A Girl...

The Thirty People You Meet in Vegas

Hailing from Utah as I do, most of my wedding experiences consist of throwing on some sort of modest frock, driving fifteen minutes to a neighborhood church, waiting in a long line to kiss-kiss the child-bride and child-groom, eating a supermarket eclaire, drinking a plastic cup full of "orange drink" mixed with Sprite, and then going home. We all know it's the marriage that counts, not the wedding, so this is all fine and good, but I have to say that the weddings I've been to more recently have been a tad more exciting, for me, as a guest.

Three of the last four weddings were international--Canada, the UK, and Mexico--and all of them were fantastic and unique and, above all, memorable. There's something to be said for destination weddings in that your guests will probably be more emotionally invested in the nuptials if they have flight dates marked on their calendars for several months, swank accomodations when they arrive, and several days removed from the grind to think of little more than love sweet love. In just the last nine months, Simon and I have spent twenty-four days on location for weddings: there was Simon's sister's wedding last August outside of Stratford-upon-Avon, with the big poofy dress and the historic chapel; there was Simon's friend Brian's wedding in December in Puerto Vallarta, with the chuppah and the margaritas; and there was last weekend's Vegas celebration, with the robots and the wine and the bride's black velvet gown. Each could never be confused with another, and each was so perfect for the couple that the locations and the events will be forever linked in my brain.

Another great thing about destination weddings is the time they give guests to mingle amongst themselves, and we did a lot of that. From late-night cocktails in the hotel lounge on the eve of the ceremony to chatting it up at dinner to $15 blackjack after the reception to paddling around the wave pool the morning after, we spent a lot of time with friends and family of the bride and groom and, as usual, I'm bummed that we all live so far away and can't sit around and eat bacon-wrapped scallops and drink Gibsons with them every Thursday night. Although Simon and I had a lot of fun, just the two of us, out on the town, it was wonderful to know that a group of great people was just a phone call and a few rows of slot machines away.

Below is a link to all the photos from the wedding (misc. Vegas photos to follow later this week). The set labeled FAVES is a selection of what I think are the best shots (although some are a bit blurry *grumble 50mm lens grumble*). The set labeled DETAILS is a little larger but tells more of the story of the wedding--the food, the toasts, the laughter, the people. The set labeled ALL includes everything--the inside jokes, the people you won't recognize, the you-had-to-be-there moments. If you do recognize these people because you were there, hello! hi! thanks for being so cool! it was nice to meet you and I hope we see you again sometime! It really was an honor to be included among such an exclusive group of loved ones.

Photos here.