Per aspera ad astra

Per usual, part II of my Colorado wedding blog was postponed, but here we go! Early the next morning after the rehearsal dinner (which, if you’ll recall, featured enough food to feed most of Colorado), the lucky (though yawning) bridesmaids headed into Boulder to meet the bride and get our hair done. Fortunately, Erinn’s mom and sister were prepared with mimosas and bagels (and Nicole hit up Starbucks for good measure).

Kate and I were the first to finish and felt the urge to enjoy the beautiful day (and perhaps burn off some of those delicious bagels), so we went for a walk through the quaint and charming (and expensive) Boulder neighborhood.

Which, naturally, resulted in a good deal of “You did WHAT?!” from our hairdressers when we returned. Still worth it! Meanwhile, Erinn was becoming even more stunning.

A quick limo ride over to the church in Denver and we were greeted by our bouquets. Erinn’s matched our dresses…

And the bridesmaids’ bunches were pretty. So perfect!

Erinn’s mom and sister helped her climb in to her hefty dress (someone might have been crushed if they’d tried to lift it over her head). Equally challenging- staving off tears long enough to make it down the aisle.

Erinn, now firmly secure in her dress and veil, begins the photo-taking process before the start of the ceremony.

Annnnd, they’re off! Kostas and his ageless mom walk in. (The rest of the photos of the couples walking down  are blurry, so I’ve left them out!).

Someone had mentioned earlier that it was a good thing Erinn/Kostas’s “first moment” was before the ceremony to allow them to get some initial shock out of the way. This didn’t, however, prevent them both from bawling the entire time Erinn walked down the aisle.

An hour of part-Greek, part-English, all-symbolism later, Kostas and Erinn Pagratis were officially wed!

And I managed to avoid stumbling down the aisle! Small steps…

Now that all that mumbo-jumbo was taken care of, it was time to get down to real business– more photos! [As you admire Erinn's dress's train, keep in mind that no fewer than three bridesmaids would find themselves under that dress at some point in the evening].

As we all rode in a (bigger) limo back to Boulder, Kostas kept leaning out the window yelling “I’m freaking married!” Adorable.

The best thing we didn’t realize about our bridesmaid’s dress was that in every Myspace-style photo, we’d appear topless, if not totally nude.

Nicole and Effie (Kostas’ far-too-tan-and-Greek-pretty sister) were a little more modest. [and unique- the other bridesmaids were two Amandas, a Kate and a Katy]

The beginning of the day had been beautiful, and the weather held out just long enough for some mountain photos before it began to pour. I sacrificed the mountains in my own photo to minimize the highway view (the photographer was on the ground for his shots).

Kostas probably should have thought of this earlier…

Finally, the reception hall at Folsom Field! The next series of would-be photos are missing, probably due to the fact that we were all too busy eating delicious Greek food (including lamb, bleu cheese mashed potatoes and meditteranean-stuffed chicken breast). Oh well, at least I got a tableshot?

Having stuffed ourselves (again), we proceeded to dance, enjoy some libations, and take hundreds of photos. Despite the fact that there were over 100 people at the wedding, there were still plenty shots taken at arm-length.

And plenty of shots of Brandon & I being a little nauseating,

And then the crying starts. Toasts from several of Kostas/Erinn’s friends and family (who were all both phenomenally emotional and good at public speaking), the first dance, and the head table was losing it.

Erinn’s dad explained in his toast that he wrote and performed the song that he and Erinn would be dancing to (he recorded it for the DJ)- and the bridesmaids fell apart. Again.

Fortunately, there were some people able to take our minds off of anything sappy.

Warning: severe cute ahead.

Though they are very sweet and loving and caring and blahblahblah, Erinn and Kostas do know how to get down- never fear.

And of course we all had some fun when Michael Jackson came on (even Piell looks Thrilled).

Modesty is key for Katy, Kate, Cara, and Britta.

And of course the bride is nothing if not blushing.

I stole Erinn away from the photog and her husband to snag a mommy-baby (KDX-style) shot [one-armed, of course].

