...Continued from previous post.
Once we were settled into the rental home we took the first day to drive around and show Matt's parents the island. We drove up Mount Constitution because the day was so clear and sunny. We could see for miles and miles and had a pretty decent view of the surrounding mountains and islands.
The following day we took the ferry to San Juan Island. We drove to the opposite side of the island to Roche Harbor. We had never been there before. It was there when I realized I had forgotten my veil (Sadie's veil) at home in Minnesota. One call to my aunt Laurie fixed that! She was able to pick it up from my house the morning she left for Washington. Thank you, Laurie!!!
On San Juan, we visited the American & British camps. Matt could tell you more about the Pig War than I could. It was basically a border dispute with Britian over the San Juan Islands during the time of our Civil War.
The rest of the week on the island was a combination of meeting vendors, making payments, and greeting guests as they arrived.
Thursday we planned a whale watching adventure. I had been whale watching three times prior and all three times we never saw a whale. I didn't have very high expectations but I was hoping we would see something for the sake of our guests. Luck was on our side and we had an amazing show put on by a large pod of orca whales. It was definitly one of the highlights of our trip. Sea snakes, whale tails, & breaching.
Friday morning we met at Odd Fellows Hall (the location of our reception). I was blown away by the turnout of friends & family who came to help us setup. Everything went much more smoothly than what I was anticipating. It was a lot of fun! We had tacos after we were done setting up. Tiff dominated the Mundo burrito. I think the burrito was bigger than Tiff - though that could be a slight exaggeration.
Friday afternoon was the rehersal. We met our officiant and she put our minds at ease regarding the ceremony. She was amazing! She took charge and was exactly what our group needed. We went through the ceremony twice and fine tuned some details. The groom's dinner was immediatly after the rehersal. We met everyone at the pinic shelter on Cascade Lake. We had BBQ catered and just relaxed. We met our photographer and he got some pictures of our group and of us. After dinner I was "stolen" by my aunt and her posse of ladies. I fought it at first. I have a plan for everything and this was not in my plan. After much hesitation and some push back, I gave in and rode off in my aunt's truck. The guys also stole Matt and we ended up meeting at one of two bars in Eastsound. The bride/groom napping turned out to be exactly what we needed at that time. It was nice to have a few drinks and relax before the big day. My big lesson of the day... it's OK to change plans on the fly - and trust your friends.
After we left the bar, Kate, Tiff, and I drove to Orcas Village (ferry landing) and stayed at the Orcas Hotel. It was a late night / early morning. We had to be in San Juan to get our hair done by 8:00am! We were pretty tired on the ferry ride.
Once we were back on Orcas Island, we went straight to Rosario (ceremony location) and got some lunch. The pizza was yummy but very saucy. As Kate served Tiff a piece, the sauce splattered all over Tiff's sweatshirt. It was pretty funny for us, not as funny for Tiff. Lucky for us, she's a good sport.
After lunch we went to the bridal changing suite at Rosario mansion. We kicked back with some champagne and relaxed. I was so relaxed that I actually turned the photographer away when he tried to take pictures of me getting into my gown. Kate & Tiff were such wonderful attendants. They took care of everything and managed to keep me calm and collected at the same time. I'm not sure how they did it.
After I got into my wedding dress, we watched guests arriving through the window of our room. Tiff provided commentary on all of our guest's stylish outfits. It was a wonderful fashion show. Then the officiant arrived to take me down to the ceremony. If I wasn't nervous before... I was now!
To be continued...
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