Two weeks ago, my boyfriend and I flew down to San Jose, CA to celebrate his brother’s wedding. Hands down, this was the best wedding I have ever been to. It was such a beautiful celebration of their relationship, and as much as my boyfriend is going to kill me for writing this, it made us BOTH excited to start thinking about that step for our own relationship. The ceremonies blended a lot of cultural and religious traditions of both families which made it such a unique lovely celebration of them. It wasn’t your canned ceremony or reception, but a true reflection of who they were as people and as a couple. It was reflected down to the last detail. And on top of that, it was a total blast!
Because so much fun stuff happened and I can’t possibly jam even just the highlights into one entry, I thought I’d just share some tidbits of what I’ve learned over the course of the five days we spent in the San Jose, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, Los Gatos and Pleasanton - in order of importance:
1. Catholics know how to par-tay.
2. Red wine + chardonnay + rosé + repeat = don’t do it.
3. I love everyone in my boyfriend’s family.
4. My boyfriend has an impeccable 6th sense for finding an In and Out without a map or GPS.
5. Receptions in wineries are beautiful and fun (please refer back to #1).
6. Attempting to control my drunken behavior after going past the point of no return is a lost cause, even if I’m with my boyfriend’s entire family and his brother’s in-laws and all of their closest friends.
7. Attempting to cut a rug while drinking red wine is never a good idea, unless you want to simultaneously decorate the wedding party while doing the YMCA.
8. Bums on the beach in Santa Cruz look more miserable than bums in the rain in Seattle.
9. Don’t let your drinking cause you to miss out on the wedding dessert. Apparently I missed out on tasting the most delicious ice cream known to man. And I’m still mad about it two weeks later.
10. A bright and beautiful mountain view is the last thing you want to see the morning after this reception. Close the damn shades.
11. Vuvuzela + hangover = head splitting open.
12. There are such things as dwarf Labradors that stay looking like puppies forever.
13. There is a store named after our dog in Los Gatos called Bow Wowzer.
14. Being away from Bowser for more than 24 hours results in two extremely pathetic parents, sharing stories, pictures and videos. It also results in text message harassment, demanding updates/videos and a phone call every five minutes from the poor soul that has the privilege of dog-sitting.
15. Playing piano in front of people still terrifies me.
16. Australians are awesome. They’re uber awesome when they invite you to stay with them in Australia.
17. Boot means trunk in Australian.
18. Disfrutar means to enjoy in Spanish.
19. Trying to explain why you are not yet married to the groom’s older brother, even though you’ve been dating for over four years, is difficult to say in Spanish.
20. Saying “estamos borrachas” to Mexican relatives is a great way to become fast friends.
21. If you realize you didn’t get a wedding present and you wish on a star that a William’s Sonoma will appear out of mid-air, it will come true.
22. Ford Focuses are being rented out at $150/day at Avis. It’s worth waiting another hour in the Budget rental line to get a Nissan hybrid at $27/day.
23. I still want to move to the Bay Area.
24. I now know why my boyfriend's dad is referred to as Mr.Fixit. He can't stop fixing. It's a nervous tick :) But a handy one at that!
25. Vuvuzela application on iPhone = iPhone going out the car window.
26. It is possible to hold back tears at a wedding, only to start gushing at the reception.
27. I’d love to say that I’d be a calm bride as my future sister-in-law was, but I can’t say that with a straight face.
28. Vacationing in 5,000 sq. ft homes is a blast.
29. Talking about your deformed toe in front of your boyfriend’s extended family isn’t so bad once everyone’s been calmly introduced.
But if there was just ONE thing I learned on this vacation, it’s that I want to be carried in chairs at my reception like in Jewish weddings. Even though I’m not Jewish, it just looks like a blast.
All in all, our trip was a load of fun and it ended way too soon. I got to take part in an incredible day with my boyfriend’s brother, wife and family and feel closer to all of them after taking this trip.
Sticks and stones may break my bones, but I’m never drinking wine again.
I just had to read this post again, I love it so much. What an amazing time we had! I laughed throughout the whole post.
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