Eric & Maggie's Wedding

Tim had the honor of being the best man at his best friend's wedding in the countryside of Pennsylvania.  Tim and I arrived in the small town of Tunkhannock and strolled around.  We got there a day early to hang out with Eric and Maggie, which meant we got to experience a local dive bar on the lake and play some pool and enjoy cheap drinks.  It was nice for me to get to know Tim's best friend a little better and create some memories with his soon-to-be wife!

The actual wedding took place in Falls, Pennsylvania, at an adorable rustic barn that was remodeled to hold events.  The barn was near a lake where Maggie's parents lived.  The rehearsal dinner was at a clubhouse right on the lake with spectacular views.  It was a lovely event that included a lot of get-to-know-you time.

Maggie and Eric had a beautiful day for their wedding, which was lucky because the ceremony took place outside.  The space was open and private and Maggie looked beautiful!  I enjoyed talking with their friends and family and we all got along really well.  And of course, Tim did an excellent job as best man, making sure everyone was where they needed to be and Maggie and Eric had everything they needed.

Later in the evening Tim made his heartfelt speech and the reception was bumping with good music and fun people!  We had BBQ for dinner and enjoyed ourselves in the beautiful celebration!

Our flight was out of Philadelphia and we planned to stay one night there.  My good friend Emileah lives in Philly and so we all met up for an evening out on the town!  We visited some important buildings and Chinatown and it was great to catch up with Em.  The next day Tim and I saw the liberty bell and then caught an Uber to the airport.  It was a great trip!

Pilgrimage Festival

Tim has really gotten into the music festival scene and found an awesome one just outside of Nashville, Tennessee.  The headliners included: 

Justin Timberlake

Better Than Ezra

Eddie Vedder

The Avett Brothers

Walk the Moon

Fitz and the Tantrums

Ryan Adams

...and many others!

So Meredith, Timothy and I drove down to enjoy a weekend of festivities!  We got in Friday night and drove through the bright lights of downtown Nashville, which seems like a really FUN city.  We grabbed a bite to eat and then headed back to the hotel.

Saturday we got up to be at the festival at 10:00am.  We were wondering around checking things out when I recognized an idol of mine: Kevin Griffin, lead singer of Better Than Ezra!!!  He was talking with a worker on a golf cart when I said, "Kevin?"  He turned and said hello and I told him what a big fan I am and that Tim got me tickets to the BTE show in Dayton, OH for my wedding gift.  He said that was wonderful and engaged in more conversation with us.  My heart was racing a MILE A MINUTE and Tim snapped a picture of Kevin and I.  He was such a nice guy!  And later I realized that he is one of the main organizers of the festival.  It took me about 2 hours to calm down after that encounter!

Needless to say we had an AMAZING day and the festival was set up so well.  It was a big open field with a shady grove to chill, an art barn, and lots of good beer.  This was also Meredith's first music festival and she was very psyched to see Fitz and the Tantrums (who were awesome).  

We of course saw my favorite band, Better Than Ezra, and a guy from their staff proposed to his girlfriend onstage!  It was really sweet.  The guitarist also throws a lot of picks into the crowd, and I got one that fell to the ground.  Shortly after, Tim caught one in the air!  Totally lucky!  But another big fan next to us was so bummed he didn't get the pick, and since we already had one, Tim gave his to the guy.  He was pumped.  

We think Ryan Adams was in a bad mood at this festival.  I've seen him play a much better set before and he did not fully engage with the crowd.  He didn't even play a full set!  We tried to cheer him back to the stage because he had 10 minutes left, but he was done!  What a primadonna!   But all the other sets were so much fun and we all had an amazing time together.  

Thanks Tim for finding this festival and making it happen!

Indiana: Lake James & The Farm

Shelley and I coordinated some family time together with the Yeager's and Freed's up in northeastern Indiana.  Uncle Tom has a boat and jet ski on Lake James and we all met up to picnic and take a ride.  We have great memories on Lake James from when we were kids, and now the tradition continues with all the grandkids!  It was Michael's first time on a boat too, and he had a blast.

After the lake we headed to the farm to spend some time with the Freed's, which is always an adventure.  Michael loved chasing the chickens and playing with his second cousins.  Shelley and I just loved being with the family.  We all went on a long and beautiful horseback ride cutting through the local fields and got some delicious ice cream at the local dairy spot.  Our half-sister, Christie, even stopped by on her way from Minnesota to Connecticut, which was a nice surprise, and Michael got to visit with Great Grandma Freed.  Family is THE BEST!

                           

Post Wedding Backyard BBQ

We certainly had an entire wedding weekend planned!  It definitely rained during the rehearsal dinner and poured all day on our wedding day, but luckily those events were inside (with outside options).  We did not have much of a backup plan for a rainy BBQ day, but we FINALLY lucked out with absolute sunshine!

Maribeth, the mother of the groom, hosted the event in her backyard. (She lives right across the street from Xavier University.)  She hired an event coordinator to help things go smoothly and we had a lot of fun activities going on.  There was a Kentucky bourbon and cigar bar, cornhole and hillbilly golf,  and fun photos going on with the beautiful backdrop Tim had made for the ceremony.  Eli's BBQ catered the event and we had plenty of local Rhinegeist beer in the tin buckets!

The purpose of the day was to spend as much time with our family and out of town guests as possible.  Tim and I just wanted to continue to celebrate and share in the joy of one another.  Everyone enjoyed themselves, ate well, and caught up with each other on a gorgeous Cincinnati day!