I’m back after a brief blogging hiatus to attend the wedding of two dear friends, Ms. Brett Saunders (now Knabe) and Darren Knabe.  I met both Brett and Darren at Northwestern, so this wedding also functioned as a college reunion of sorts.

Let me tell you, this was not the wedding to be pregnant at.  To recap:

The rehearsal dinner: The rehearsal dinner was held at a Mexican restaurant.  Please reference the below picture.

Yes, it is a lovely picture of the bride-to-be and one of her bridesmaids, Elena, but what I really want to you notice is the GIANT margarita glass in the foreground.  If you read my last post, you know my affinity for margaritas.  Feeling feisty, I ordered a non-alcoholic strawberry daiquiri to distract myself from the margarita magic happening all around me.  It was such a disappointment, not even worth the calories to drink.  Meanwhile my icy, salted beverage of choice taunted me as everyone around me partook in the massive margs; all I could do was drool, and drool is not exactly a welcome addition to an already shiny, pregnancy-bloated face.

Pregnancy: 1, Diana: 0

The grooming: The morning of the wedding, the bridal party (did I mention I was a bridesmaid?) joined the bride for hair and makeup.  Being that Baby now likes to keep me awake most of the night, I have some serious under-eye circles going on.  No amount of makeup can cover those bad boys up.  And now they will be forever immortalized in Brett and Darren’s wedding album.  Sorry, guys.

Pregnancy: 2, Diana: 0

The bridesmaid dress:  The dress was actually beautiful (thanks, Brett!) and a very flattering pregnancy style.  As I seem to be expanding by the minute, I was more than a tad nervous it might not zip up come game time.  Since crash diets aren’t approved for pregnancy (or ever, really), I could only pray that it would fit.  It took some help, but it zipped!  Take that, Pregnancy!

Pregnancy: 2, Diana: 1

The bridesmaid dress, part II: Despite the flattering, flowy style, I still felt like a linebacker next to the non belly-licious bridesmaids.  I also stepped onto the seam of my dress, causing a huge tear prior to the ceremony.  I’m going to go ahead and consider my clumsiness exacerbated by the baby belly, and score 2 more for Pregnancy.

Pregnancy: 4, Diana 1

The shoes: Who rocked 3-inch heels?  This mama!  I’ve been told that heels and pregnancy don’t mix, but I proved that theory wrong.  I even danced in them.  Hell yeah!

Pregnancy: 4, Diana 2

The drinks:  The bar offered both white and red sangria AND my beloved margaritas.  To top it off, my college friends decided to commemorate the occasion with tequila shots.  I swear I’m not a lush, but I had some serious shot envy.  While my buddies relived their college glory days, I watched helplessly, and shed a tear at my inability to join them.

Even the bride took (a quarter of) a tequila shot!  That’s a BIG deal. I don’t know that straight tequila had ever passed her lips until that moment.

Pregnancy: 329,409,329, Diana: 2

Pregnancy wins the wedding, but luckily this wedding wasn’t actually about me.  By all accounts, Brett and Darren had a grand old time on their big day, and that’s what matters.  Brett looked stunning, and Darren quite dapper.  The predicted stormy weather held off, allowing the ceremony to take place as planned on an outdoor terrace in a beautiful botanical garden.  The floral arrangements were luscious, the band was one of the best I’ve heard, and there was a cookie bar.  Enough said.

Frankly though, if you know Brett, you shouldn’t be surprised that everything went off without a hitch.  Senior year of college, I lived with Brett and our friend Molly, and got to recognize Brett as quite the overachiever.  Below demonstrates a typical encounter in our apartment:

Molly and I are sprawled out on the couch, watching Desperate Housewives and nursing our hangovers resting up for the week ahead.  Brett walks in with an armful of books.

Brett: “I’m off to the library!”

Molly and me, groaning at the thought of moving, “Ughhh, why?  It’s the weekend!”

Brett: “I have a paper due”.

Me: “Me too.  On Friday.  I haven’t started.  When is yours due?”

Brett: “Six weeks”.

This was college Brett.  Wedding Brett was even more organized and on top of things, if you can imagine that.  (I’m saying this as an obsessive planner myself).  But that’s why I love her.  She put an incredible amount of thought and consideration into her wedding, making sure it wasn’t just the perfect day for her and Darren, but for all her guests as well.  Job well done – A good time was had by all (even those abstaining from the tequila).

Congrats to the new Mr. & Mrs. Knabe!