Nerdy Splendor in Austin

I was remiss about my blogging duties in Austin over the weekend and took not a single picture. Thankfully, Facebook has come to the rescue, though not with the most high-quality or relevant shots; beggars, however, have little choice. It was, as you can imagine, a packed weekend, but I'll do my best to give a rundown of the highlights:

Ed and I stayed in the "hospitality suite" along with Ed's friend and his date. This meant a great set-up in a huge, multi-room suite, but also lots of people constantly coming in and out to check on tuxedos, raid the bar or the snack table (both of which were replenished daily), or just kill a few minutes between events. Still, I enjoyed being in the middle of things, if nothing else because it meant I wasn't going to miss or be late for any events I was supposed to attend.

One of the things I enjoyed most about the weekend was meeting Ed's childhood friends. Since he and his brother are twins, they had many of the same friends growing up and a good number of them were invited to the wedding. They are a fantastic bunch of people, and it was great to associate names with faces. Ed also has some good friends from when he used to live in Reno who are photographers, and his brother and sister-in-law to-be ended up choosing them to take their wedding shots. Riley and Eliot are fantastic, as are their girlfriends Erin and Ethel. (Ed and I will be going on a trip this summer with Eliot and Ethel - an elite tri-athelete and a spunky Irish girl, respectively - and I can hardly wait to get to know them better!)

Ed's mother arranged to have a manicurist, hair stylist, and make-up artist on hand to make sure the bridal party was looking their best, and she very generously made appointments for me with all of them, too! Since I was a tad nervous about making good impressions on everyone, not having to worry about how I would look was a huge relief. I got to be "styled" for both the rehearsal dinner and for the wedding itself, which was a luxurious treat!

They did a pretty good job!

The rehearsal dinner was at a great restaurant with fantastic, innovative cocktails and delicious food. My favorites were the caprese salad sticks (sounds bizarre, but picture balls of fresh mozzerella, cherry tomatoes, and basil leaves on skewers drizzled with pesto and balsamic and tell me your mouth doesn't start watering), smoked salmon on cucumber rounds, and buttery scallops on beds of sauteed spinach. Mmmm. Ed and I both sucked down quite a few spicy Texas Mules, a Moscow Mule with jalepeno-infused vodka.

The next morning kicked off with a brunch hosted by family friends of Ed's. He had the responsibility of escorting his brother to the restaurant after he was sure the bride-to-be had left (they weren't supposed to see each other on the day of the wedding according to the domineering and not-to-be-recommended-to-anyone-else-ever wedding planner), and I helped. Then everyone seemed to be exhausted - perhaps it was a combination of a large brunch  and the heat - so we all took naps before the wedding ceremony that evening. While being made-up in Ed's mother's suite, I was both horrified and amused to learn that the bride's and bridesmaids' dresses were MIA. Half an hour before the wedding, after a number of increasingly agitated phone calls from Ed's mom, they were found. I was given very strict instructions to sit three chairs from the center aisle in the front row for the wedding, and I chatted with Ed's awesome cousin and admired the spectacular flower arrangements while I waited for things to kick off.

And kick off they did. Ed's brother is somewhat famous in the world of geek culture, and the ceremony was very fitting. It was officiated by one of the bride and groom's friends and lasted no more than ten minutes. She walked down the aisle to the theme song from Dragon's Blood (or some other fantasy movie with a similar name) and there were readings from The Hitch-hiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Love and Death. Then they exchanged vows from Star Wars ("I love you." "I know.") and walked back out to the theme song from Jurassic Park. Ed came up with the idea of doing a dinosaur impression and chasing the maid of honor down the aisle, and the other groomsmen followed suit one by one. Making this all the more entertaining was the incredible formality of the setting. I have never seen a man in tails do a dinosaur impression, and I'm not sure when I will again. The food, flowers, music, and decor at the reception were second to no wedding I've ever been to. Particularly arresting were the cakes. I can't describe them, so I'll let them speak for themselves.

Bride's cake: vanilla with layers of caramel.

Groom's cake, featuring the bride and groom atop the Frost Tower (a building that dominates the Austin skyline), holding samurai swords to fend off the ascending ninjas. Inside were layers of vanilla and chocolate.

I had no idea that each the bride and the groom were supposed to have their own cakes at a reception, but it's a southern tradition I immediately decided to support because it meant I got to try two kinds.

Our flight back arrived in New York late, and I was pretty tired on Monday. But a fun weekend in a cool town with some great people was worth the price.