Monday, August 13, 2007

The First Year in Review: Part I - The Wedding

On August 4, 2006 we got married. With 150 of our closest friends and family watching, we got married in a Buy-4-Less. Okay, it USED to be a Buy-4-Less. The day we got married it was Journey Church. Kristen's dress was huge and Darin's tux almost didn't make it (who knew Italian tailors closed for 3 weeks in July?). Transforming the church took 2 very busy days and about 20 people working very hard, but when all was said and done it was beautiful. From the pears to the fountain it was perfect.

I had the privilege of having five of my best friends in the world as my bridesmaids. (From left to right) Jamie, my Maid of Honor, has been a friend since undergrad. We met in Dr. Yoch's class and have been together since. Next is Stef. We met in 7th grade. I was a Vanilla Ice fan, she was into NKOTB. Somehow we made it through the early 90's to become more like sisters. In the middle is my sister, well my sister-in-law (more like a sister), Casey. God truly blessed us when she joined our family. Since then she has blessed us with Baby James, but that's another blog. Then there is Abby. We too met in Dr. Yoch's class. We were then brought together again in law school. I don't think there is a person on this Earth I respect more than Abbs. Last, but definitely not least is my cousin Megan. She and I are the only girls. She is 16 in this picture. Wow!

Darin was brought in blindfolded with the ties that Wendy and Emily Humphrey made to match the bridesmaid dresses. He didn't even get to see the first kiss. We proceeded to take pictures for about 2 hours before the guests arrived. The girls and I went back to our side of the church, the guys to their side, and we waited, and waited, and waited. Eventually it was time to walk down the aisle.
The ceremony was short, less than 15 minutes, just the way we wanted it! Then it was off to the reception.


With pears from a small bakery in London, ribbon to match the dresses, ties, and tablecloths, and five gigantic tiers, the cake was fabulous. No one had a clue that we almost didn't have a cake. The bakery had the date wrong, and with only 2 1/2 hours until it was to be served, Jonnie's Bakery created my perfect cake. Add in 150 fried apple pies, a chocolate fountain, and truffles, there was enough dessert to last a year. As a matter of fact, we just threw away the last of the cake about a month ago. As for the food, there were 15 different hor'dourves, plates of which went home with Chad (the wonderful intern at the church).




There was a lot of dancing and a jazz band to die for. Dayla and Gary were quite light on their toes!
Mom and Dad's 1st dance.

Stef caught the bouquet!











The Calvert side of the Family.






The Hilty side of the Family.











Honeymoon in Vegas


So for the honeymoon we headed to Vegas.
We stayed at the Venetian, took a gondola ride, watched the street performers, took in Cirque du Soleil, and played with the lions and tigers and bears, oh my! Okay, there were no bears. But there were dolphins!


For a break from the 107 degree weather we hiked up
Mount Charleston where it was a cool 70 degrees. The views were spectacular!


No real gambling for us, but we did enjoy the arcade and the M&M store!

The Caruso House


With our family and friends scattered from China to Hawaii, keeping in touch is becoming a tad difficult. Just keeping track of the time differences is mind boggling. We need a better means of communication. A blog perhaps? A lot of our friends are blogging, so why shouldn't we? After all, who doesn't want to know what goes on in the Caruso House behind closed doors?