Adieu to Kalamazoo

My cousin, Teri, got married recently and it made for one fast weekend. We left Oklahoma at about 10 o’clock in the morning, after taking Sherlock for a ride because we found him climbing in the front window of the Jetta.  Clearly, he did not like that he was being left behind. We drove pretty much straight through to St. Louis, stopping for a couple potty breaks along the way before stopping for dinner at the Hard Rock Café.  All I could do was compare it to the ones in Europe, since that was my only experience with the HRCs.  It was small, and didn’t have as much memorabilia as the one in Florence.  However, it was very similar to the one I ate at in Barcelona, so there’s that.  The food was fantastic regardless!

We made it all the way to Bloomington, Illinois before we stopped for the night.  We stayed at a Double Tree Hotel and walked what felt like a mile to get to our room.  I’m pretty sure we went down three full length hallways before we even got to ours.  And the elevator was on the other end of the hotel from our room, which definitely made the stay interesting.

The next morning, we got up, ate breakfast at Panera Bread, and hit the road to Kalamazoo. Thankfully, we were only about 4 hours away at this point, which was nice.  And the people on the road were averaging about 90 mph, even though the speed limit was 55, so we made great time. Unfortunately, we also had to drive through construction on the outskirts of Chicago, so 4 hours got to be a little longer.  We finally got to the hotel at about 4 pm (Oklahoma time) and dad got in line to check in. It was a very busy weekend for the hotel. 

They had 900 people check out that morning and 250 were checking in.  Half of the rooms weren’t even clean yet.  However, we had to give it to the staff as they were doing a great job considering the circumstances.  The valets were running from place to place, trying to make sure everyone was covered and got a cart for their luggage and whatnot.  By the time we got up to the room, it was 430 (still in Oklahoma time) and we thought we had some time to sit down before we had to be at the rehearsal dinner.  However, then we realized there was a time change.  It was 530pm Kalamazoo time and the dinner started at 6.  No sitting down for us.

We were fashionably late to the rehearsal dinner, but so was most everyone else.  It was in a dueling pianos bar near the hotel and was filled with people by the end of the night.  It was really great to see the family again, although I didn’t really get the chance to talk to Teri, the cousin who was getting married.  The drinks were great, the food was fantastic, and the company was alright (it was awesome). We talked, we laughed, I met my uncle for the second time, and then I was exhausted.  Two days of driving made for a very tired family.  We went back to the hotel and I worked on some homework before we went to bed for the night. 

Here's that uncle I mentioned.

The next day dawned wedding day.  Thankfully, it wasn’t until 3pm, so we slept in and then went to the nearby mall to walk around and get our legs moving.  We had a light lunch at Olive Garden and had the most amazing waiter.  He kept our drinks full, checked on us frequently, and had a fantastic personality.  Definitely wish we could have more of those back here in Oklahoma. 

The Hindu wedding ceremony came first, which was on the roof of a building, in the 50 degree, windy Michigan weather.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day, sunny and no clouds, but it was definitely a shock after leaving 90+ degree Oklahoma. Thankfully, I was smart enough to wear some fleece lined legging with my dress and to bring a jacket with me to the ceremony.  Most of the other girls there were not quite so smart.  There were many girls in their short dresses and high heels and little lace shawls trying to huddle together on the roof to keep warm.  I was relatively comfortable though!

It was a beautiful ceremony, although the Hindu priest was rather clueless, along with the rest of the wedding party.  He didn’t show up in Michigan until the morning of, and even the Indian people present said that he was rather scattered throughout the ceremony.  Dad (mine, not hers) got to walk the bride down the aisle.  Apparently it’s some sort of tradition that no one knew about beforehand. Dad was certainly surprised!  My cousin didn’t even get to see her wedding sari until she was putting it on, but it was absolutely gorgeous.  I have no idea what was happening in the ceremony, but it was still fun to watch.

After the Hindu ceremony was over, we headed across the street for a cocktail hour while the bride and groom got changed.  I’m pretty sure the poor bartenders served a couple hundred Moscow Mules, as that was Teri’s favorite drink.  I’m really surprised they didn’t run out of ginger beer and vodka!  They also had some fantastic little snacks going around during this, which was both good and bad.  The snacks themselves were delicious and authentic Indian foods, for the most part.  However, they were so good and in such easy supply that I definitely ate more of them than I should have.  No regrets, though!

Next, we went upstairs for the Christian ceremony and reception.  Again, Teri’s dress was absolutely gorgeous and the food was amazing.  At that point, it was more or less like almost every wedding reception.  There was an open bar, an ice cream bar, and a late-night mac-and-cheese bar, although we left before the mac-and-cheese bar got set up.  I was so full at that point, though, that I’m not sure I could have eaten any more food!

The Wedding Party

They had also set up a really cool photo booth for the guests, along with a bunch or hats and decorations for people to use when taking the pictures.  People would leave one half for the bride and groom and take the other half for themselves, which I thought was a great idea.  Oh, and my cousin Tommy put on one of those blow-up T-rex costumes and started wreaking havoc, including tearing down a string of lights.  At that point, we left since we had to drive all the way back to Oklahoma the next day, but we heard that the party lasted until at least two in the morning, travelling to a couple different bars along the way.

Guess which one's my cousin Tommy!

We ate breakfast with the family the next morning before hitting the road, which was an adventure unto itself with the Moses clan.  People bustling this way and that trying to get the food on the buffet, get everyone drinks, take care of the trash, make coffee and mimosas, and just generally getting things done and getting in the way at the same time.  It wouldn’t be an event with the Moses family without a little chaos! 

Unfortunately, after breakfast, we had to start our 14 hour drive back home so I could get to class for my presentation the next day.  And work on homework in the car along the way. And try to make sure my group members were doing their part.  Oh, and work on my part of the presentation. It honestly wasn’t that bad of a drive on the way home.  It felt shorter than on the way up, so that was nice.  Especially considering we drove straight through. 

The happily married couple at another 

ceremony the next day!