Sweetest Day

My boyfriend, Brandon, flew to Texas on Thursday night for our big weekend in Houston. We worked until around noon on Friday, and then left for our road trip to Houston to see our friends Jessica and Eric get married.

We got to Houston a little after Shawna, Oliver, and Vincent (who we were sharing a hotel room with on Friday night), and then we all got ready for the rehearsal dinner at Gravitas restaurant.

Rehearsal Dinner pictures:

(Eric, Jessica)

(Me, Brandon)

(Vincent, Shawna, Oliver)

The food at Gravitas was delicious! There was a slideshow of Jessica and Eric through the years, and everyone came up to me and told me how happy they were that I hooked up Eric and Jessica last September. I'm so happy for them to find love on my couch, and I've been there for all the milestones (well, not ALL), but the day they met, their first kiss, and now their wedding. I wish I had been invited to Costa Rica for the proposal, but oh well... :)

On Saturday, we enjoyed the free omelette bar at the Embassy Suites, and then we went shopping at the Galleria. Around 1:00, we started getting ready for the wedding. They got married at 2:00 PM at Holy Rosary Catholic Church. The wedding was really pretty, and it was my first Catholic wedding, so that was cool. My 2nd Catholic wedding is in less than 2 weeks, so I'm ready!

Here's a picture of me and Brandon in front of the fountain at the church:

The reception was at Hotel Icon, which is a beautiful, historic hotel in downtown Houston. The reception was so much fun, and the food was delicious! They had a 5 course meal! Also, there was a belly dancer, and I forgot to take pictures, but Jessica is Egyptian, and I think that's one of their customs. It was hilarious b/c both sets of parents got on the dance floor and tried it. So fun! I'll post the pics in a few weeks from the professional photographer.

Here is a picture of their first dance:

And here is a pic of Brandon and me with Jessica and Eric.

We had such a wonderful time! Everyone but Brandon and I came back to Austin on Saturday night, so we got the hotel room to ourselves for a night! Unfortunately, his flight to go back to Cincinnati was on Sunday, so we got up, went to lunch, and then I dropped him off at the airport.

I made it back to Austin around 5:00 PM on Sunday, and then watched the Dallas Cowboys lose a heartbreaking game to my least favorite team in the world, the Redskins! Damnit.

Now for my favorite Brandon moment of the weekend:

He started telling a story about a holiday called "Sweetest Day," which is celebrated on October 18th in Ohio. Has anyone heard of this day before? In Ohio, it's just like Valentine's Day, according to Brandon. He said it's on calendars and everything. We were dying laughing. No one at our table had ever heard of this fake holiday. So if any of you guys want to validate Brandon's holiday, let me know. I would never say no to an extra day of flowers and chocolates, but it's funny that only Ohio celebrates! :)

I'm off to Tampa in the morning for two and a half days, before heading to Ohio and then NY. Hope you guys had an awesome weekend! If you went to the music festival in Austin, let me know how it was!