Love in Austin

First off: CONGRATULATIONS Jeff and Marika!!

After a 2 hour trip to the airport on Thursday afternoon, I successfully made it to Austin, Texas for the wedding of my cousin Marika and her now husband Jeff. With everything going on post-Hurricane Sandy I was feeling a bit relieved to be leaving the city for a few days to not think about things going on. I was fortunate to have not lost power, water or heat during the storm so I would have been OK had I stayed in New York.

Thursday those of us who arrived early all met up for drinks with the bride and groom at Peche, a fancy bar known for it's gin/whiskey/absinthe drinks. Few hours later after meeting the best man, few groomsmen and other friends in town, we headed back to the Sheraton to get some sleep before the busy days began.

Friday morning, most of the bridesmaids and Marika met to get our nails done and have some quiet time to enjoy each others company and catch up. After we got our nails done (by the way awesome nail salon!), we went to lunch with all the bridesmaids. Hillside Farmacy was a cute little old house turned restaurant with delicious food; I recommend it if you make it to Austin. After lunch some of us grabbed Amy's Ice Cream on South Congress before heading over to Green Pastures, the wedding venue.

The venue was GORGEOUS! It is a historical old mansion set in the middle of a neighborhood with luscious green trees, grass and peacocks wondering the property. After finally meeting the rest of Jeff's groomsmen, we began the rehearsal with their Reverend, Vikki. Being there with everyone made me even more excited to be a part of my cousin and Jeff's special day. Friday finished off with a rehearsal dinner with close family and friends, speeches galore and a power point presentation my mom made of Jeff and Marika.

Saturday was wedding day!! Bright and early the bridesmaids, Marika and I gathered together in a conference room set aside at the Sheraton to begin getting our hair and makeup done. I loved how my hair turned out based similarly to a picture of Katherine Heigl. Once we arrived at the wedding venue, got Marika dressed, took photos and prepared for the start of the wedding, was it then I began to have so much joy and excitement for the bride and groom.

The wedding was sentimental and well put together by Jeff and Marika. The rest of the wedding night was filled with family, friends, great speeches by the maid of honor Julia (Marika's sister) and Sam (Jeff's best friend he's known since childhood), drinks, delicious food and PLENTY of dancing with the live band.

After the wedding was over, many of the "young ones" as my mother called us, went down to 6th Street (which is the downtown bar scene) and continued to celebrate the night away. We even got to continue for an extra hour since the time changed that night!

Overall, I had an amazingly exhausting weekend that will be one for the books. This was definitely the best wedding I have been to so far. Let's see how the next ones match up!