"The Nuptials" or "How I Spent my Summer; the memoir of the forgotten bridesmaid" or "The Freakin Stressful-est Day of My Life"

So we did it. Laura and Dustin are now officially LauraandDustin. There were ups, there were downs... it was quite a day. It's probably best if I let the pictures tell the stories.

This one is the left-over Hursts not getting married. Me (wedding decorator extraordinaire), Alex (master of pyrotechnics and drummer in the band, also official nay-sayer), and Jenny (my right hand man and make-up kleptomaniac).

Who doesn't love lavender? I, myself, am partial to it. These dresses, however, are not lavender. I'm pretty sure they chewed up some grape gum and then left it on the sidewalk for a couple months and matched that color to make the dresses. And yes, Laura invited everyone and her mom to be a bridesmaid. In fact, it was more of an honor not to be chosen, so thank your lucky stars if you weren't. I take comfort in knowing that, as the bride's sister, I was only a default and not an actual choice. I'm the fat one on the left.

I have to show this because guess which "Shut up! I am so NOT a diva!" bride simply couldn't leave the flowers on the cake the way the florist (who got paid) did them and so frantically called upon the only other florist (who was getting paid in leftover little tulle bags of m&ms that say "Laura and Dustin August 9, 2008") that was "available" (ha ha - it was about twenty minutes till the ring ceremony and I was neither dressed nor wearing make up) to fix the cake flowers at the last second. That's what I thought. But, as you can see, I did not hold it against her and did perfect as usual.

Here's the non-diva bride performing "The Way I Am" with the whole fam as back up. If you look closely you can see Matt with his new bass (he built it himself!), Alex on the drums, Jenny on back up vocals and the tambourine, and the one with the guitar is me. I think we've now sufficiently proved that I am very bad at guitar. In public. Wearing an ugly purple dress. And there is a video.

Can I decorate or what? These lights were all me.

Who wouldn't want to go to this party?

Sending off the bride and groom. Fireworks, cloth tents, sparklers, paper lanterns, dry grass, fancy dresses and small children. The perfect storm. There was at least one known burn victim. No joke.

One last shot of me and Jenny making the best of it as we lose Laura Hurst (sniff, tear) and gain the new Mrs. Laura Shipp. It truly was one of the most stressful days of my life. Between organizing helpers, making sure everyone was in the right place, averting lighting disasters, running the sound system, playing the guitar and singing, keeping everyone from a painful death by burning due to unruly fireworks (Go Al!), retrieving lost bouquets, and rounding up missing family members, it was more than enough "fun" to last me a good long time. My heartfelt thanks to those involved who made it easier (Jenny, Jill, Yvonne/Genevieve, Denae...). And cheers and best wishes to the newly weds. Baby shower anyone?