incredible weekend

this weekend was amazing. we managed to get the maid of honor to the wedding festivities safely. she was in a lot of pain throughout the weekend, but she was a total trooper!
when we got to door county, the fun began with rehearsal at the itsy bitsy teeny tiny church. it's 117 years old and has no electricity or running water. it was such a romantic setting...


the pastor told us that they actually have christmas eve services by candlelight. i would love to go there for christmas sometime - candle in hand with the only heat provided by a tiny gas stove and everybody huddling together in the cold wisconsin winter! so romantic! can't you just picture it...


speaking of romance and an awesome pastor, during the rehearsal, the groom was working very hard to pronounce each word of his vows correctly, as he is from moldova and his first language is romanian, not english. when the time came to say "in the name of the father, son and holy spirit, amen" the pastor said rather flippantly "or you can say it in romanian if you want." adrian blurted it out in romanian and the pastor's response was "that was great! why don't you do that tomorrow!" you should have seen the look on his parents' faces when he said that part in romanian - they could finally understand a few words of the ceremony because they don't speak english. they just lit up when they heard him finish his vow. it was precious!
after rehearsal it was off to the rehearsal picnic where we dined on burgers, brats and polish sausages and cooked smores over the fire - how much more wisconsin-esque does it get? ironically, though, there were SO many countries represented at this wedding - it was a ton of fun to have such a richly international group!
the bride and groom at the picnic:


on saturday we got up early and hit up the awesome breakfast at the even more awesome resort. i highly recommend this place for a romantic getaway - ideal for a honeymoon, too! their webiste (www.gordonlodge.com) doesn't do the place justice. the newly renovated lodge is awesome. every room has an unobstructed water view and a private patio complete with table and chairs as well as lounge chairs. there are also cabins of varying sizes with traditional home-like decor. included in your stay is free kayaking, paddleboating, fishing, nature trails, pool and hottub and tons of relaxation. the grounds are well manicured, the food is amazing and the staff is absolutely incredible! it was an awesome place! anyway...after breakfast it was off to get our hair done in fish creek (about 20 minutes away on the opposite side of the peninsula).
the bride getting her mohawk...

...and checking the finished product.


then it was off to get ready in a hurry...


...and head to the ceremony. with a bit of a time crunch, the vehicle the bride was riding in got trailed by a cop the entire way - almost forcing them to be late, but it all worked out in the end. the ceremony was incredibly romantic, and the maid of honor even managed to stand through the whole thing. she's so tough!


after the happy couple was officially married...


we took a few pictures...
(me with the bride)

(happy couple with the groom's parents)


...and the bride and groom left by carriage...


we followed by limo to cave point, which is a gorgeous park on the edge of some bluffs overlooking lake michigan. we took some pictures there...


...and enjoyed champagne under the tent the ushers had set up for everybody.
then it was back to gordon lodge for an evening of wonderful food...


...a little dancing...


...and a romantic sunset.



the next morning we enjoyed some time at the resort and then had to say our goodbyes. i even got a hug and kiss from adrian's parents, who are so incredibly sweet! i just wish i knew how to speak romanian!

it was a perfect weekend for a perfect couple. i feel so honored to have been a part of their dream come true!