Happy Anniversary K&J

One year ago, I had the pleasure of heading out to Las Vegas, Nevada to attend the wedding of one of my very best friends, Kirsten, to her fiance Jewell, one of the coolest guys I know (don't tell him I said he was cool though, it'll go straight to his head).  I was about 14 weeks pregnant and even though I wasn't drinking*, this was a FUN weekend!  I never got around to posting these photos last year, so I figured it was only right to do it on their first anniversary and relive the fun weekend.

*Do you know what's harder than being in a wedding in Las Vegas with all your best friends while you're pregnant and can't drink, stay out late or hang out in a smoky casino?  NOTHING.  I want a do-over.  Until then, I'm just going to do the next best thing and flip through these photos with a martini in hand.

Since I didn't spend my weekend in a drunken slot-machine-induced blur I had the opportunity to play photographer (faux-tographer, if you will) for them and capture the weekend in pictures (just in case they were too drunk to remember what happened.  Proof.)

Thursday night was the bachelorette party. (Which I purposely did not take any photos at, because, you know...proof.)  Needless to say, it was a VERY good time (what happens in Vegas...).  I wore a ridiculous flashy (and very tight) sequin mini dress and looked like a pregnant hooker/disco ball all night.  Totally Vegas and totally awesome.  Despite being absolutely wanna-die exhausted, I managed to stay out until nearly 2:00 a.m.(!!)  I am still so freaking proud of myself for that, especially since my bedtime those days was typically around 5:30 p.m.  Rock star, right here.  (No, not really.)

Friday was the rehearsal and the rehearsal dinner.  The ladies all piled into a limo and downed a couple bottles of champagne (hair of the dog, my friends) on the way to the mansion where the wedding would be held.  

I got in a quick pic with the bride-to-be.  I was the only one not hung-over and the only one that got more than 4 hours of sleep and yet I still looked this ragged.  Touche.

One of the best parts of the wedding weekend was getting to spend time with Kirsten's amazing family.  Kirsten's parents are the bomb.com.  I want them to adopt me.  Her mother is the cutest, sweetest little thing that's ever lived and her dad is absolutely hilarious and completely inappropriate at times.  Kirsten is the perfect combination of the two of them.  

The beautiful bridesmaids.

And the handsome groomsmen.

We made our way back to the pool area, where the ceremony would be held.

The groom felt right at home.

We did a quick run-through of the ceremony.

Procession...

Father of the bride...

Who gives this woman away?

I think his answer was "I do and you better take damn good care of her or I'll fucking kill ya.  Now give me a hug."  Or something like that.

Do you?  

Yada yada yada.

Any objections?

All quiet from the peanut gallery.

And you're pretend married. 

YAY!

After the rehearsal, we jumped back in our limo to get a few pictures of the wedding party at the famous "Welcome to Las Vegas" sign.

Of course Big bird was there.  I mean, where else would he be?  He looked slightly hung over and was begging for cash - pretty sad, really.  I told Kirsten to go stand by him so I could take her picture and she looked at me in absolute horror and quickly (and completely seriously) reminded me that she's terrified of birds.  I laughed so hard I nearly peed my pants.  I reminded her that Big Bird was not a REAL bird, so go get in the damn photo.

 After the rehearsal was the...wait for it...rehearsal dinner!  Yes, you guessed right.

Great couple.

 Great company.

Great boobs.

I mean...great food.

Great drinks 

Great friends.

Great night. 

 Saturday was wedding day!

I snapped a few detail shots while Kirsten was getting ready.

We got ready in Kirsten's suite and then hopped back in our limo to head back out to the mansion. 

No, I'm not actually drinking the champagne - back off.

While Jacquie put the finishing touches on Kirsten's hair and make-up....

I headed over to get a few pictures of Jewell opening Kirsten's gift.  (Also, I was supposed to make sure the groom wasn't having too much fun and was sober enough to get hitched.  Such are the problems with a Vegas wedding.)

I think he was sober, although it's hard to tell.

I thought I'd stay for a while, but the boys weren't thrilled about hanging out with the pregnant chick, so I headed back inside to take a few detail shots of the reception.  Kirsten and I designed these programs the weekend before and I think turned out great!

The seating cards were held up by wooden dice.

Each table was named after an old Vegas casino.

And as favors, the bride and groom donated to two charities that meant a lot to them.

I designed the favor tags with photos of the couple's dogs Jackson and Prince that I took a while back.  I had them printed out on Moo mini cards and tied them together with a ribbon.  

Back in the bridal suite, the ladies were lounging around before getting dressed.

It was finally time for Kirsten to get into her dress.

Stunning, no?

Why couldn't I be a part of this family?

The hair, the skin...

Compared to Kirsten, I look like Casper the Ghost.

Once the real photographer showed up I excused myself so I wouldn't be in his way and headed out to hang with my peeps.

And then it was GO time!

The wedding party made their way in.

And then the clouds parted, the sun sparkled, the doors opened and there she was!

It was a magical moment.

Jewell look so excited...I nearly cried watching him (remember, I was super hormonal).

As our gorgeous bride made her way up to the ceremony she had to go up a couple stairs...

Except her dress got caught on the heel of her shoe and she couldn't make it up the stairs.

She told me later this was the conversation that happened at this moment:

They stopped on the stairs and she said to her dad, "I can't do it."  

He said "it's not too late, we can leave," or something like that.  

She said, "No dad, my foot's stuck! I can't make it up the stairs, but I still want to get married!"

And then they both cracked up and looked around for help!

No one knew what to do, so I ran over and helped her get her foot out of the dress.

Kirsten was such a great sport, she was laughing harder than anyone.

Well, except for the groom.

It was the greatest moment of any wedding I've ever attended!

I did my part and made it through my reading without crying or falling into the pool.

I consider that a success.

And then it was time.

The point of no return.

Do you?

Yes.

I now pronounce you...

Husband and wife!

And then she slipped on the rose petals and almost took out the front row.

Best wedding ever.

While the bride and groom were getting their pictures taken, we made it upstairs to take some photos of our own.  Check out these lovely ladies!

And then finally, it was time to PAR-TAY!

You guys really know how to throw a fun shindig.

I'm ready to go back to Vegas and do it all over again.

Happy first anniversary Kirsten and Jewell!

Cheers to many many many more!

I love you guys.