Friday, September 9, 2011

celebrating love

I was hoping to share some photos from my trip to Thailand but I realised I had uploaded all of the pics to my boyfriend's computer. Perhaps I'll tell you about my brother's wedding this past weekend instead, though I didn't take many photos. I left it up to the lovely Kate Connolly to do so, so hopefully I could share those with you soon.

As I've said before, I had one day from returning from Thailand to pack and get back on the plane to North Carolina. We checked into a hotel in Downtown Raleigh and everything we needed from the reception to ceremony, and bars and restaurants were within walking distance. I've always loved staying in hotels ever since I was a kid and I must say, I didn't miss my cluttered bedroom.

They had a traditional Buddhist ceremony at the temple early Friday morning just with the immediate family and my aunties. As the maid of honor, Mum insisted that I wear a traditional Thai dress. After I tried the dress on I was no longer complaining. I was absolutely in love with it. I had to keep being reminded by my boyfriend that it wasn't my wedding.


I was feeling guilty over the summer for not being around and available to help out with the details of the wedding. I sure hope I was able to make up for it the morning of. So many small details go into a wedding that you forget about, until your cell phone is ringing non stop and 10 different people need your 2 hands. I was definitely sweating it. I have never been the responsible one in my family, the one people count on, and I just didn't want to disappoint as expected. My poor boyfriend, I had to delegate duties and had him running all over the place helping me out. He did it all with a smile and even had time to pour me a glass of champagne and tell me to calm down.

The entire ceremony and reception went off without a hitch and was absolutely beautiful. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. It was so small and intimate that I think everyone felt like they played a part in their day. I was definitely honored to to have had such a huge role. As maid of honor, I was told by friends (very last minute) that I needed to make a speech. I completely cracked under pressure and was up until 1 AM the night before the wedding trying to write something meaningful. I had a lot of help from my best friend who hears one every weekend, and my boyfriend who knows how to light  a fire under my ass when it need it. We stayed up drinking champagne and eating gummy bears and looking up some terrible wedding speeches and quotes online. I still hadn't written anything usable but we at least came up with a formula 'cause we all know I need some sort of structure to hold me down. After giving me all their advice and tips, they stressed the last part (*DON'T OFFEND) and went off to bed. 


Everyone says the best speeches are the ones that come from the heart and after watching them through their emotional ceremony, it came to me, and I scribbled feverishly during the cocktail hour. I am happy with what I came up with, though there will never be enough words to describe how much I love my brother and how much his happiness means to me. 

The rest of the day was for celebrating the happy couple and love and celebrate we did. (It's not a party without a photo booth!)


A good party always ends with me incapable of walking on my own.




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