A couple of our best friends got married up North at Starved Rock a few weekends ago and it was our first full weekend away from Kinley. I was nervous but knew she would be in great hands with my parents.
Scott has been best friends with Matt since 6th grade and I took a few undergrad classes with Julie at UIS. We never really talked in class but hit it off right away when Matt & Julie started dating a few years ago.
Matt has always been such a great buddy to Scott and I also consider him a great friend. Julie is just about the sweetest girl you'll ever meet and would do anything for you! She also shares a love for bacardi & diets, so we're just a match made in heaven!
We arrived Friday afternoon just in time for the rehearsal. They rehearsed in the lobby since another wedding was taking place at the actual venue.
Scott was one of the best men and since us girls weren't in the wedding we decided to sneak away to the bar for a few pre-dinner cocktails!
Me, Ashley, & Jill
Fun Fact: Jill's twin sister is Taylor Swift's personal assistant. We(Ashley) was kind of obsessed with that the whole night!
The hubs wouldn't cooperate for pictures & I'm a pretty cheap date now so we were having some good laughs. :)
After the rehearsal, we drove over to Ottawa (Julie's hometown) for dinner at Woody's Steakhouse.
Linda had already told us that they had a martini menu with 70 martinis! WOW. Here's me and the beautiful bride-to-be with our 2nd round of martinis.
This proved to be a bad decision the next morning...
Most of us ordered the filet and it was TO.DIE.FOR. I'm not much of a steak eater but wow this was amazing, best steak I've ever had by far. I'm sure everyone would highly recommend Woody's if anyone is up north looking for a great dinner!
Cute Shelton family pictures. Matt's dad (Mike), Stepmom (Linda), and his brother's kids from California, Ashley & Tyler. SO stinkin' cute!
A rehearsal dinner wouldn't be complete without speeches & toasts to the bride & groom.
This picture cracks me up - this is probably what Matt always looks like when Linda is talking. Haha, we love her!
Matt's mom Marsha talking about little "Matthew." :)
Matt gave a very heartfelt toast to his friends and beautiful bride.
Girl pic as we were leaving.
Of course, we can never go straight to bed after rehearsal dinners so we went back to the bar at the lodge to close it down (always a great idea at the time!)
I'm pretty sure the pre-dinner drinks and martinis were kicking in at this point.
I have absolutely zero pictures from Saturday during the day because Ashley & I laid in bed ALL day. I classified that as the worst hangover I've had in 2 years, yikes! BUT I didn't feel so bad since I don't ever just get to lay around anymore so I'll take what I can get.
We got up just in time to get ready and be at the wedding at 5pm. The wedding was beautiful but I didn't want to be annoying & have my loud camera going during the ceremony.
Their son Clayton is quite possibly the cutest little guy ever!
Kinley's future boyfriend?!
Cocktail hour with some of the guys.
Pretty girls
Wedding party photo before dinner
Then we danced the night away! And how gorgeous was Julie and her dress - the pictures just don't do it justice!
And Matt looked very handsome, too. :)
Matt's work buddies surrounded him at the end of the dollar dance and gave him quite a show!
Matt & his niece, so sweet!
Me and the barbie doll bride!
The reception ended around 11:30 so we decided it would be a good idea to close down the hotel bar AGAIN. Luckily, drinks weren't flowing as well that night so I felt fine the next day!
Reg and Jill
LOVE these two so much!! I think Scott & I need to remember our heals the next time!
I still have to laugh that before we left, I couldn't wait to catch up on sleep that weekend! I'm pretty sure I got less sleep than ever - 2 nights in a row of staying up until 2:30am! Oh well, it was so worth the fun time with great friends.
A big congrats to one of our favorite couples and wishes for a lifetime of happiness! I can't wait to hear all about the honeymoon!
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