The Breuers: Paige & Courtney's Wedding

Last weekend Paige and Courtney got married! The wedding was in DC, where they live. Joseph, Lola, and I traveled there, as well as my parents, who generously volunteered to babysit while we attended wedding events.

Lola and I flew up Thursday morning so that we could spend a little extra time in DC. We arrived around noon, and my parents (who drove from Pittsburgh) picked us up at the airport. We checked in at the hotel in Dupont Circle. Thankfully it was a Residence Inn, so each room had a separate living room and kitchen. I much prefer Lola to sleep in a separate room from us. We attempted to get a nap in, but due to the new environment and Lola's history of not sleeping well while traveling, we failed. So I called it quits and decided to head out to visit the Jacksons in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Of course Lola fell asleep about halfway through the 30-minute drive. I knew she was exhausted, so I let her sleep in the car while I went inside for a bit (don't worry, I checked on her often). Then Kelly brought Natalie and Ryan outside to play so we could wait for Lola to wake up. I eventually woke her up after about an hour. Natalie was just so excited to play with her, I couldn't make her wait any longer :) It was beautiful weather, and we enjoyed hanging out in both the front yard and back yard. Natalie also showed Lola all of her toys in the playroom. Natalie is 5, so a good bit older than Lola, so they didn't exactly "play" together, but I think they had fun. Dave came home and cooked kebabs on the grill, and then we had a lovely dinner on their patio. I had a great time catching up with Kelly and Dave, and it was nice to see Natalie and Ryan - they had both grown so much since I last saw them in October.

We made it back to the hotel around 8, and bedtime didn't go too badly. But Lola woke up around 1 and didn't go back to sleep until 4:30. It was exhausting. I tried everything, but she did not want to sleep. Eventually she feel asleep in bed with me. She progressively got better throughout the trip, but she still never slept through the night. I'm hoping she gets better at traveling sometime soon.

Friday morning we got up and had breakfast downstairs with my parents. Then we got ready and took the metro to Smithsonian area. We walked to the tidal basin to see the cherry blossoms; unfortunately most of the blossoms had fallen, but it was still beautiful. We checked out the Jefferson Memorial, and then we headed back to the metro. Mom, Lola, and I went to the church for a flower-arranging lunch with Paige. I didn't help too much with the arranging since we had to get Lola back to nap, but it was great to see Paige and hang out for a bit. I can't believe she tackled her flowers on her own, but they turned out beautifully.

Lola took a wonderful nap, so I rested a bit and then got ready for the rehearsal. Joseph arrived just as I was leaving. Paige didn't have bridesmaids (just her sister as maid of honor), but I was tasked with the duty of "wedding coordinator", meaning I had to tell people when to walk down the aisle. The rehearsal went well, and my job didn't seem too complicated. Paige and Courtney hosted a welcome dinner for everyone that night at a house they rented. It was a very unique house, with lots of levels and stairs and a pool on the roof. We had a great time - there was delicious food, good drinks, and lots of interesting people to talk to.

Saturday was the big day! We had planned on going back to the museum area to walk around, but there was a huge Earth Day concert, so we were afraid of the crowds. Instead we walked over to Rose Park (which is where Paige and Courtney got engaged) and played at the awesome playground. Then we walked around Georgetown and had lunch.

The wedding was at 3 at the Episcopal Catholic Church. Everything went perfectly! Paige looked absolutely stunning. She wore her grandmother's dress, which had also been worn by two of her aunts. She had some alterations done to make it a bit more modern, and it was beautiful. The reception was at the Dumbarton House, which is a historic house in Georgetown. We had cocktails in the garden, and then dinner and dancing in the ballroom. We had the honor of sitting with the DePetros (Pam, Arnie, Heather, Mike, Vince, & Violet), and we enjoyed chatting with them. We also met a lot of Paige's DC friends both nights, and we loved talking with them - most have government jobs, so they lead completely different lives than us tech nerds. After the wedding we went out to a few bars, and Paige and Courtney joined us for a while. We were only out until midnight or so, but it felt so late! I haven't been out like that in a while.

It was such a wonderful weekend - the weather was perfect, all of the wedding events were so much fun, and Paige and Courtney looked extremely happy. Congratulations!!