Oh Dear...

Toasting the Groom

Well, should anyone be surprised that I have once again neglected this? I know that I'm not. It's Christmas break, that automatically means that all of the days run together, I owe no one anything and I can neglect whatever I want (ie the blog amongst other things).

Quick update: I passed all of my classes this semester! I honestly cannot describe how I felt right before I looked at my grades online. The very moment that I told myself "Okay, you really need to check your grades; just get it over with", my heart started pounding in my chest and a huge wave of anxiety washed over me. I literally clicked the "grades" button with my eyes squeezed shut, and then, like air out of a tire, I saw that I had passed. I cannot begin to describe how happy I am that I never have to deal with Macroeconomics or Physics ever again.

Moving on, this past weekend I went to a wedding for my two friends, Claudio and Melissa. It was definitely the best wedding I have ever been to. The ceremony was at the Methodist Church in Winter Park off of Park Avenue. Melissa looked absolutely gorgeous in a cream strapless mermaid gown with lace detail and ribbon sash. The bridemaids wore irridescent navy blue and the gents wore Hugo Boss tuxes and black skinny ties. The ceremony was fairly traditional (although when it came to lighting the "Unity Candle", it wouldn't light! Down in the pews we joked that it was a "sign"). After the ceremony ended, we waited outside the church and blew bubbles on the leaving bride & groom and they sped off in a vintage Rolls Royce (nice!).

From the ceremony we headed downtown to the Citrus Club (very ritzy and exclusive) which is on the 18th floor, so the view of downtown was just spectacular. It was a great place with a very warm feel to it with a lot of dark wood and leather sofas and thick oriental rugs. Not too mention that it was decorated for Christmas, strands of fake pine garland hung from the chandeliers and a monumental decorated Christmas tree adorned one of the corners of the room. I had a mini "woe is me" moment when it came to the bar. It was open bar with plenty of really class alcohol. Problem number one, I am not yet 21. "Okay," you say, "just drink it anyways". While this would have been very easy, they wouldn't have ID'd me given that everyone thought that I was 22, I don't drink. Even if I wanted to, it probably wouldn't have been the best place to do so.

We all got situated at our tables (so elaborately decorated, the centerpieces were ginormous) and watched as the bridal party and the bride & groom came in and hit the dancefloor for the first time. The toasts were very mellow, Claudio lucked out having Bruno for his best man; any of the other guys would have probably told embarrassing stories. The food was incredible. The starter was a Waldorf salad, followed by a surf 'n turf entree of shrimp, steak, crab cakes, mashed potatoes and baby asparagus and ended with cake. After that entree, I couldn't handle any cake, haha. Good thing we all decided to dance after eating, I needed to work all of that off! The dancing was of course the best part. Let me just sum it up by saying we were all put to shame by the eight-year old flowergirl who began breakdancing.

Might I also add, at the end of it all, a group of us thought, "Hey, we're already downtown, let's go out dancing". Sure, it sounds like a fun idea, but let's reflect on the fact that it was close to freezing outside with strong wind and Kara and myself were wearing nothing but strapless dresses and heels. Oh the things we do for a bit of fun. Needless to say, I didn't stay very long. I was thrilled to go home and curl up in my plushy, warm duvet.

Anyways, last night Jordan and myself went and hung out with two of the guys that I had met at the wedding (both of them were groomsmen). We had a great time with them, they and their friends have plenty of entertaining stories. I'm excited because tonight all of us plan on going to see Avatar in 3-D on the IMAX together. I've heard mixed reviews, but I'm looking forward to it! Okay, that's about enough typing for now, if anyone gets to the end of this, I commend you and high-five you and will leave you with wedding pictures as a reward!

(Click to enlarge)

1. I now present for the first time, Claudio & Melissa Gambin!
2. "You may kiss the bride"
3. The first of many toasts that night
4. The groomsmen giving Melissa the bride a lift
5. Claudio and the bridesmaids engage in a stunt
6. Boys will be boys
7. Groomsman (and date for the night) Mark & myself
8. Groomsman Davey dancing away with a bridesmaid
9. Nolan leads the party train around the room