Like I had mentioned in many of my blogs once 2024 hit - this year was going to be busy, right up to the end of the year. It was extremely busy. Every weekend we were doing something for us, other people or chores. We still had three more months of 2024 to go and those were the holiday months. I sure hoped we survived.
Nicole and Del got engaged back in October 2021 over in Chelan. He proposed to her through a custom card game. It was pretty cool. Since then, everyone - including family and friends - have been asking them when they were going to have the wedding. They were not in any hurry. We did talk about it off and on since then and they decided to do a small wedding on September 21st. I'm sure most of you know the Earth, Wind and Fire song September. Do you remember, the 21st night of September? We do!
She and Del were so overwhelmed as the date got closer and closer. She did ask for help with some of the things she needed done. Del's dad passing away made planning a wedding more difficult. Del really wanted all of his family to go to his special day and sadly, his dad, would have to miss it. Ben and I really felt for him; it was a terrible thing to go through right before a huge event.
During the week I had to find something nice to wear. I haven't been a guest to a wedding in many years and didn't really need to have any nice clothes...especially when Covid hit and we were stuck at home. I went to TJ Max and found something that would work. I chose a blue dress because it went with my blue and white wedding shoes. I wanted another fancy occasion to wear them to.
They had a family gathering at her mom and stepdad's house the night before. She had invited us to go but we had already made plans before she had asked us. I told her that if she needed more bodies the next day to help set up the venue that we were around. She said she would let me know if they did or not. I thanked her and told her I would see her the next day regardless.
They kept the ceremony to just family members. Her brother was the officiant, and her sister took pictures with one of the two fancy cameras that were there.
Nicole wore two dresses, one for the ceremony and one for the reception. I was sad none of their close friends were invited to the ceremony but that was their call because it was their day. I was just thankful we were invited to the reception so we could celebrate them.
They rented out the Heritage Room in downtown Olympia. I've been there a few times over the recent years with friends, so I knew where I was going when we drove over there. We found a parking spot to back into, made sure we had everything and walked over to the building. The families had just finished up with the ceremony and were double checking everything for the reception. We found a table and went and got drinks. We spent the next hour or so visiting, taking pictures and talking to Nicole and Del and the rest of their family and friends.
The caterers came out and brought out the fancy food Nicole and Del chose. There were some gluten free options for the people who had dietary needs. Ben was newly gluten free after a preliminary visit with his doctor. He had been having stomach issues for the past couple years and needed to know why he felt bad all the time. We grabbed a plate and went through the buffet line, scooping as much food as we could because it all looked good.
We ate, hung out with our friends and enjoyed the night as it wore on. Once we were done eating, Nicole and Del planned some interactive games for people to play against each other and it was hilarious watching people play them. I do believe there are some videos of them somewhere. From there, the rest of the night was cake, dancing, playing the table games Nicole and Del provided and digging through many large fishbowls of dice.
It's weird that so many of us decided to get married later on in our lives. Only a couple of my friends got married in their 20's, a few in their 30's and me and Nicole, in our 40's, lol. Some of my friends still aren't married and a few of them have been divorced. Looking back, I don't think any of us were really ready or financially secure like we were currently. We've talked about this a few times in some of our get togethers - and being with our partners/spouses should be easy and not hard. I've been with Ben, up to this point, for 11 years and the relationship hasn't really been that hard - definitely more good days than bad and I can be myself around him. I don't think I would have enjoyed being married as a younger person.
People started to leave as it approached 11 p.m. We helped Nicole and Del gather up all the stuff off the tables and pack it away in the totes. Once everything was packed up, we took it out to a few of the vehicles that had room in the back. We all thanked Nicole and Del for inviting us, gave out some hugs and headed out to our cars. It was a nice little wedding catered to Nicole and Del. I've been friends with Nicole since 4th grade, and I am happy to see that she found her perfect person to do life with! Congratulations Nicole and Del!
Next Adventure: Seattle Seahawks vs. Miami Dolphins
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