Last Fling Before the Ring

All the girls that went on the tour in our Cable Car

Last weekend we did Brooke’s bachelorette weekend in Temecula or the "Last Fling Before the Ring". She wanted something fun and simple. We had seven people do the tour, then Mikayla and Brooke's old roommate Jena were meeting us at the hotel later.We decided on a wine tour. I booked us with the Temecula Valley Cable Car Wine Tours. I had previously been on there tour and it was a lot of fun. Plus they are the best priced- I highly suggest checking them out. 

The group at the hotel

The tour stops at four different wineries, with lunch at the third winery. Honestly cannot even remember the names of the wineries. The first winery was very cute and had great wine. The second winery was South Coast Winery. This place is massive. The bar tender we found also felt no need to stick with taking our tokens. We ended up drinking about 3x more than the number of tokens we all had. Which you can guess what happens then. The group had a really really great time! Brooke did really like a wine at this winery. I did purchase a few bottles for the wedding weekend. The third winery we had lunch overlooking some vineyards. It was nice to finally sit down and the food was great. Then time to drink more wine. The fourth stop we did not like much at all. It was in a converted house, crowded hot and the people working were rude. They did make a pretty good Sangria. 

Sisters

After the tour the group was a bit tired- so it was back to the hotel. Mikayla arrived before us so that she could set up the room. Before we headed to the room we did make a stop at the little Mexican stand. Seemed that after four wineries we were really hungry. Once we demolished the food, we all just relaxed and hung out for a bit.  Once everyone had recovered a bit we did lingerie party for Brooke. I think she enjoyed all her new gifts. While having a bit more fun drinking. Then we walked about a mile to dinner at this Mexican restaurant in old town. All the ladies had fun at dinner. After dinner we decided to head back to the hotel where we end up playing this super fun game. Everyone had such a great time, the game made everyone laugh sooo hard.  Sadly I did not even win a round of the game, Brooke however became the big winner. Makes sense it was her weekend!

Love my little sister

Sunday would be relaxing, once up and got everything cleaned we headed for coffee. Then everyone headed their separate ways. Brooke wanted to get back to SD as Nik was finally arriving after his cross country road trip from Pittsburgh.

The weekend was such a fun time. The group of girls from the weekend were great. Many of them had meet each other previously, which always makes it a little easier. I cannot thank them all enough for coming and just enjoying the weekend with Brooke. The countdown is seriously on for when she says “I Do”. I can’t believe it is in 3 weeks.

Pictures from the weekend

Alyssa's November Wedding

Wedding Season:

Only about a month after my wedding I had the absolute pleasure of being in my best friend Alyssa’s wedding. It was to be held in Temecula, California. 

Alyssa and I have been friends since our sophomore year of high school when she transferred to RHS from Yucaipa. Since it was before she could drive she used to come home after school. Eat a ton of microwavable meals my dad’s specialty before swim practice. She would be working on all her AP classes, while I worked through the normal student classes. She was one of my biggest supporters during water polo season. Then for college she went to Wagner in Staten Island. This was a place I had never even heard of. Thankfully senior year I got to visit during spring break. We stayed friend over the years by snail mailing letters and pictures. Since graduation she has stayed living in the area. So we do not see each other much. 2013 was much different. She was out for some wedding planning and showers allowing us to finally get to hangout. Then she was in my wedding and a few weeks later I was in her wedding. It was so great to see her every few weeks.

Back to her actual wedding. I headed up to Temecula Friday morning, meeting an old friend Kimie who was also in the wedding party.  We did the normal things got our nails done, finalized some wedding details. Then went off to rehearsal for the ceremony at the church.  Alyssa has a ton of very cute nieces and nephews that kept everything interesting! After the rehearsal at the church we headed over to old town Temecula to an amazing BBQ place. Where we had a great night and I got to hang out with some other old friends from our swimming days.

Friday night I would get the pleasure of staying with Alyssa. It was so great to just spend time together and keep her from getting to nervous. Even better was I had just been her three weeks earlier and really understood. I can’t say that we slept a lot. Then it was Saturday morning and the day was in full swing. She had the hair and makeup people come to us. Which was nice! We all got dolled up and we were off. Brennan had driven down and was meeting my parents at the church.

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful. Alyssa was a stunning bride. Chris her husband looked great. The ceremony so beautifully included there family and friends! After the ceremony it was pictures and then off to the reception that was being held at the Falconer winery. Temecula is a rapidly growing area and I would love to spend more time out there with such beautiful wineries. The reception was a ton of fun with everyone dancing the night away. Brennan and I even made a stop off in the photo booth. My parents also found that to be a lot of fun!

After the reception we took the party bus back to the hotel and partied a little more in the hotel bar! It was great, Alyssa was still in her wedding dress. Everyone was just having a grand time together. I know how stressful the entire day can be as a bride and bridesmaid but just fun to see her sooo happy!

Sunday we would meet for a late breakfast. I got to see Alyssa for a little longer. It was an amazing weekend. Congratulations to Chris and Alyssa. It was a pleasure to be a part of your special day. You have been an amazing friend over the years. I hope that the future bring us more visits together with a little less stress! 

Probably my favorite picture of the entire wedding. Alyssa's confusion with my look is classic us. To many I think they wondered how we were such good friends with such very different goals and minds. But we work and these faces are why- we balance each other out.