Carlsbad weekend

Some peeps who follow me on twitter know that my weekend was full of wedding festivities.  It was so fun to get away for a few days and celebrate the marriage of close friends. 

Last August, David was one of Kyle’s groomsmen…and this time around Kyle was in David’s wedding party. 

Backing up to Thursday real quick. 

 

This was mostly a day of recovery for me.  My neck and back were still achy, so shopping and packing were my “exercise” for the day.  The reason the bed is a mess is because I freaked out realizing I had nothing to wear for the wedding and had to make a last minute BCBG run.  That place is usually my go-to dress store.  I love love love the way the dresses fit.  Unfortunately nothing caught my eye…but I wound up finding a nice option at Nordstrom.  It was far cheaper than BCBG too.  Win!  I’ll share more pics later.

 

Thursday night we drove down to San Clemente to stay with Kyle’s fam for the night.  I managed to hot tub time machine my neck and back into shape and the next morning I was feeling almost normal.

 

I had some loot already packed for the weekend (just in cases), but Kyle’s dad had extra vegan goodies for me to take as well.  So sweet! 

After we got to the Hyatt Aviara on Friday morning Kyle went surfing with the boys and I putzed around the hotel. 

This hotel is no freakin’ joke.  GORGEOUS!

I read on the balcony, which overlooked one of the pools…and snacked (apple, Athenos roasted red pepper hummus and Mary’s Gone crackers).  I also did some yoga in the room, “laps” in the pool, and walked to the beach.  FYI, walking to the beach wasn’t the simple stroll I thought it was going to be.  It took 45 minutes just to get to the ocean and I got completely sunburned since my pool time washed off all my sunscreen.  Dumba$$.  I had to call Kyle to come pick me up after walking halfway back to the hotel because I realized the sun was scorching the bejeezus out of my vampire skin.

I enjoyed this brewsky while taking a bubble bath.  There was also more hummus involved.  I felt like I was auditioning for the ghetto version of Real Housewives of Orange County. 

We managed to clean up for the rehearsal dinner. 

The rehearsal dinner was at The Beach House.  Wouldn’t you know it, it was on the beach!? 

Not the most vegan of options, but they were able to make it work.  I’m not saying it was the best meal ever, but it was an effort…and I appreciated it. 

Caesar salad (minus Caesar dressing and parmesan cheese).

Rice with sautéed bok choy and coconut milk rice. 

The after party was the really fun part, and since I wasn’t the bride, I was able to stay up with everyone this time. 

The wifeys.  Pretty much all of Kyle’s friends are now married.  Couple-ville up in hurrr.

Not sure what was so funny here, but it may have something to do with the next photo on the camera?

Eventually everyone went to bed (or passed out). 

I woke up far earlier than I wanted to on Saturday, but luckily I had nada to do the entire day. 

Kyle’s groomsman duties officially began at 2:45 in the afternoon (pretty sure they started boozing by 3 pm).  I hung by the pool and eventually got dressed.

Somehow we all ended up pre-gaming together (again) before the wedding.

And then it was marriage time!

 

Random facts: Kyle and Dave were neighbors growing up…and now Dave and Rachel happen to live 3 blocks away from us in Santa Monica. 

This was my first Jewish wedding and it was AWESOME.  There was a huppah, they smashed the glass, we all yelled Mazel Tov, they did the Hava Nagila – so much fun!! 

I discovered a few new fave drinks over the course of the night.  This was probably not the best news for my Sunday, but oh well.  Cucumber gin gimlets, I love you. 

More girly time 🙂

First dance.  Followed by first course. 

Carrot = vegetarian meal.

Salad with spinach, pears, sautéed red onions, candied walnuts gorgonzola cheese crumbles and a balsamic dressing.  I just worked around the cheese.  It was yummy, especially the walnuts. 

Portabella mushroom with layers of squash and some kind of corn grits thing (?), topped with asparagus, sprouts, and marinara sauce.  The sauce was really awesome but also pretty salty.  I could have taken a bath in the grits thing.  It was pretty stellar for a catered veggie option. 

I didn’t have cake (nor did I even see it) because I was gettin’ busy on the dance floor.  We were all shakin’ it all. night. long. 

After the wedding shut down at 11, we went to the hotel’s game room.  Free access to foosball, air hockey, dance dance revolution, pool, shuffle board, etc.  Ummm, heaven?  I’m a bit of a tomboy, I know, but this was exactly what I wanted to do when midnight came along.  I don’t think I won a single game due to my alcohol induced slowed reflexes. 

I’m not sure on the exact timing, but it was confirmed that we were still partying at 2:30 am, so I don’t think I went to bed until 3ish.  Hmmm.

This is the only photo I have from Sunday.  We had brunch with the wedding party at a way-too-early hour, but I couldn’t find my camera at that time. 

Needless to say, a Starbucks stop on the way home was very necessary. 

This weekend was SO much fun.  It brought back all the awesome memories from my own wedding, and just reminded me how lucky I am to have a great husband and fun friends.  Now that’s worth celebrating!