They're Married! // Ruth & Jason, Part Two

^ via Claire Thomas of KitchyKitchen ^

The night before Ruth's wedding, I got home late from the wedding party bonding day a little tired and wishing I could just crawl into bed and go to sleep. But I still had to take a shower, figure out what I was going to wear to the wedding, and empty my camera memory card so that I'd have room for the next day's captures. It was a late night.

Janelle and I left early for Crockett the next day-- our long drive, as always, filled with companionable chatter and laughter and several, "Where in the world ARE we?" moments as we drove along empty highways and rolling green hills. We commented on the fact that the last few miles of the drive are curvy, downhill, blind turns and speculated about whether the myriad of Asians invited to this wedding would be able to handle the tight corners. The consensus was that we were glad we were arriving early and not surrounded by those other guests in transit. O.o

Janelle's favorite story of the day was how we got lost trying to find the venue. The Old Homestead is located right across from a C&H Sugar Refinery, but the entrance to the place is kind of hidden and there's a huge, enclosed, empty parking lot that confuses visitors looking for a pretty grey and white house with colorful flowers in front. We ended up driving uphill on one-lane roads and through scarily empty {that word seemed to be the theme of the morning... let's just say Janelle and I were glad we were in the car together and not trying to get there on our own} small town streets before finally giving in and calling another of our high school friends who was in the wedding party and asking for directions.

Most of the hard prep stuff was already done by the time we arrived-- the chairs had been set up for the ceremony, the tables laid out with tablecloths, the garlands strung, etc. Ruth's mama was in the middle of putting the finishing touches on the wedding cake, so I got a few pictures of that. Most of the time before the party truly started was spent wandering back and forth between the girls getting ready in the house and taking pictures of the venue before everyone else arrived.

As people started trickling in, I went out and put on my socializing face. It's the personality I have when I know I have to be sociable and talkative and cheery and happy with a large crowd for an extended period of time. Not to be confused with my inner hermit, introvert, augh-people self that emerges after these highly-social events. :P Luckily, Ruth invited awesome people who I have gladly called friends since middle school and whom I haven't seen in ages, so the catching up was fun and the laughter easy.

As with all events where many of the attendees have known each other for over a decade and have spent at least part of that decade in each other's company eight hours a day, five days a week, four weeks a month, nine months out of a year {aka in school}, we got a first hand look at how remnants of high school drama never quite fully go away. A lot of it has just been woven so neatly into the fabric of our memories that we didn't really notice ourselves acting in certain ways until we stopped to try to explain the underlying currents of tension to third party bystanders {aka Ruth's new in-laws or her friends from other places}. It was amusing to see our habits in a new light and it had us laughing at ourselves and our silliness. Overall, fun was had by all and the mildly snarky comments were kept to a minimum. :P

When the party started to wind down and the older guests began to head for their cars, the younger set of us started the help-put-everything-away portion of the afternoon and once that was completed, stood around just talking. The idea of possibly continuing the get-together at another location {like for dinner or boba} was thrown about and contemplated for quite a while... we kind of have a hard time with leaving. Like, we rarely all get together in a single place, so when we do, the goodbyes start at the arranged end time, but go on until several hours past. We slowly shuffle for the exit, but never fully make it there. And it was no different this time around. The thing that finally got us moving was the arrival of salt water mosquitoes as the sun continued its descent in the sky. Evasive maneuvers were made to try and get back to the cars before we got eaten alive.

As testament to our inability to end a party, the group of us who went to hang out post-wedding was large enough to take up three tables at the boba place and we sat there for a good three hours. People would get up to switch seats so conversation could be easier or to go to the restroom, but no one ever got up to leave. Once we finally made the decision to head home for the night, hugs were exchanged, goodbyes rang out, and calls of "We should do this more often!" were heard. We do all know better though. Another event like this won't happen again for another long while. That's kind of what makes these so sweet. Because they don't happen very often.

The drive back from the boba place to Brianna's house was filled with storytelling and "Do you remember when..."s. We were laughing so hard that at one point, I was a little worried Janelle would have a hard time driving. Once we dropped Brianna off, the ride was quiet as Janelle and I took a deep breath in the comfortable silence and started to calm down from a non-stop weekend. I really am glad she was my partner in crime for this.

Ruth's wedding recessional {is that the word for it? Opposite of 'processional', since they're walking back down the aisle after being pronounced married? Hmm.} song was "Rather Be" by Clean Bandit. And it kind of basically sums up my weekend. There's no place I'd rather be...

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Recap, Part One, is here!