"AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER..."

And so, the wedding weekend is over now.  I'm sort of sad...I miss wearing the "princess dress" and the "Cinderella shoes" that everyone went ga-ga over.  They hurt like hell...but I would've worn them for hours longer just because they made me feel a little more important...beautiful...  I should have taken a pic of the shoes, because seriously, they deserved a round of applause all on their own.  Who knew, right?  So let me start from the beginning...Friday, October 16, 2009: Rehearsal  5:30 pm.  We arrive at BVM and much to my surprise their was only a couple other people there before us.  We got into the church which was FREEZING COLD!!!  First, Father sat us all down for his customary speech about the couple to be betrothed, and for us to pray and send good wishes to them.  Then it was on with the actual rehearsal. It went pretty smoothly.  Pat and I are the first to walk through the door, which is a little nerve racking, but at the same time exhilierating.  We ran through everything just once, so you had better been paying attention.  Rehearsal dinner was at the groom's parent's house.  Pat and Mark asked "if" I wanted to go...well OF COURSE I DO!!  But they were concerned because it was being held outside and they thought I would get cold.  As soon as we got there, I had no worries of becoming cold!  First of all, I got a really comfy chair in front of the fire...

I apologize for the "small pics"...they are from my BlackBerry.  This wasn't the hugest fire I've ever seen, but it may have very well been the HOTTEST!  I literally had to keep turning from side to side, like I was toasting myself like a marshmallow! And! When I first got there, Kraig's brother had his golden retriever puppy "Kalli" there and so of course, Mark went and got her for me! I held her as long as I could...cradled her like a baby and let her smoosh her nose into mine! She still had the "Cheerios" baby puppy smell...oh how I miss that smell!!  She was sooo soft and so cuddly....good thing Pat forwarned me that he had better not find her in the backseat of the car when we left!  We didn't stay long, I needed to get home and get my rest for the big day!

Saturday, October 17, 2009.  6:30 am.  I'm up.  Jumping in the shower and getting ready to take off for the day.  First stop, Elements. And for Brenda to work her "wizardree" on my hair!  This woman is a saint.  Really.  Here are the resuts:

Pretty hot right?  I knew Pat was a fan right away.  He likes it when I have the headband on.  I did it for his sister's wedding that way and he raved about it.  Today was no different.  Let's see: Hair: Check  Make up: kind of Check.  I wasn't crazy about how the chick did my make up, so I knew I'd be touching it up when I got to Pat's.

Back at the Ignarski ranch, I gathered up everything I needed to take to the church with me, my make up arsenal, glitter for hair and body, jewelry and the Cinderella shoes among the most important things.  My dress was already there, so I didn't have to worry about that.

 

Mary Jo agreed to come to the church with me and help me get ready.  Thank goodness she did.  We were the first 2 there, and the others didn't stroll in until I was fully dressed and ready to rumble!  Marky showed up and asked if I would do his hair. LOL  Which I did.  It was nothing more than smearing a bunch of "waxy" pomade into his hair and giving him a bit of the "bed head" look.  It turned out good.

So now everyone's here, it's getting chaotic, me and 2 other maids, Laura and Nikki, went up into the church to decorate the pews, and amazingly enough, I didn't fall down the stairs in church!  They are uuber steep and scary and even a little twisty and given that I wear heels an average of once every 3 years, my 4" heels scared the crap out of me.  But I did it! WOOT! 

Before we knew it, it was 1:00 and "go time".  We all met upstairs outside the church doors and lined up for the processional.  Father Pat told us the night before to look straight ahead, smile, and not to walk too quickly.

 Ya...have you ever walked next to Pat when he's nervous because there are flash bulbs going off every second??? Yuh...let's just say I'm lucky I was able to keep up.  Whew, the longest walk: conquered.  The rest of the ceremony went well...and much to my surprise, QUICKLY.  The worst part was the temperature of the place! SO COLD!  My hands were like ice, I was covered in goose bumps.  Which I don't think is very attractive when one is wearing a strapless dress!

The walk out is one of sheer relief.  The hard part is over and now it's time to start having fun!  Kraig and Kendall did a dove release right after the ceremony which was really cool.  Funny because the doves didn't want to come out...Kendall had to reach in and grab each one.  She handed one to Kraig, and one to the man who brought them and she held one herself, and then they released them into the sunny blue sky and they made a wide loop and were out of sight.  Very cool.

Tina was able to get a couple pics of Pat and I before we left the church as well:

I think we look pretty HAWT!

After the rest of the pics were taken at the church, we headed out to bar hop.  Pat and I had my car, because, we didn't want to be "trapped" with the wedding party in the limo in the event that something might happen with me.  But Mark offered Clifford as our alternate ride and I was soooo happy because Clifford has heated leather seats and dual climate control and plus...it's just a SWEET ASS RIDE!

Here's a pic of me enjoying myself in my personal limo for the day!

