Amanda + Nate = Love

(okay, so this posting is way over due, but I couldn't _not_ post it)

Back in February we were up in Portland, Oregon for my brother's wedding. We flew up Tuesday night so that we could be part of the preparations (got there pretty late in the evening after some minor confusion at the airport - turns out that our flight got moved to 5:00, not 6:00 - who knew!?). Wednesday we went to lunch with Amanda's family and then crossed town to hang out with Carson, Amy & Jason. Thursday more family came to town and several of Nate's friends from Wisconsin arrived. It was Valentine's Day and we all celebrated with pizza and beer at my mom's place.

Over the next few days all of the regular preparations ensued... we spent some time at the tux shop making sure all the gents would be looking sharp and us girls went to the nail salon to get our nails in tip top shape. The rehearsal dinner was at The Jupiter Hotel... a very hip place.

Of course we spent most of the day on Saturday getting ready (hair, makeup and nails for this many bridesmaids can take a really long time) and the wedding started pretty much right on time that evening. The ceremony was pretty traditional and quite personalized for Nate & Amanda. Carson was a star ring bearer and the flower girl had a very sweet way of throwing the petals very dramatically. The reception was amazing. My favorite part was when they opened up the floor for guests to give toasts/speeches. Of course my brother Jason (best man) did a fantastic job. It's somewhat expected that he would rock the speech since he's always good at those sorts of things, but still always a pleasure to hear him speak. But what was quite extra-ordinary were all of the off-the-cuff toasts and speeches made by so many of the guests. The words people had to say about Nate and Amanda were really very touching. The afterparty was back at The Jupiter Hotel... I hadn't seen people drink this much since college! Good times!

Over the course of our time in Portland, Aaron and I stayed for a few nights at my mom's place in Beaverton and then a few nights at Jason & Amy's place. We got to be the first ones to stay in their new converted basement! Worked out perfectly... they can expect to see more of us up in Portland with such a nice place to stay over.