What an awesome week we had in Montana! We really loved being home and we couldn't have picked a better week to be there...the weather was seriously amazing.
We arrived in Bozeman on Saturday afternoon (8.16) and Scott, my mom and I all drove to Helena to visit his mom and also for an art show that Scott had at our friend (and groomsman) Papu's new store, four-O-six. The store looked amazing and it was so great to see the turnout that evening. Mr. Papu sure knows how to throw an art party. Hopefully he also attracted some new business, although I swear he must know everyone in Helena already. :) I'd also like to give Laura and Caroline props for the yummy treats (they baked some of it themselves) and wine. They did a great job and it was all so organized...everyone was super impressed and Scott sold quite a bit of art. The extra wedding cash REALLY helped!
Sunday we met up with the pastor who was marrying us, Matt Randles, to go over some last minute details. Matt did a great job on the ceremony and I can't believe we cried less at the actual wedding than we did in the days before the wedding! We were such saps, but gladly we must had gotten most of the teary-eyes done before the ceremony. We also stopped by Canyon Ferry lake to see Heather, her husband Jonny, Ashley and a bunch of their friends. Heather and Jonny bought a pontoon boat that they take partying on the lake as many weekends as they can. It was a sweet party boat and we did some swimming and wake boarding. My white ass just tried to stay out of the sun (it has a covered deck) since a sunburn and a wedding gown don't mix! After that, we drove back to Belgrade and had a nice dinner at my parents new house. That evening we picked up Marika from the airport and she stayed with my parents and us at the house for the week. It was so nice having her there...we met in Australia 6 years ago, she was there when Scott proposed in Italy 2 years ago, and she flew in for our wedding all the way from London.
Most of the beginning of the week was spent lounging around my parents house looking at the beautiful view of the Bridger mountains and enjoying the peace and quiet. We also ran a bunch of wedding errands and got all the wedding details finalized. It was non-stressful and just what I'd hoped for! Wednesday night my parents hosted a BBQ at their new house...it was kind of an unofficial house warming party for my parents friends and our family, as well as a casual party for the wedding party and their families. It was so nice! Jonny had smoked up some awesome pulled pork and we set up a volleyball net, horseshoes and croquet. (Marika's parents also arrived that evening from Rome so they enjoyed the festivities as well.) It was really nice weather and it even waited to rain on us until it was too dark to play anyway.
Thursday meant party time - the bachelor/bachelorette parties! The girlies met at my parents house and we assembled some wedding favors, painted our nails, drank some cocktails, ate snacks and got ready to go out. I also got my all important spray-tan! The boys went to get their tux fittings and then headed out to play folf (frisbee golf) and have a BBQ. They started drinking at 10am and were still drinking well into the night until 2am...I don't know how they were all still standing by the time we met up with them that night! Makenzie, my best friend and maid of honor, planned a fun-filled night for us - it helps that she's good friends with the owners and used to bartend at the place we went that evening (317 in downtown Bozeman). While the boys were farther down the street at another bar, we pulled up to some tables, ordered many rounds of drinks and shots, (maybe even got on the chairs and danced) and had full control over the music playlist. The boys showed up a little too drunk and a little too early (we didn't even get to finish our bachelorette games), but we all still had a blast. The best part of the night was when Scott and I looked up at the widescreen TV in the corner of the bar and saw our faces plastered on it! Kenzie had a surprise for me...a 15 min video that she made of pictures that she had collected from our friends and family. It was so cool and there were some really hilarious ones of us in grade school and junior high. I was such a sap with all the memories that I started crying (happy tears of course)! I love you Kenz - that was the best! The night was capped off with pizza and a ride home from our DD, Jonny. I still have no idea how we crammed so many people all in one Explorer...I think I counted 10 or 12!
I thought there would be more people totally hungover on Friday, but everyone was actually pretty perky and awake. We headed up to Big Sky to check into our cabins and get ready for the rehearsal. It was again a perfect weather day. We had our rehearsal with the wedding party at Moonlight Lodge and then had a rehearsal dinner at Lone Peak Brewery. It was relaxing and we all just chatted, played some shuffle board, ate some awesome food and drank some beer that they brew right in the back room. After dinner it was a fairly early night. I got back to our cabin (I roomed with Kenzie, not Scott), put on my swimsuit, opened a bottle of wine and my friends and I got into the hot tub right away. It was much needed and a perfect way to relax right before my wedding day!!
Ahhh, the big day! We woke up, had some coffee and some breakfast snacks and started to get ready for the day. The girls had their hair done in my cabin so we all hung out for the day. I gotta say thanks so much to Felicia, Kenz, Jill and JJ for helping out so much with the decorations - you guys are the best and everything went so smoothly thanks to you. I swear I didn't have to do anything the whole day...you guys made sure to take care of it all and I appreciated everything more than you know. Most of the rest of the day went by in a big blur. Everything happened so fast and I'm still so shocked that all the planning and prepping for one day comes down to it going by in the blink of an eye! Seriously what is with that! This is what I do remember of the day:
The girls and my mom helped me into my dress. I went down to the lodge to meet Scott...our photographer planned a spot for us to see each other for the first time that day. Of course, we got teary-eyed and he even brought me some wild flowers that he had picked earlier in the day when him and his friends went folfing (yes, they also have a folf course in Big Sky). It was so sweet and he looked so hansome!! After our first meeting, we took pictures with our parents and the wedding party. Everyone looked so gorgeous...I think my parents said (more than once) that Scott and I must have the best looking group of friends ever...I and totally agree. :) Our guests started showing up around 6pm and we were ready to start the ceremony at 6:30pm. It was perfect timing as it was still nice and warm outside and the sun just went behind the mountain so no one was blinded. This is where things really start to get fuzzy...it was so overwhelming being the one in the wedding and the center of attention, instead of just a spectator. The 15 min ceremony went great and there were many tears and laughs. One of my favorite memories was when Scott said "I be wed" instead of "I thee wed". One of his favorite memories was when I pulled a tissue out from my dress in between my boobs to wipe my eyes. :) After the ceremony, I remember taking more pictures, having a shot with the wedding party, doing our grand entrance, eating dinner, making toasts (which Kenzie, Robert and Brian did a great job on...we were laughing and crying), cutting the cake, first dances (my dad and I were so cute during our dance and my sisters even came to join in; and Scott and I just loved our first song(s), yes we had 2), more dancing, bouquet and garter toss, more dancing...and I even got serenaded by all our guy friends with "You've lost that loving feeling". Scott and I said goodnight around 12:30am and headed off to our cabin - Scott carried me to the car and Jill and JJ drove us up to our cabin overlooking the whole Big Sky valley. It was amazing, we could see all the stars out, and we were in the hot tub with drinks and some more of our cake within minutes. Ah, what a great ending to a great day.
The next morning we had a brunch, hosted by our good friend and usher Brady and his girly Elene (Brady and Elena - you guys rocked it and everyone loved the brunch)! We had Brady's famous brown-sugar bacon, tons of other breakfast goodies made by Brady and Elene and opened our presents. After that, we all said our goodbyes and Scott and I headed back to my parents house to relax before our flight "home" the next day.
Holy crap what a jam-packed week. All the planning for 2 years finally paid off and we had the best wedding we ever could have asked for. Our best friends, our families...what more could we have asked for (besides if it was free - hahaa)?! It was all like a dream, except I have pictures to prove it. :) You can see all our pictures, and ones that others took during the week, at our Kodak photo album:
www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp
You can go down to the bottom and click on "browse all albums" link to see all the photo albums we have uploaded. :)
Cheers - Melissa & Scott
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