 So we stopped and picked up the big red truck and were off to the Rosie's for our first stop.  It was there that the real fun began.  I got Kendall to lay on the pool table for pics with Kraig and pics with the rest of the maids.  Then we were off again, this time to BB bridge where took alot of pics.  Kendall had asked me for ideas earlier and I told her what I had in mind.  All the maids did the "Charlie's Angels" pose which we RAWKED and then we did one right in front of the river, and one where we were all peeking out from behind a giant oak and one where the girls all held Teddy up and one where all the groomsmen held Kendall.  Good pics...then right before we left, I remembered one I saw a long time ago.  Kendall stood way off in the distance, while Teddy was close to the photographer, with hands cupped and held out in front of him...he looks at his hands and after the pic is taken, it looks as though he is holding Kendall lovingly in his hands.  One thing I FORGOT however, was to have kendall facing him, and looking up at him.  But it's ok...it still was very cute.  OK, with those pics in the books, we took off to the new Club 32.  The place looks stellar.  They rebuilt quickly after the fire, and it looks like a totally different place!  Everyone had a quick drink there and it was already time to head to Kelly Lake for the reception.

Once at Romy's we all hung back in the bar area and got ready for the Grand Entrance.  Matt did the intro's, and did a smashing job I must add!  He introduced Pat and I first, and of course, had to mention we are hardcore goose hunters.  Funny.  Dinner was awesome.  Katie's speech/toast was awesome, Matty kept me in great company at the end of the table and provided me with many laughs.  He's a funny guy.  I hope he and Katie stick together...they make a great couple!

There were many stories told at dinner...in order to get Kraig and Kendall to kiss.  And they were not shy about it either.  Cute.

After dinner, I managed to steal Kendall for a quick pic:

It seemed to be a really emotional day for Kendall...she was so happy and yet I saw a lot of tears flow from her eyes during the course of the night.  Lots of  "extended hugs" with friends and family.  But she was stunning. 

The deejay started a little after 8:00 and after only a few songs, it was time for the Grand March.  The guys wore hard hats and the girls wore nail aprons (mine fully equipped with ammo), and carpenter's pencils behind our ears...only...none of the girls could keep them behind their little ears so I came up with the next best idea...we stuck them in the tops of our dresses, just off to one side and Teddy loved it! So much so, that after the Grand March, he told me to leave mine there...because it "looked yummy".  LOL  And who was "I" to go against the wishes of the groom??? So after all the Grand March-ee-ness and couples dances, which was pretty awesome I must say...we danced to Aerosmith's "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", which ironically, was the same exact Pat and I used at our wedding at exactly the same time.  Kraig's older brother was a really good dancer, much better than myself, prompting me to do the "dip-dee-dip" and spinning me around like a top.  Which was cool cause he could REALLY dance...not the jr. high "sway side to side" dance but REALLY dance.  I thought that was cool.  I danced with Kendall's little brother who was WELL on his way to drunkeness, and with Matty of course, and with Marky TWICE which was funny cause he is SO tall and at that point I was "shoeless" and he's more than a foot taller than me.  And he was drunk too, so with him bending over to accommodate for my height and with me trying to "hold him up" because he was loaded, it was sorta funny. When I finally got my turn to dance with the groom, history once again rewrote itself, just as it was for my wedding, I ran to him and he picked me up off the ground and spun me around and told me how glad he was that I was there....so sweet.  He was all smiles all night and he was a really good sport during the garter toss...he had to dance his way down to Kendall who then had to approve or disapprove of his efforts before he was allowed to go in for the garter.  Matty tried giving him some "bootay shaking" lessons and all I can say is that there were "asses in the air" and it was awesome. 

After the Grand March, the deejay started cranking up the music.  This is the time I had been waiting for alllllllllll night!  We rawked to "She's Country" and then to "Ice Ice Baby".  It was then that my MOTHER decided to completely ruin my night.  She came out to the dance floor and proceeded to YELL AT ME and tell me I was "pushing my luck".  Which, I argued I "was not." But to no avail.  At that point my night was ruined and I found Pat and told him I wanted to leave. I said goodbye to Kendall and Kraig and we were off.  I posted on FB that "Cinderella got kicked out of the ball"....that prompted alot of questions, which, whatever...it is what it is.  I WANTED to stay, but I know that if something had happened then, I would never hear the end of it and I just didn't feel it was worth it.  I regret it now.  I should have stayed.  For as long as I feel good, I should live my life the way I choose.  There are many days I can barely get out of bed, and a doctor once told me...if I feel good, do whatever it is that I want, WHILE I FEEL THAT WAY!  I mean, it's not like I'm jumping out of planes...I was DANCING...DANCING PEOPLE!!! GRRRRR!  In any case, I digress.

The ride home was quiet.  But once again, Clifford warmed me with the heated leather and for that much I was grateful. 

Once home, and in bed, I sat up until midnight...doing what you ask??? Ha.  Peeling off my fake nails! It hindered my abilities to text and post to FB all day and night and I couldn't bare to deal with them any longer.  LOL  I'm such a spaz. 

So I would say the weekend was a success.  A huge success.  Two people who are in love are now united as one, and it is our hope, that they, "LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER"...

PS, I hope to get more pics from Kendall and I will post them then. :o)