Marci & Scott. A Garden Wedding.

We spent another weekend in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the last of three weddings that La served as "flower girl" in this summer.

Marci and Scott were married on Friday. The weather had to be perfect. This was essential as the wedding and reception were both entirely outdoors, and there WAS NO BACKUP PLAN. I think for the last few months Aunt M has lost sleep over the possibility of rain on Marci's wedding day, being that there WAS NO BACKUP PLAN (did I mention that already?) Because WHO THE HECK plans an OUTDOOR wedding with NO BACKUP PLAN?

... but Marci kept assuring us not to worry, that it would not rain. Because apparently she knows these things.



Well, she was right. Friday and Saturday were probably the two most beautiful days of the entire summer.

And Marci was stunning, as we all knew she would be.



Marci's bridal party consisted of Aunt M, who was the maid of honor, Stephanie, myself, and La. All of us (except for La of course) have been friends since grade school.



Marci wore a birdcage veil that suited her just perfectly.

Gorgeous.



Marci and Scott were married in the Hungarian Garden of the Cleveland Cultural Gardens. It was a beautiful little ceremony in a perfect little garden. They wrote their own vows, which were touching and personal and just so sweet.



Like I said, the garden was gorgeous, as you can see below. I love this photo because you can see the beauty of the garden as well as the sheer panic in Anthony's face. He could not get away from La fast enough. I wish I had video of this shot because La was chasing after him yelling in her loudest, most obnoxious voice, "ANT-O-NEEE! ANT-O-NEEE! WAAAAIIIIITTTT FOR MEEEEE!" ... Poor thing. That boy deserves a medal.



La was truly in her element in that garden. I'm sure that if I had allowed her, she would have moved her princess bed right onto the flagstone floor, hung her mosquito net from a branch, and hammered her Marilyn Monroe poster right into a tree trunk.

Right at home, I tell ya.



Grandpa was enjoying himself too. Isn't he the cutest sitting there holding my bouquet? Awww. Gramps. Pink flowers suit you quite marvelously.



After the Friday reception there was a delicious dinner at Lolita in Tremont for close friends of the bride and groom. (the official reception was the next day at Marci's parents' home).

Lolita is one of my favorite Cleveland-area restaurants (my absolute fave being Blue Canyon Kitchen and Tavern in case you're wondering). The menu was to-die-for. For starters, there was the spicy tomato bisque or the arugula and goat cheese salad. The second course was steamed mussels or a sopressata plate (a type of cured salami). The dinner options were Hanger Steak, Lamb Steak, Grilled Trout, or Macaroni with Rosemary, Goat Cheese and Chicken ... And then there was dessert.

Whoa. It was delicious. La ate more than I have ever seen her eat in her whole life. She ordered every course and ate almost everything.

Then she started playing bride with the other little girl at our table. The two of them were so cute playing together. Until they knocked down the fancy curtains. Four times.



After dinner, we went out in Tremont. It's a very cool little neighborhood, and the bars are pretty fun. We spent a good portion of the evening sitting at a bar table trying to imitate La's sideways-smile "Stink Eye" face that she makes in photos:



See? Steph and Aunt M both got it pretty spot-on if you ask me.



It was a fantastic day and wonderful evening. The next day was equally as great. The problem is that I'm on vacation and did not bring any of the photos from the Saturday reception. Bummer. I don't know when I'll be able to post those. Maybe in a week or two.

But the good news is that I'm on vacation! Woop Woop! And now I'm going out to the pool.