Wedding Extravaganza

One of my best friends through middle and high school got married in Augusta the weekend after we got back from vacation. So 4 days after driving home from Ivanhoe, VA, we traveled 8+ hours to Augusta. In the van. Without Ian. Just me and three kids. And guess what? I hardly even knew I had travelers with me! They do so well in the car on road trips now. The worst part right now is having to stop to keep up with Callie's eating schedule. And unfortunately I usually end up choosing THE WORST exits to stop and find a good place to use the bathroom and sit to nurse. Anyone else always seem to find the worst parts of a town when traveling on the interstate? If I didn't have to stop for Callie, Cayman and Charis could just ride and ride without having to stop for potty breaks. (Depending on their fluid intake, of course!) :) We made it to Augusta after a brief stop in Lexington, SC to visit my cousin, Joni and her three boys. I sure do wish we lived closer to one another! I can't tell you how long its been since we've seen one another, but we just picked right up like we had just seen each other yesterday. I love that about our friendship! (I would post the picture we took but I was forbidden to. Maybe when they come to visit us we will get some better pictures taken. *Hint, hint, Joni!!*)

The week before the wedding, I debated on whether or not I should go to Seema's wedding. I just could not imagine sitting in the van for so long again to travel for only a short period of time in Augusta. But. I am beyond glad that I went! It was such a beautiful wedding and a brand new experience for me! I had never been to an Indian/Hindi wedding before. I love experiencing new cultures. I met up with another friend from high school, Erika. I'm so glad she was there because I had someone to talk to, eat with, sit with, etc. We had a blast together. There are so many intricate parts to a Hindu wedding that I could not even begin to unravel it all on here. I'm just glad I was there to experience it in person instead of hearing about it all second hand. The wedding was an all day event - I got there around 10am and lunch was over around 2:30. I arrived at the reception around 6:30 and stayed til well after 10. It was a long day for me, but I can't imagine how much longer it was for Seema, her family, her groom and all of their wedding party! The crazy thing was that this was the last day of their wedding ceremony -- they had started wedding festivities on Thursday! I'm not sure that those events lasted all day. But they basically had three full days of wedding events. Crazy! :)

*Disclaimer: All of these pictures are, unfortunately, HORRIBLE because they were all taken on my phone. They just don't do the bride the justice she deserves! She looked absolutely gorgeous!*

The ceremony lasts so long that the brides have started
treating their guests to a little treat to hold them over until
lunch starts! Mmm! Ice cream!