Text About Tucson, Arizona 30.06.
Last Thursday morning (4:30am) we left for Kelly’s wedding in Tucson, Arizona. We actually missed our flight (10 minutes late for baggage) but caught a plane 45 minutes later…so no biggie. We got in Tucson in the afternoon and my girlfriends picked Andy and I up from the airport. My friends and I haven’t all been together in 6 years…but it was as if we were never separated.
Thursday night was the bachelorette party. Kim, Dana, Alicia, Andy and I went to pick up favors and stuff while Kelly ran last minute errands. We spent $90 on penis paraphernalia and it was pretty hilarious. The night started pretty quick and after playing games such as “Pin the Junk on the Hunk” we went downtown to a bar called O’Malley’s. They had an awesome band called 80s and Gentlemen that played 80s covers. It was a lot of fun. Unfortunately after a day of flying and only 3 hours of sleep, I wasn’t feeling so hot most of the day and drinking didn’t help. I started getting super tired around 1am (3am Alabama time) and Andy and I headed back to Kelly’s house (where all the girls were staying). Around 3:45 am the rest of the girls came home and it was absolutely hilarious listening to their conversations. Andy and I lay in bed laughing for an hour before everyone seemed to quiet down.
The next morning, I felt much better and woke up well rested. I did feel bad for cutting out early, so I cleaned up the kitchen from the night before…omg it was a MESS! By that time, everyone was up and we headed to Jerry Bob’s for breakfast. Such great food…I love diners! I wish Huntsville had a 24 hour yummy diner. After a delicious breakfast, most everyone wanted to go take a nap. Andy and I wanted to explore the city since we really had no other time other than now. So we drove the rental car (and Kim has a Tom Tom) and went back downtown again. There were so many cute shops! There was only one record store nearby, Toxic Ranch Records, which specializes in punk…it was awesome! We actually found a copy of The Panic Buttons “Alabamalama” sealed. Always nice to see reminders of home. We only had an hour to walk around before we headed back to Kelly’s to get ready for the rehearsal and dinner. The dinner came first and it was a BBQ at Joel’s (the groom) dad’s house. The food was fabulous and the company was nice. The families mingled nicely and I was happy to still be with my friends…seriously, it felt like a dream seeing them days in a row.
The rehearsal went well…honestly, they are always kinda boring, but certainly necessary. Friday night was tame for most of us. Kim and a few of the guys that weren’t in the wedding party went out and apparently had a crazy night, but the rest of us went to bed. Again, it was much needed sleep cause the next day was starting bright and early!
Saturday began at 7am. Kelly was already up and bustling about getting last minute things together for the day. I gathered my camera equipment and took a moment to myself to think about the day that was ahead of me. Watching, through the lens, one of my very best friends get married!
All of the ladies arrived at the salon between 8 and 9. I began snapping as soon as they hit the chairs. After the hair appointments, Dana and I swing back by the house to pick up things to take to the church. After loading the car, we head to the church where 1pm was fast approaching. I had some time to get the dress shots and pre wedding shots before kissing Kelly an early congrats and settling into place. For a Catholic wedding, it went by pretty fast. Maybe because I was counting by shutter presses. Joel’s godfather, Randy, was actually shooting the wedding as well…which I was so thankful for. His wife sang most of the songs throughout the ceremony, so he had a great vantage point. I covered everything from out front. Another nice thing about Randy was he was more than willing to take ALL of the family shots (which took an hour and a half) and I could take care of the bridal/groom party shots. Especially since he had a computer to download the images to during the three hour break before the reception. I had a bit over 20gigs before I’d have to call quits and I knew it was going to be a long night.
After all of the photos, the bride, groom, and their parties went to an authentic Mexican restaurant…I have no idea what it was called. Those made for some excellent photos! We killed an hour there before we needed to prepare for the reception.
The reception FLEW by but was tons of fun! The entrances were funny, the toasts were tearful and well spoken, the dances were precious, the cake was good, the drinking games with Pop (Kelly’s grandpa) were amusing, the walk in cooler was refreshing (lol), the other dancing was a riot and there were nothing but smiles, happy tears, and shouts of joy! It was truly a blessing to witness Kelly marry the man of her dreams and to be surrounded by all of the friends that helped shape each other was a miracle. We have all spread ourselves across the country, but to have an event to bring us all back together was the most amazing thing to capture.
The party continued at Kelly’s house after the reception. While the newlyweds got a hotel room, the rest of the friends (Joel’s included this time) stayed at the house. Which might not have been the best idea haha. Unfortunately, Andy and I have a cab arranged to pick us up at 4:30am to go to the airport, so it’s lights out for us soon after getting back to the house. Or so we thought. Alicia and Steve start a small icing fight in the kitchen which escalates into Dana and Pat smashing huge handfuls of cake all over each other. And everywhere! It was all over the walls, the floors, the bathroom, their hair, face, body, underwear…everywhere. While it was disrespectful, Dana and Pat totally cleaned it up the next day. But that hour of Cake War made for hilarious pictures.
Sunday was a bittersweet goodbye. Well, we actually said the goodbyes Saturday night, so it was a little easier to actually leave since everyone was still asleep. We arrive to the airport to find our flight had been delayed 45 minutes, so we got put on a later flight from Atlanta. Unfortunately, the flight left Tucson 15 minutes late and arrives with us only having 10 minutes to spare for our next flight…and of course the doors are already shut so we are screwed. We get booked on a 6pm flight (I woke up at 4am and took a $50 cab ride for this?!) and get put on a waiting list for a 4:15 flight. It’s only 3pm, so I plop down in the waiting area with high hopes to get home sooner than later. I swear I willed us onto that plane because at the last second there were two seats available. We shout with joy and practically skip onto the plane.
Ah, no place like home…that’s for sure. While it was the most fun I had in a long time, it’s always good to put your feet up on your own coffee table. You can bet there will be loads of photographs from this trip as I had several cameras along. Some I have to upload, others scan in but I hope to do it relatively quick.
For now, I have some quotes that need to be written down:
“Oh, it’s just a dry heat” (eff that!!! It’s still hot…if not hotter. You know what else has a dry heat? My oven…and I don’t wanna just hang out in there. To each their own, and I prefer humidity.)
“Yeah Boiiiiiiiiii!” (Pat, after everything)
“Is the swamp cooler on in here?” (Seriously, do those things really work?! I missed how cold the air can feel from the air conditioner lol)
“Gotta air out my wobbly parts” (Dana, referring to her vagina while we were standing in the walk in cooler, sucking in cold air)
“You gotta see cake farts!” (um…have you seen it??)
“100% WALK AWAY!” (Kim got rental insurance on the car and that’s what the guy at the counter told her…this was screamed a lot during the trip)