So if you’ve been keeping up here, you know that ol Pip went and got himself married this past weekend. The wife and I went back to my old stomping grounds of Bloomington, Indiana to partake in the festivities… and partake we did!
We rolled in on Friday evening just in time for the wedding rehearsal and dinner. The Pips decided to get married at a BEAUTIFUL facility on the south side of Bloomington called Deer Park Manor. I spent 4+ years in Bloomington and never even knew it was there. After the walk through was done, we headed to one of my favorite bars – Nick’s English Hut – for dinner. Pip/Lauren – AWESOME choice! Needless to say, the beer was flowing, the pizza was awesome and everyone had an awesome time.
A and I headed back to the hotel to get changed and then I ventured out to check out my old place of employment – The Bluebird. I’ve gotta tell you… no matter how long I’m away from that place and how many modifications they make to the building I absolutely fall in love with it as soon as I walk through the door. We were waiting to hear some Zombie (or Mummie) band play which sounded like they were gonna be awesome, but by the time we got there at like 11:00 they were DONE!!! Um… since when does the headliner go on at 9:00 on a Friday night in a college town? In any case, we decided that since we’d already paid the cover charge, we’d stick around until the next band came on. The appearance of the girl with the violin didn’t bode well, nor did the lead singer referring to it as a “fiddle” and after a couple of songs we were on the to the next bar (with nothing but the “appearance” of the fiddle girl to keep us motivated… WOW).
It was off to Kilroy’s Sports to finish off the night. Actually, by this point we were all getting a bit tired so we jetted and went looking for some food. Luckily Taco Bell was right next door and it was PRIME time for some tacos. Unfortunately, the higher-ups at Taco Bell never went to college, and don’t understand that if you put a Taco Bell next to a bar in a college town, the 1:00 to 3:00 AM time slot is going to be your busiest. Nope… closed at 1:00 AM. Fuckers. I settled for a slice of Rockits pizza which in retrospect was a great idea… LOVE IT.
Saturday was kind of a blur and not cause I drank too much the night before. We (the groomsmen) had on our schedule to be ready to be picked up from the hotel at 2:45 for pictures. So, A and I had a nice leisurely morning consisting of lunch with Pip & Kevin and then some pool/spa time. Talk about a perfect way to spend an early afternoon. We even had a chance to head over to the jewelry store where I bought her engagement ring to have it spiffed up. The leisure stopped at around 2:15 as I was getting out of the shower. I received a call on my cell from the wedding coordinator asking me where the hell we were. Apparently we were supposed to be down there at 2:15 rather than 2:45. Oops. Needless to say, I did the flight of the bumblebee and got my ass ready and downstairs in record time.
Pictures were up first. Everyone looked pretty damn good if I do say so myself, but we were all left in the dust by Lauren. Holy LORD did she look awesome. We took a ton of pics on campus and with the leaves in their peak of color they should be absolutely amazing. As you may know, Pip’s a HUGE Beatles fan so I wanted to share just one of the pics that we took.
How’s that for an awesome picture! I tell you what… I’ve got new found respect for professional photographers. It definitely was NOT easy to get this shot. Between us walking in a straight line, being on the same step, stopping traffic and not getting people in the background I was shocked we managed to get it in only a few takes. Needless to say, I can’t wait to see how the rest of them turn out.
The rest of the afternoon was an absolute blur. We took about another our or so of pictures and then it was off to the park for the ceremony and the reception. Both Matt and Lauren gave AWESOME vows which they’d written themselves. I really do hope someone was taping then when they said them cause damn were they great. I managed to mumble my way through a toast to the happy couple and then it was off to the dance floor for the rest of the night. As I said in a previous post, Pip and I were ready to roll and had no choice to get out there and rip it up when Footloose came on. On a side note… dancing like an idiot to the Footloose theme burns about a billion calories per song and leads to intense sweating. I’ve heard that they’ll be adding it to P90X shortly.
After the reception, everyone filed onto the shuttle buses to get us back to the hotel. On the way out, the 5-0 rolled in with a couple of cruisers… yep… the cops had been called on Pip and Lauren’s wedding. Apparently we were just too darn loud. Luckily we were done so it was a non-issue. A was wiped but a few folks headed back to the Bluebird for some more live music (a kick ass Prince tribute band). Incidentally… when did the bars in Bloomington start staying open until 3:00 AM? Pretty sure I wouldn’t have made it through college if this was the case back in the day. 2:00 AM was plenty late for me.
All in all, it was an absolutely amazing weekend. We did hit a bit of a snag on the way out of town when A quite literally ripped her toenail off but that’s another post for another time.
Pip, Lauren… congratulations again. We had an absolute blast and feel truly blessed that we were able to share in your special day. See you soon… talk to you sooner. Love you guys.
Couldn’t have said it better myself brother! Thanks to you and the lovely wife for making the trip, can’t wait to share the rest of the pics with you guys!!!