Saturday, July 23, 2011

live free or die

this is the state motto for new hampshire, where we spent my birthday last weekend. we actually went there for a friend's wedding, and my birthday just happened to coincide. brienne is a friend from college who moved to new hampshire after she finished her doctorate in physical therapy. we got to do a few fun activities while we were visiting. on friday before the wedding, we visited mount washington, the tallest peak in new england. here we are about halfway up, with another college friend, michael. well, michael is a college friend to me, but he & chris went to school together since 1st grade!notice how i added layers of clothing as we went up. the base of the mountain was in the mid-70s that day, while the peak was mid-40s! there was a gift shop on top of the mountain that was chained down because of the wind. the top wind speed ever recorded was 231mph! in case you were wondering, that's a world record. on to the wedding- here's brienne & andy, newly married. and us at the reception, happily married for almost 4 years. chris liked the getaway car. we enjoyed some other activities i don't have pictures of- hiking, tubing, and a cook out at the bride & groom's adorable house. and here's a sign you don't see in the south. all in all, new hampshire was really beautiful. i didn't know much about it before we went, but i can see why they enjoy living there.

Saturday, July 2, 2011

sweet home alabama

june was the month of weddings for my extended family in alabama. i had two cousins get married in or near birmingham within three weeks. the first was my mom's sister's daughter- victoria. i don't have as many pictures of this event, but here i am with the bride. the wedding was at a beautiful farm in the country. the night was completed with fireworks over the lake. victoria was recently accepted to school for music technology in birmingham, where she and her husband michael will live. she is a talented guitarist and recorded her own wedding march playing classical guitar!

last weekend we had the second wedding, in which i was a bridesmaid (bridesmatron?). it was my dad's brother's daughter- ashley. she was in my wedding nearly four years ago. here's a flashback of that.back then she was dating patrick off and on. they are high school sweethearts, which is neat because so are her parents- my aunt jenny and uncle larry. here they all are. uncle larry looks like he's tired of taking pictures! ashley & patrick will live in birmingham where she recently got a new job as an editor at southern living. but her passion is clothing design, and she is very talented! you can see some of her original designs at her website, addie & elon.

the weekend was so relaxing & fun because we stayed at a hotel downtown very close to all the events. i always find staying at hotels really luxurious, i guess because i don't have to make my bed, clean up after myself, or cook! birmingham has some great shopping, so after the bridesmaids' luncheon on friday we went to the summit where christopher got some new shoes and i got to visit anthropologie. the rehearsal dinner was delicious, at a restaurant called brick & tin. the wedding was at historic rucker place. here we are in the bride's room...and at the reception. chris & me with my dad's parents. mom & dad with grandmother & daddy buck. my mom played piano for the ceremony and my dad helped turn the pages. we are almost done with weddings for a little while. we have one more this summer, on my birthday in new hampshire. christopher is a trooper, because i know weddings are not as fun for boys. but i do love weddings!