Thursday, July 1, 2010

Before and After: The Wedding

Now that I'm back at my desk in City Hall, I feel like my time at home for my brother Derek's wedding was a dream or something.

But I have pictures to prove that it really did happen...

Before the long flight: At Narita Airport in Japan

I ran into my friends Chiharu and Michael! They lived in Iwate prefecture last year, but then moved to Scotland, where Michael is from. They came back to northern Japan to visit, but I was sad that it didn't work out for me to see them. Then lo and behold, there they were at the airport! So I got to see them after all. :)

After the long flight: Finally able to hug my family after 18 months!!!

At this point, I'd been traveling for approximately 26 hours (train, night bus, another train, plane, another plane), and boy was it great to finally be in Indy! I was highly emotional as well as highly sleep-deprived. Actually, the last six days can be described that way.

Of course it was totally worth it and crazy/exciting to be home. I saw lots of friends & family, ate lots of home-cooked food, and gave lots of hugs.

It was an honor to be a bridesmaid in the wedding, and I'm very glad I got to be a part of the big day.

Before the Ceremony: Hanging out "behind the scenes" with Brittney

She is sooo gorgeous! And I absolutely love that dress. :) What a long train!

After the Ceremony: Family picture with the married (!!) couple

After the wedding we all headed to an elegantly decorated reception area, where we danced, socialized and ate...homemade wedding cake!

THE CAKE: Before assembly:

See all those cakes and all those blue sugar flowers? My mom made them all. She is amazing like that.

After assembly: Both beautiful AND delicious!

What a work of art and a labor of love.

After the trip: The return journey back was pretty uneventful--no problems at all, just like the trip there. I made some friends from Quebec who sat beside me on the plane, and a friend from India. (One of the things I love most about traveling is meeting such diverse people.) I've enjoyed showing friends in Japan pictures from the wedding, and I passed out candy from the rehearsal dinner to all of my co-workers.

It was so nice to spend some time with my family, and I wish Derek and Brittney a long, happy marriage. :)

1 comment:

Lauren said...

Daaayna,
I am so glad that I got to see you! The wedding looked like it was beautiful! I love the cake and think that I will have your mom make mine someday!