And my pledge sister Kate and I got down- we’ve got back.

The wedding and reception went off without a hitch (besides the obvious) until shortly before the end when Piell got a little too exuberant in dancing to Journey. She twisted her knee, but fortunately we had one dapper Greek groomsman (and Brandon, I guess) for her to lean on out to the car. [she's since had surgery and is on crutches until New Years. but she hasn't stopped believing!]

All in all, one of the best weddings I’ve been to. This didn’t make the subsequent drive back through Nebraska any easier, but seeing Kostas and Erinn’s happiness and love for each other was entirely worth it.

I’ve been slacking on my updates, so be prepared for a slew of photo-jammed blog posts today. A few weeks ago, one of my sorority sisters (and, incidentally, closest friends) decided to throw in the towel tie the knot. I was naturally excited for her, but was also excited to cross another state off my list (I’ve got 35/50 now!). What I didn’t take into account was that to get to the beautiful state of Colorado, I’d need to drive through a state I’d hoped never to visit again.

That’s right- it’s Nebraska. Endless hours of unbelievably deserted flatland and (lucky us!) grey skies. Brandon’s not afraid to show how he really feels.

Fortunately, on the way out to Colorado, we had this to look forward to.

As well as the lovely bride-to-be herself, Erinn. Double perk: she greeted us with homemade mac n’ cheese and Cosmopolitans.  The day after we arrived, we plunged straight into bachelorette party fun.

Erinn’s sister Katy was the MOH and did a fantastic job arranging things for the party. Exhibit A: In college, our sorority invented the Mr. Brightside drink (a mix of Malibu, pineapple juice and cream soda). Katy duplicated the drink in shot form.

One shot down and we’re ready to hit the town of Boulder. I opted to bring the sparkle.

We started with dinner (and margaritas- ole!) at Rio Grande, where Piell, Kate and I made the wise choice of Mahi-Mahi tacos with mango salsa. Ohm nom nom.

The off for a pub crawl on Pearl Street! Starting (and spending a lot time) with the Walrus.

Though Erinn was obviously the queen of the evening (see the crown?), I think we all looked pretty smashing.

Crawling on, Piell and Kate play the reenactment game.

Boulder, CO 2009:

Mt Vernon, IA 2005:

And throw in a little Dr. Horrible “plus, there are kids in that park, so…”

And then we walked into a mountain. Or, you know, this really tall guy.

Speaking of reenactments, my family can attest to the fact that when I was young I would reenact the “Part of Your World” scene from Little Mermaid where Ariel thrusts herself up on this giant rock (though typically my version involved the end of our living room couch). That whole ‘birds of a feather flock together’ thing must apply to sorority sisters, because, well…

The final bar we visited (Juanita’s) had stopped serving food, so we couldn’t sing for our supper. Listening to the video of our karaoke experience though, this was probably a good thing.

And the theme song of the week was born.

Mahi-mahi tacos aside, this was both Erinn’s wedding week and the (unofficial) Week of Eating. Kate munches on some M&Ms (while we get pedicures for our bridesmaids’ gift)…

Followed by delicious wraps, fruit, brie, and munches at Erinn’s mom’s loft…

and Erinn’s dress/veil- which are about to devour me.

Friday night, it was time to eat even more at the rehearsal dinner. But first, we had to take care of business and rehearse!

Here’s a teaser shot of the church, the Assumption of the Theotokos cathedral in Denver.

Alright, back to Denver to eat! The rehearsal dinner was at the Med in Boulder (Trying to remember the name, I Googled “Mediterranean Restaurant Boulder” and promptly felt like a jerk). I took a few cute photos before we all gorged ourselves beyond reason.

Mwah!

A few hours of tapas, olive bread, salmon, and wine later, we thought we were done. Then the waiters brought out… the dessert tray. Yeah, I may have snuck in a creme brulee on top of everything else I’d eaten already.

The adorable couple gave mild tear-inducing speeches and were otherwise totally in love and ready for the next day’s adventure. Next up, dum-dum-deh-dum, Greek-style!