Let's Rehearse

Last Wednesday evening Nicole drove to NYC for the night.  She and I had planned to drive to Mathews, VA together, and to pick up Laura Beth at the Richmond airport along the way.  It was going to be a full day of driving, so Nicole decided to break it up by spending the night at my apartment.

Early Thursday morning I helped Erin to her bus bound for Saratoga, and Nicole and I were on the road by nine.  We drove to Virginia listening to songs from Tulsa and reminiscing the good ol' days.

Of course, I needed some crab chips when we entered Maryland. 

This license plate says "IMSHAMU."  I think that if I paid for a vanity plate, it definitely would not proclaim to the world that I am a whale.  Just saying.

We took our time and arrived at the Richmond airport to wait.  As we were pulling in, we knew we were a few minutes early and I told Nicole that we should just wait in the Cell Phone Lot.  Nicole had never heard of that.  I thought I was crazy.  I know that there is a CPL at the Albany airport, but I thought that maybe that was a silly name that us Upstaters used, and was not yet commonly accepted.  I explained the beauty of the CPL as a waiting area.  Nicole was sure she had never heard of one.  But, lo and behold, Albany is not the airport, and I am not the crazy one, Richmond has a Cell Phone Lot.  Nicole and I waited, preparing the perfect song for our Laura Beth pickup.  And when she called, we were ready, Garth Brooks blaring and all.

The three of us delirium, giggles and all, continued on our journey to Mathews County.  We finally arrived around 7 pm to pizza and beer waiting for us.  It was perfection.

Allie, Joe, Nicole, Laura Beth and I stayed up for a while, enjoying the calm before the storm.  At around eleven Joe went to bed.  He had to work early in the morning, and though he didn't admit it, I think he was all done with the girl talk.  Around midnight Nicole and Laura Beth retreated to the guest room in the newly finished addition.

Nicole got tired of waiting, and fell asleep in the chair.

Allie and I struggled for the next hour or so to stay awake for Stacey and Angie.  Stacy and Angie are from Alberta, Canada and San Diego, California, respectively, and rowed with all of us at Tulsa.  When they finally arrived I had just enough energy to say hello before going to bed.

The next morning we were up and at 'em by 8 am.  We had to stop by the Piankatank Ruritan Club to drop a few things off before driving forty-five minutes to the nearest nail salon.  Oh, to live in a small town.

The blank slate of the Ruritan Club!  Let the reception transformation begin!

Photo shoot in the back of Allie's car!

When we arrived at the nail salon the other half of the bridesmaids were well into their treatments.  So after debating our nail and toe colors, we sat down to enjoy champagne and snacks.

Apparently, this rule didn't apply to us!

Snacks and beverages galore for the bride and bridesmaids!

With eight bridesmaids and the bride getting both manicures and pedicures, the entire process took about 5 hours and 7 bottles of champagne.

It wasn't until 2 pm that we were back in Mathews.  And after another quick stop by the Ruritan Club to check on the progress, we headed back to the house to get ready for the rehearsal dinner.

The lights were in place....

Fortunately, Angie and Stacey had already showered when we returned home, so Nicole, Allie, Laura Beth and I took our turns and the primping began.  There were hairdryers, hair straighteners and products strewn throughout the house.  Poor Joe.  His own home had been taken over by six women, and the seventh, Jack, was on her way!

We finally piled into cars and headed to the church to rehearse.  It went surprisingly quickly and smoothly, and it wasn't long before we were at the dinner.

The dinner was delicious, and the evening went perfectly smoothly.  There were two slideshows and Allie and Joe gave a brief speech, but it was just that, brief.  It was short, sweet, and fit the evening perfectly.

As the majority of people left the rehearsal dinner one of the groomsmen began talking about going to Damon's.  Being an out of towner, I had no idea what that meant, but I knew I was in, and I did my best to rally the troops.  I managed to get a handful of people together, including two responsible designated drivers.  Before we left the rehearsal dinner I asked Carla, a friend of Allie's who I had met during Bachelorette Weekend, if going to Damon's was a good idea.  Her response was, "well, let me tell you, you will be the best dressed person in the bar... BY FAR!  You are going to stick out like a sore thumb, but yes, it'll be an experience that will be well worth it."  That was all the convincing I needed.  And a staggering hour later, we had made it to the nearest bar.  Oh, to live in a small town.

When Carla said we would be the best dressed people at the bar, she wasn't kidding.  This was small town country, if I have ever seen it!  There was even a trash barrel fire on the back patio!  You can't make this stuff up!

We spent a few hours dancing, drinking beers, and hanging around the trash barrel fire before heading the hour back to Allie's house, smelling like dirty ash trays.  Eww.  I still can't get used to smoking.  Gross.

Someone wore his Goin' Out Boots!

We made it back to Mathews just in time for us to sleep for a few hours before the primping began all over again!