Winding Down: Sunday Brunch

Initially, I was very much against having a brunch the day after the wedding.  It was one more thing to plan, and I thought I would be too exhausted to want to take part in it and that I would want some alone time with Daniel after the whole wedding business.  Plus, I had been to these things before with Daniel's family, and at the time, it really seemed like it was just an excuse for his family to get together.  Obviously, if we were going to do something like that, I would want it to be equally my people and his.

But in the end, he talked me into it.  I again resisted giving up control to Daniel's aunts because I feared it would become too much of a "their family" thing.  I may have ended up being rather rude about it as well (I hope not, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised if they were offended by my attitude as the day drew near.  Sorry guys).  In the end, it became necessary for me to get stuff off my plate, so I agreed to have them plan it too (mostly).

I am so glad Daniel and co. pushed me into it.

It never occurred to me before the wedding just how much it would mean to have (nearly) everyone close to me in the same place at the same time.  But that weekend I finally figured out not only that I was not going to see many of these people again for quite some time but that having them together, getting to see all of them and having them meet each other, was a wonderful once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.  The wedding itself went by so quickly, had so much going on, and had so many people involved that it was really nice to have other time to actually talk to our guests, especially people we had neglected at the wedding.

Plus, I like small groups of people.  It's just easier for me to talk that way.  So having events with 20 - 30 people instead of 80 made things much less overwhelming for me.

At the same time, I'm glad I stayed involved in planning the day before and after events, even if I may have been the slightest bit irascible in our dealings (yeah...again, sorry about that).  They had a whole different image in mind, but I fought to make sure all of the wedding guests were invited (since basically everyone was from out of town anyway) and to have it at one of the hotels where people were staying so that we could maximize the number of people who could attend.  I don't think fighting the exhaustion would have been worth it to me if we hadn't done these things.

These were the highlights of the brunch for me:

*I really don't know who took these pictures, but I don't think they'll mind me reposting them.*

 My bathing suit was not particularly visible.  Daniel's, not so much.

1.  I got to wear a sun dress and a bathing suit.  There really is nothing like going casual after you've been wearing a massive, tight, poofy dress for a day.

2.  I got to talk to people I love but that I largely ignored during the wedding because I talk to them on a regular basis.

3.  I got some quality time in with our friends Dana and Derek.  Dana had been a lifesaver to me after we moved to San Jose, one of two close friends I still had in the Bay Area.  This was the last time we saw them before they moved to Wisconsin.

4.  Daniel finally got a picture with all of his cousins.  Apparently, children of cousins count.  Carrying on this tradition is really important to him, so I'm glad he got his picture.  I'm also glad we got the following picture of his baby--second cousin? cousin once removed? no idea--Garrett.

Note the hand.  And the mouth.  Priceless.

All in all, a great way to end the wedding weekend and well worth the extra (minimal) trouble.  Especially because I got to go swimming in the massive hotel pool after most of the guests had gone.

Did you do a morning after brunch?  Were you glad you did/did not?