Wedding fun!

In one last pre-finals hoorah I was in Des Moines (yet again!) for our friends Greg & Kat's wedding this past weekend. It was Smiens-family-wedding fun!! (Anyone who has experienced that knows that's really saying something!!) We had the best time - the ceremony and reception were out at Jester Park lodge just outside of DSM (near Saylorville lake), and the weather could not have been more perfect! It was rainy all day friday until their rehearsal then it was sunny, it was gorgeous all day Saturday and then Sunday morning and then rained the rest of sunday! It was like the only sun we saw was when they needed it nice for the wedding!! The ceremony was outside and from the pics below you can see the view was pretty gorgeous! Greg is a good friend of Brendan's from undergrad and med school and a former roommie from 4 Valley (he's actually the one who first told me of their open room at the house when I was moving to IC, and the rest, as they say, is history!). Anyhow, a lot of their med school friend were able to make it back for the wedding and because so many of Greg and Brendan's friends all went to Iowa for undergrad together the friend group is quite 'incestuous' not as in they all sleep together ;) but as in friends from high school and college and med school all know each other and the interconnections are pretty crazy (as in Greg's best guy friend from back home in South Dakota married Brendan's best girl friend from back home in Clinton; I met Greg and ultimately Brendan because they were friends with Ryan in undergrad at Iowa who is married to Ashley who is my friend from UNI who I met through Karlee who then met Kat because Karlee and I lived a block from Greg & Kat in IC and now lives in DSM where Greg & Kat have lived the last year -oh and Karlee also lived with Ashley back in college...). Anyway, it makes for really, really fun get togethers!! So anyhow, we had an absolute blast at the wedding and went out for a bit afterwards downtown DSM. Sunday was also a great time as we got to spend some more time with some friends who we hadn't seen for awhile (basically making a beer tour of downtown des moines while avoiding the rain!). It was alittle sad to say good bye to everyone because we just had such a great time seeing everyone. It's really hard now that everyone is spread across the country (literally), but it is so wonderful they all make the effort to get together. The wedding was gorgeous - I loved everything about it and seriously the reception I could have just plopped myself into and been happy if it were my own - it was that similar to my tastes! So that was fun! Plus she didn't do a bouquet toss, which I thoroughly appreciate as one of the few remaining 'single-ladies' (btw if anyone is planning a wedding that song is seriously overused for that purpose, so do your single friends a favor and just don't!) Ok, well I am at the library and I'd better get to the lectures! We have a few more days of class and then finals next week! I will post my schedule for the next month on the sidebar for y'all. Hope everyone had a great weekend!! Enjoy the pics below! The rest are on facebook for those of you who are members :)

Brendan & Me (he was in the wedding - hence the very dapper suit!)


Me & the bride


Me & the groom (I know i'm tall but i don't think Jensen needed to stand on a chair to take this!)


Karlee, Me, & Ashley


Sunset at Jester Park