A Ball Game and a Wedding

Eric and I got home from an absolutely awesome weekend this afternoon. Yes - it's Monday afternoon. So yes, it included taking a day off work... even if it was for the drive home. But that extra day helped make it perfect.

It started Saturday morning. We didn't actually need to leave until around noon, or so, which allowed us to leisurely get pack and get ready to go. In theory, anyway... still felt a little rushed, but that was just because we were trying to take care of some things before leaving. But we did manage to get Chicago bound right about noon.

After some stops along the way, we got into town and to the theWit a little after 4pm (CDT). Still one of my favorite hotels. And surprisingly, it was the cheapest in town when we booked it just a few weeks ago. But we didn't stay long before jumping on the 'L' to head down to the White Sox game. You read that right... White Sox, not Cubbies. I need to indulge Eric every so often, too. LoL

It ended up being Susan G. Komen night at Comiskey Park. So there was a lot of pre-game activities going on around the stadium. They even gave away a pretty nice pink scarf to ladies, so that was a nifty bonus (even if it does say 'Sox' on it). Eric and I got there before the first pitch, so we had a chance to walk around the stadium before settling into out seats. It was a very slow game to start, so we got up and did a another lap midway through the game. of course, that's when a homerun was hit. Figures. But the White Sox still lost to the Diamondbacks by a run. Regardless, it was a great night to be at a ballgame.

We headed back to the hotel and had a drink before calling it a night. While Sunday wasn't going to be an early morning, it was going to be a long day... it was The Wedding Day for his cousin, Travis and his Bride, Melissa.

Sunday morning, we got up and walked over to the Panera across from Millennium Park. Chicago has their SGK Race for the Cure on Mother's Day (which was Sunday), so we watched a lot of the participants walking back after the race. It was the perfect morning to be sitting outside, eating breakfast, practically on the park. Even if Eric was on his computer doing work stuff.

We strolled back to the hotel and packed up to head out. We had to drive from Chicago to St. Joseph, MI, and we were hoping to stop at Redamak's along the way. But that was after another stop Eric had in mind, Marquette Beach park in Gary, IN. We learned about a full restoration this park went through recently, including two historic building built back in the boom of the City's growth. Thought it would be worth checking out and it gave us a chance to see the lake, too. I still have a hard time calling it a beach - there's no salty breeze! It turned out to be well worth the stop - it was a beautiful park and the buildings were beautifully restored (and part of one still in progress). It was definitely a gem worth saving is the often crime ridden City. The whole area around it was surprisingly well kept and a bit of a gem of a neighborhood, too. So since we ended up driving around here a little longer than anticipated, we had no time to wait in the big crowd at Redamak's, which was a bummer. Next trip north, I guess.

We finally get to our hotel in St. Joe, only to find out our hotel room wasn't ready. But we had to get ready for the wedding that we had to leave for in a half hour. Thankfully, Eric's parents were able to check in right before us, so we were able to use their room to quickly get ready. Then it was off to the wedding at The Blue Dress Barn.

First off, The Blue Dress Barn is an absolutely awesome venue! I've been to 'barn weddings' before, but this one was truly restored to serve the purpose of an event venue. It had it separate little areas set up for the different pieces of a wedding (or other event, I suppose), it never felt crowded, and you never felt like you were in an old dairy barn (except for some initial unseasonably warm/humid weather we were experiencing that made it a little stuffy for the first part of the reception). What surprised me was how BIG it was! I guess since it was an old dairy barn, it had that larger footprint for all the cattle in the lower level (which we never saw - we were upstairs). Inside, they had it so shabby chic decorated and lit with lanterns and old chandeliers. And again, the space was huge!

So the wedding ceremony, itself, was outside in a little grassy area set up for the ceremony, with a nice path, leading to a staged area between to two old silos. I imagine if it was later in the spring, the area would have a lot of colorful flowers, but even without that, it was a very pretty backdrop. The bride was beautiful! When Travis first saw Melissa come out from the bridal suite with her dad, his expression was priceless - that of a man that truly loved the woman he was about to marry. It was so sweet. They were both so enamored by each other throughout the ceremony... it was, quite simply, perfect.

There were pictures galore - I can only imagine the amount of photos they'll be going through. They had a great photographer who was open to taking pictures at anyone's request, and had pictures of the wedding party taken all over the grounds. We even managed to get all the Strickland Family that was there together for a group photo with the bide and groom. After all of the pictures were taken outside, they finally made their way into the barn, and the full reception began.

I've yet to mention that both the bride and groom are professional chefs, trained at the NYC Culinary Institute of America. So - no pressure - we fully expected this to be a wedding with top notch food. And we all had quite a laugh when the bride and groom were the first to go to the buffet line of roasted pork and chicken (done on premises) and they both just smelled all of the food, first. They were very particular with the caterers, from what I was told. Not that we were surprised by that fact. And the food showed that fact. Yum!

We had a lot of the standard fare of ceremonial traditions post ceremony, from the first dances, to the toasts, to the cutting of the cake. But for us, it was more about the family. Some of Eric's cousins are spread all over, including Travis and Melissa, now, who just moved to CA a month or so ago. We caught up quite a bit with his side of the family that's out in CA, as well as some that were just down the road in Laporte. I love that weddings bring all the family together... just wish it didn't take a wedding to make it happen. But none the less, it's always a good time catching up with everyone.

While we weren't the last ones to head back to the hotel, there weren't too many left outside of our family when we left. So we said our good-byes, hugged everyone one last time before heading out, with promises of trips to see each other. Hopefully, that will happen. After all, I have family in CA, too, so that would make for a fun trip.