Memoirs of a Martin: Happily Ever After: The Fuchs Edition

Saturday morning, Ryan and I "slept in." Now, back in my prime, sleeping in was defined as McDonald's had looooong ago stopped serving breakfast. Nicer restaurants may have already even wrapped up their lunch specials. These days I've been trained to accept far less than that level of luxury. I think we probably had ourselves ready to get our tourist on by about 10:45. WE ARE CRAZY. (Sidenote: sleeping in a bed is amazing. Never take it for granted.)

After a stop at the hotel's Starbucks we were off to Lincoln Road. What is that? It's basically a really long plaza with a bunch of shops and restaurants. Of important note- if you are worried about passing the Guess store and/or a Starbucks- do not fret. You will run into about 20 more. How these places manage to pay such astronomic rent for multiple shops in such a small radius is beyond my little accountant brain's comprehension.

Ryan getting artsy.

Why yes, it DOES look like a whale tail is coming out of the top of my head. The point was the palm trees though.

I took this picture for my Mom because it was a shop window filled with old sewing machines. It looked super cool in real life. Not quite as cool in this photo with Ryan and I's reflections taking center stage. It's the thought, right?

Anywho- we strolled along and finally gave in to one of the people standing outside the sidewalk cafe's beckoning us to eat. We are martyrs, I know. We picked a Cuban place because Ryan felt it was one of those "when in Rome" situations and you know I'm not going to argue when there's a mojito on the line. It was a great choice and we both had delicious meals.

Mojito at noon? Don't mind if I do.

Hey babydaddy.

Arroz con pollo. Absolutely wonderful.

The bar was really cool and vintage looking but from our angle it was difficult to get a shot without blatantly taking a picture of the bartender. Take what you can get folks.

Next we wandered over to Ocean Drive and meandered around for a little bit. We picked up some souvenirs for the caretakers of our little rascal. We peeked at the ocean. We marveled at the number of Starbucks (yes, again). Then we realized it was really hot, so we headed back to the hotel where we spent the remainder of our afternoon by the pool. The life of a tourist is so rough!

Amy, is this a really cool famous hotel? No. Well, maybe? It's the hotel that I saw first when I realized- crap, you haven't taken any pictures of Ocean Drive yet. :c)

Luckily going through Ryan's pictures I realized he took some.

Mid-afternoon my other amazing 5th year roomate/BFF, Melissa, and her hubs, Blake, made it into town. They deserve a massive shout out because they flew straight in from Europe hours before the wedding, took no nap, and partied like it was 1999. That's how you know they are fun. If anyone had been a fly on the wall listening to the 4 of us get ready, you'd have another form of confirmation. It truly is tragic that they insist on living in Dallas.

The wedding was held in the ballroom of our fabulous hotel, Eden Roc. The ceremony was every bit as beautiful as I'd have expected from Courtney. It was the first Jewish wedding I had ever been to and it was really cool to get to compare and contrast the ceremony to the Christian ones I'm accustomed to. Plus Ryan got to wear a yarmulke which I'm pretty sure made his life.

Ryan's new favorite accessory.

Blurry, no-flash picture of Courtney's parents walking her down the aisle. She was just stunning!

The ceremony was followed by a wonderful cocktail hour with delicious appetizers, and THEN the party really got started when we went into the reception. Not 15 minutes in all the guests were on their feet dancing and laughing and clapping. It was awesome. The entire evening continued at that pace and we all had an absolute ball. The food was stellar, the band was amazing, the bride and groom were gorgeous, the guests were incredibly fun - just all excellent. Ryan and Blake yelled "mazel tov," to their heart's content. We had so much fun in fact that we were sad when we finally had to head to bed at 12:45 so we could wake up to catch our flight 4 hours later. Ryan told me no less than 20 times that next time he "wants to get Jewish married."

Gorgeous centerpieces with some strapping young lads walking across the dance floor.

The cake was also gorgeous. Are you sensing the theme?

Their personalized M&M favors were every bit as awesome as they were difficult to photograph.

Melissa & Blake, the globetrotters. Ask Melissa about her accent.

Oh how I miss the Mopes.

We were sitting too far away for flash to be effective, but you can still feel the love. :c)

Precious shot of Gillian, Mackenzie and Jenny watching the first dance.

Getting this party STARTED.

Ohhhhh, how far we've come. Who'd have thought when we were having our christy dance party in the living room that 7 short years later we'd all be hitched and one of us would have a kiddo?!

NYC roomies on the left and ATX ones on the right. Clearly Courtney has great taste. (Editors note: I know I just had a kid and what not, but I swear there is something behind me that is making my butt look larger than life. I nearly nixed this picture for that reason, but because I like the sentiment it stays.)

The luckiest men in the world, obvi.

I just found this jewel on the camera. I feel I would be doing myself, and Ryan's creepy photography skills, a disservice by not posting it. That's a wrap, kids.

So, huge thank you to Mr. & Mrs. Fuchs for including us in your day and in your lives. I love you both so much and can't wait to see where life takes you! And, of course, a huge thank you from the very bottom of my heart to everyone who took care of Emery - you are all angels!

Huh? You can't stand an Emery-less post? You're simply dying to see what she did with Aunt Tiff and her Martin grandparents? Okay, okay...you've twisted my arm.