the reno wedding.

last summer in the craziness of my first hike ever in the grand canyon came something beautiful...a proposal :) (if you havent heard that adventure, check it out here and here.) not mine, dont worry, but our friends andrew and stephanie. i had met them the year before at mike and loras wedding in santa barbara and they were so nice and inviting. richard and andrew had been friends for a long time but he lives in reno now so i finally got to meet him that summer. the proposal was beautiful, under a waterfall and everything! andrew did good needless to say. so earlier this year we receievd an invitation to the wedding on june 2nd, off to reno we went!

1 year ago!

in the beginning we tried to coordinate with other friends going, but that went arye quickly and decided making our own plans was a better idea. we were all staying in the same general area and arriving within a few hours of each other, plus reno isnt that big. richard and i made our way to the airport around 1130a friday morning and were off to northern nevada on the bumpiest/scariest/i thought the plane would fall apart any second i have ever been on. he tried to distract me, it didnt work very well. we arrived at the small airport to find that my bag didnt make it! apparently a belt broke that morning in vegas and luggage was being misplaced all day. so we left my name and the hotel we were staying at with the very nice southwest man and hoped it would make soon.

as we walked over to the rental car counter we ran into lora who was headed to the rehersal dinner once mike got their rental car! our car pick up was actually located off the property so we arrived by shuttle to find a mini-van. we looked at each other as the rental guy was checking the car and told him no-way-jose. apparently they were all out of mid-size so they figured we would want this instead? turns out we got a ford escape instead and headed to the hotel for check-in. we arrived to mini-champagne while waiting in line and our room ready! after finding out our other friends plans we wandered around the main street for awhile playing tourisst before heading to the riverwalk to find some dinner and walk around for a bit. the riverwalk wasnt nearly as exciting as we thought but we found a rockin pizza place for dinner! they had these garlic potatoes, omg good! oh, the very nice southwest man called as were leaving to say my bag was here and would be sending to my hotel within the hour :)

the famous sign:)

he had a man vs food moment!

omg the pizza was yummy.

the wind had picked up even more so we went into a few casinos and found out reno really was like just fremont street haha. now i know it was the area we were in, downtown, but it was a little creepy! once it got dark and we had some ice cream/snocones to satisfy our sweet tooth we made our way back to the room to wait for our late-arriving friends. there was nothing on tv, so that didnt last long. there was a casino downstairs of course so we decided to gamble instead. well my $20 lasted about 20 minutes then i was done haha! see, this is why i dont gamble lol. afterward we met with our friends that had finally arrived and about midnight when they were all still ready to gamble i headed to bed. i was exhausted, needed to run in the morning, and watching other people gamble is one of the most boring things i can think of (right up there with watching boys play video games, yuck). when richard rolled in about 4am i knew i made the right choice lol.

the bike rack was so cute!

saturday afternoon was the wedding so that morning i was able to get my run in no problem. ps no one warned me about the hills in that city! i took off from downtown, rounded the university, took the hill up mccarran, and had a rockin downhill back to the hotel. between the hills and the elevation my butt was thoroughly kicked all morning. i headed back for a shower and then downstairs for some coffee while richard slept (4am remember, lol). i ran into the groom and the best man heading to the park where the wedding was taking place to start getting ready and the grooms family later on as they shopped. it was cool to see everyone and find out the details of the day. turns out that the grooms aunt and uncle have a grandson also in marines as well who is also stationed in san diego (i know thats a long way to get there lol)! richard was finally up and was in need of food. after a stop at mcdonalds we ran into matt and heather looking for breakfast. a drink, round of craps, and grabbing peter we were finally on our way to find lunch. we settled on a grille near the riverwalk with great sandwiches!

from the top of reno!
our hotel is the 1 with the ball in front.

trying to reduce the "puffiness" from the night before.
i am not joking.

we needed to head back pretty quickly to start getting ready for the afternoon wedding! richard and i changed rooms to bunk with the mike and lora for the second night but still had the space to get ready since they were with the bride and groom. we took our time and even a quick nap before heading to the park for the ceremony. we got there a little early and got a glimpse of the bride before heading to our seats! it was a perfect afternoon and the spot the chose was gorgeous. the rest of our friends arrived and before we knew it, it was time to get married!! their friend steve married them, he actually also married mike and lora in santa barbara 2 years ago, so it had a special touch. after all the i dos and the vows we watched them skip off to married bliss, yes, skip, it was so cute and very them.

the mamas:)

father and daughter.

with this ring...

i thee wed...

and they lived happily ever after :)

the reception happened at the ranch house also in the park and lots of personal touches. all of their reno friends had volunteered in shifts to help serve the thai food from their favorite restaurant and pour all the drinks. it was definitely a bit of a different wedding, but fit the bride and groom perfectly. we hung outside in the beautiful weather and talked with friends for the rest of the evening. the newlyweds had a perfect 1st dance plus the toasts were so funny and thoughout. this year has been anything but traditional weddings for me, and this one was no different. the cake was actually made out of donuts and they had ordered dozens of donuts for all the guests! like i said, very unique and very them :)

the vegas group!

the first dance :)

we even grabbed the bride and groom :)

you thought i was kidding!

YUM!

we decided around 1030p we were still hungry so we joined steve at golden flower for vietnamese food near our hotel. it was a bit of stretch for both us and i was super proud of him for trying something new. it was delicious and before we knew it was after midnight, time for bed! we got back to the hotel right before mike and lora and we all fell asleep soon as our heads hit the pillow. the next day we were all heading home and the sleep was for sure needed.

my love:)
another amazing wedding together.

the next morning we drug as long as possible before heading to the airport. after getting us a little lost on the way back to the rental car return we made it in plenty of time. one word of advice...do not count on eating in the reno airport! there are only 2 places, both with sandwiches, and super expensive. i guess we are a little spoiled in vegas lol. we came back to the heat all too soon and couldnt believe the weekend had gone by so fast! it was great time to see friends and be part of such a special day. we have gotten to see their love grow the last few summers. 1st at mike and loras wedding in santa barbara when they had only been dating about 3 months to the 2nd summer of the engagement in the grand canyon, to 3rd summer for their wedding in reno! congratulations to the newlyweds :)