Taylor's Wedding has Come and Gone

On May 20, 2017, my bestie married Kenny!  If you're friends with me on social media, I'm sure you saw how incredibly beautiful everything and everyone was. It was held at The White Barn in Brooksville, FL. Amanda, the wedding coordinator, was amazing! She handled the wedding with poise and professionalism taking great care to turn Taylor's vision into reality.  Nikki, Taylor's wedding photographer, helped make the day as seamless as possible. Nikki and her videographer worked hard to get great shots of the venue, wedding party, family and guests. They also re-worked the itinerary as the day went along like champs. Their passion certainly did not go unnoticed.

As for the ceremony it was the first wedding I've ever been in. I probably didn't pay as much attention to the actual ceremony as I should have. I had quite a few things running through my head, and I didn't want to forget what I was supposed to do.  Don't trip. Make sure the other bridesmaids know their marks. Guide the flower girl, Bella (she actually ended up holding Taylor's veil as Taylor walked down the aisle instead) where to stand and when to help Taylor back down the aisle. Once Bella stood next to the bridesmaids, the veil was my responsibility until Taylor and Kenny walked back down the aisle. When you pick up the veil, bend with your knees together. Whenever Taylor turns or walks, pick up the veil and follow her. Fluff the veil a little before setting it back down. Pick it up and hand it to Bella before they make their way back down the aisle.  And then there was my Maid of Honor bouquet and Taylor's bouquet.  Thankfully, Cybelle, another bridesmaid, was a hero and held my bouquet once Taylor handed me hers. Cybelle also held Taylor's bouquet whenever I had to fix Taylor's veil. The ceremony lasted about 15 minutes, so it was a lot to remember and pay attention to in such a short amount of time.

I will say that Taylor was the most gorgeous bride I've ever seen. I may not have been to many weddings, but I've watched enough episodes of 'Say Yes to the Dress' with Taylor to know.  I love how in love Kenny and Taylor looked when they gazed into each others' eyes. I am so grateful for Cybelle! She really helped a lot and I couldn't have done it without her.  It seemed to be second nature to her. Whereas most of it was completely foreign to me.

After the ceremony, the photographer took some pictures. We ate dinner inside The White Barn. I drank some beer and made my way around to talk to the guests I knew and even some I didn't know. I gave my MOH speech, which I'll probably post in a different blog post. I recruited Cybelle and we worked with the DJ to request songs and encourage people to get on the dance floor. We did the Chicken Dance and we started a train. Once it started to pour, I went out of the barn to dance in the rain! Dancing in the rain was my favorite part of the night. It felt so good and it was liberating!

Cybelle, the groomsmen, and I packed up Kenny's car and pulled it around to the front of the barn for their exit. We danced a few more songs before their arm tunnel and glow stick exit. At this point it was still pouring, which I think made it perfect.

Once the bride and groom left, Cybelle, the groomsmen, and I loaded up Taylor's mom's car and helped clean up and pack up before leaving.  I went back to the hotel for the after party with Taylor's family. It was my first time doing fireball shots! It was fun!

Overall, I still don't understand weddings. They are as baffling and mysterious to me as they were before.  I just don't think the payoff for all the time, money, and work that goes into it is worth it. But, it wasn't about me, it was about the beautiful bride and her handsome groom having the wedding of their dreams. It made them happy, and that's all that matters!

Run, Camp, Sleep, and Repeat

The Alafia Ragnar Trail Relay was a super fun experience that took me completely out of my comfort zone. First of all, if I wasn't as healthy as I am right now, camping with Crohn's disease would have seriously freaked me out. Thankfully, I am not dealing with any symptoms, so it wasn't an issue. Secondly, even though I was camping with strangers (now I consider them new friends) and sharing a tent with a guy I only met a couple of weeks ago, my social anxiety was nonexistent because I felt welcomed and a part of the team, aka, Sloth Squad!  Lastly, I had never done trail running before and this past weekend I did an extremely difficult mountain bike trail with cliffs, hills that seemed like mountains, and hairpin turns (it felt like I was running in another state) and I even ran a trail at night...in the dark with a head light!  It was an amazing whirlwind of an adventure.

Unfortunately, I am not very good at trail running. I fell a total of four times and bruised my knees like a kid on the playground. I sprained my ankle on my first trail run. Somehow I managed to push through the pain and finish strong. I went straight to the first aid tent and had the medic tape my ankle tightly to limit its range of motion and offer support so that I could continue the relay. We had a onesie party at camp, porta potties became a way of life, and we became a part of the Ragnarian family!

I carpooled to the relay with two people on my team, The Sloth Squad. We left early on Saturday after we were finished with our legs of the race because we had to get back to Orlando while the rest of our team finished their last legs of the relay. Our team captain picked up our medals when they were done and I'm excited to get it from him Tuesday night at Ten10 Run Club.

I had to get back to Orlando to attend my company's holiday party. It was kind of a rush to get cleaned up from camping and running in order to be presentable at the semi formal event. I'm really glad my sister, Kelly, went with me as my plus one. We enjoyed the cocktail hour before the grand ballroom opened at the Orlando World Center Marriott. I introduced Kelly to co-workers, most of which were executive managers because that's who I work closest with. She got to meet George Smith, the co-founder of the company, which was neat. The International/Entertainment VP told Kelly and Mr. Smith about the Owner Contracts I'm working on for him. The party had a live band, a dance floor, a delicious buffet, and an open bar. I lost count of how many jack and cokes I enjoyed. I had an interesting conversation with our W/WW (water/wastewater) VP about running and triathlons. We are both typically quiet, but the alcohol made chatting more natural for both of us. lol. My supervisor even gossiped about office drama. I stayed seated for most of the night because my ankle was swollen and it hurt to walk, so walked with a limp. By the end of the night, I went to dance with a lady who asked me to go on the dance floor earlier. She danced all night long with her husband and others and was constantly pulling folks up on the dance floor with her. She introduced me to a guy on the dance floor and we danced together for a couple of songs. He twirled me!!! Seriously, I was twirled and I wasn't sure I was twirling correctly, but it was fun! I likely wasn't very graceful with my bum ankle though... not that I would have been more graceful without a bum ankle. Afterwards, Kelly said "Well, he was hot!".

The last few days have been a blast with very little sleep, which means it's time for a nap!