This Hollman family is all married off now! Its fun to see how each of them ended up (and I'm glad I get to be half of the middle one!). When Drew and I got married we were first. Neither Chris nor Susie had yet met their future spouses and so we got to be along for the journey. This past November Chris and Erica were the last to tie the knot. That saying "best for last" maybe applies here if their level of affection is any indication.
We met Erica last January. We knew Chris had been dating her awhile, but we finally got to meet her when they came for Owen's 4th birthday party. We'd never seen Chris so lovestruck. They made eyes at each other all weekend and could barely keep their hands off each other. Drew and I both went to bed one night saying "we're we like that? We were never like that were we? They are like puppies!" we said it in the best possible way-- there is something so pure about love in the early stages of a relationship.
Flash forward nearly a year and these two were headed to the altar! In a whirlwind proposal and wedding, they went from dating, to engaged, to married on November 7th. It was a fantastic day, and two of my boys were front and center, Drew as best man and Owen as the ring bearer.
For awhile Owen confused ring bearer with a "honey bear" and was convinced his job had something to do with honey. He was pleased. When I finally figured out his confusion and had to tell him there was no honey involved he was myphed and disconcerted. How much fun could a wedding be without honey?
Turns out it was a great time. At the time I was so miserably sick because of this pregnancy but we hadn't told anyone yet so I was working to hide it. I failed (more on that later on). All the boys were anxious and proud to be part of such a great moment in Chris and Erica's life.
At the rehearsal Owen performed his job well and didn't complain at all about the lack of honey. He had his pillow, fake rings and knew how to get down the aisle. It didn't hurt that there was a flower girl who was older and fun, and Owen, always the social butterfly was keen to keep up with her.
Erica, as usual, shined at the rehearsal. I would say that she was brimming with excitement, except for thats not out of the ordinary. I always see her brimming with excitement. I think she's been riding along on cloud 9 since they got engaged. It was fun to see so much joy and catch a bit of it, it was rather contagious.
After the rehearsal the boys went back to Chris's house (what used to be Drew's parents house) and I joined the girls at the hotel since I was in with the group going to the salon in the morning (I'm always down for getting my hair done by someone else whenever possible!). Just as soon as we got to the hotel Chelle stopped in with strawberries and champagne, and since there was just the four of us, and I wasn't drinking they called me out on being pregnant quickly. So the cat was out of the bag, although I asked that they keep quiet until the wedding weekend was over.
The next morning we ate breakfast in the hotel and headed to the salon. Erica was bouncing around, literally, and so excited! Here's some pre photos at the salon.
And then we made our way to the church. In the middle there were a few mother in law crises at which point I took away her phone in the hopes to get her to relax and enjoy the day, but it all worked out well! Erica put on her dress and off we went!
Susie made a beautiful bridesmaid and everything was headed to the ceremony without a hitch until I learned that Drew as missing. I wondered where he was. I learned that he forgot the rings! He had to speed back to the house, grab the rings and come back. Luckily, he made it before the processional started so no one knew any different but he only left about 5 minutes to spare in there, so I was getting anxious!
During the mass Collin sat by me and Owen was adorable in his tails. Collin was able to play the iPad for the long part of the ceremony to keep him quiet, which worked well until he yelled fairly loudly "Porkchop!", apparently he had finally obtained a dinosaur he had been working for in a game and named it porkchop, which came out with vivid enthusiasm during the ceremony. It took everyone around us serious control to not bust out in the contagious and feared church laugh.
After the ceremony the boys were excited for the party! The cake! the fun! They were not excited for the waiting and the photos, but what 4 and 6 year old are. I probably should have been more forgiving because they had no real downtime all day and we're trying their best, but my fuse was short as I was super sick and cranky, so by the time we got to dinner I was so spent. I was ready for them to go to bed! Owen wasn't headed there until he had a large volume of cake though, which would come back to bite us later!
And so, the party continued! We celebrated their nuptials and Drew gave a fantastic speech. I helped him a tiny bit, but mostly he did the drafting himself and I thought it turned out amazing (I might be a bit biased, but really it was a great speech!). The boys finally went home to the sitter and we closed up the shop around 10:30 or 11.
I was tired, but happy to get to reconnect with family and friends. I also had totally shed most of my undergarments because of my stomach issues earlier in the night by trashing my tights and shoving my Spanx in Drew's pocket, so I looked a little like I was prepared for a summer night, rather than a chilly winter ride home. When we made it home I crawled into bed and not 20 minutes later Owen was throwing up! Too much cake we think. Then into bed with us, where he continued to puke on and off for 2 more hours. Exhausting and gross, nothing like a 4 year old to put it all in perspective.
Weddings are such fun though! I'm sad its the last one for the immediate family on Drew's side, but so happy that they've each found their forever love to be with in thick and thin.
Cheers to Chris and Erica, and many years of wedded bliss.
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