old friends, new faces

sorry about the gap, but there is no way to avoid being immersed in your best friend's wedding. i even slacked on taking pictures. the drive from Pittsburgh to Guelph was cake. the dude at the booth on the Peace Bridge didn't ask for any ID, everyone speeds like a demon and i arrived right as Robin got off work. she ran out of her beautiful Bluebell Cottage with a huge hug and i was immediately turned around to get her wedding dress altered. that was the last i drove my car for several days, but those days were more jam packed than everything on this road trip so far!

after returning from the seamtress, Robin showed me around the house and the remodeling (recontruction) she and Stu were doing. we then went on to staple up plastic covering for the bare insulation in the room i was to be sleeping in. screw all you that don't think this was a ton of fun. i am heavily considering going back up to Guelph at the end of this summer and spending some time helping Stu while Robbie's at work.

[the upstairs room for me, Jessica, Kevin, Amy and Sam]

the next day was Robin's birthday and everyone had their own errands to do at the beginning of the day, so i got directions to the nearest grocery store to get the fixin's for a birthday cookout. i also spent a lot of time on this blog. =) sweet tea and pasta salad was done, burgers ready for the grill, just in time for Jessica and Kevin arriving that evening.

keep inserting pre-wedding errands for the following two days, and tons of them. after the bday celebration we all worked on clearing space for a party and prepping the pets for their sitter. in between clean up of the aminals, i played with them and took some photos. worse than little kids, i say! quick lowdown: Ludo the German boxer, Pig the Boston terrier, Petie the cockatiel, Guy the Guinea pig, two turkeys, two roosters, ten or so hens and three chicks.

[the main rooster]

after all that the girls went back to attacking the reception's playlist. we all chilled in the upstairs room listening to music. the boys were tuckered out from moving wood and scaffolding, but Robin, Jessica and i must have still been running on high octane after squeezing in a half hour of Latin dance aerobics at the Y. we proceeded to ditch them and have a girls-only night in downtown Guelph.

[Jessica and Robin working on the playlist]

we still popped out of bed bright and early in the morning. i think this time the energy came from being the last day in Guelph. there was to be a party with family and friends that night, plus all the stuff that didn't get done in the past few days. all was well with lots of outside help, though, and decorating was pretty much our only responsibility. i wish i had photos of our hanging fish lights!

Amy and her fiancé came in from the Toronto airport promptly as festivities began. i got to meet most of Robin's friends and Stu's family that i had heard so many stories of and it was wonderful to see Robin's family too. we chatted the night away catching up and telling new stories.

it is such a joy to share this experience with Robin and Stu. those few days i spent in Guelph were amazing. i'm still debating how much of the wedding photography i want to show. not having an editing platform is proving to be more unproductive than i anticipated.