she was going to go to a flower market the morning before her wedding and put together her own flowers for the wedding with the help of a couple of bridesmaids. These would be her first floral arrangements. Afterall, (she told us) you can save money and just follow the directions on MarthaStuart.com! Well, sure enough, her flowers were very pretty. I was extremely impressed with the way they turned out. Her bouquet was made of ivory roses and hydrangeas. The bridesmaids carried a single orangish-red sunflower. The wedding was very beautiful and was over before we knew it. Thanks to all of you who prayed that my anxiety would not keep me from being the matron-of-honor at her wedding!! I was so happy that I could do it!

Their reception was held back at the Marriott in Marina del Rey. We enjoyed a nice dinner, yummy cake, and some dancing. After that, we saw them off and then went to bed. Weddings are exhausting! The one thing we didn't think to do that night was sign the marriage license, so Joy called me the next day and asked me to drive to their hotel and sign it. I guess that was slightly important! Before we left that day, I had to get my Coffee Bean fix! For those of you not familiar with CB, it is similar to Starbucks only way better in my opinion! Love their Ice Blended Mochas! Tim and I drove to Venice Beach and when I pulled into the parking space, he said that the guy in front of us was famous. I couldn't see his face, so I left Tim in the car to stare while I got my drink. When I walked back to the car, I saw two little girls talking to him and they mentioned Spy Kids. I've never seen that movie, but I could finally get a better view of him and recognized him. His name is Danny Trejo (look him up on imdb.com) and he often plays an inmate. Tim was thrilled to finally see a "star." We came home Sunday evening to temperatures in the 100s and immediately wanted to go back to CA where it stayed between 60 and 75 degrees the whole time! Gotta love the heat in Texas in August! I'll post pictures soon, but until then, here is a snapshot (that I would crop if I wasn't at work) of us at the end of Saturday night. Doesn't Joy make a beautiful bride?!