Life Plans

i sometimes forget my age.

not because i'm senile or wish i was younger (ok, maybe the latter part). i know i'm getting older, but i tend to forget the actual number that quantifies my age because, honestly, not much has changed for me since i was 26ish. hmm, i don't know if that's good or bad. since i'm in a good mood, i'll go with the former vs. the latter.

aside from the fact that it takes me a full day to recover from hangovers and my growing aversion to clubs and the Meatpacking District, nothing's really changed for me. or at least, it doesn't feel like anything's changed.

but no matter how much i want to ignore or deny it, when one of my best friends from childhood gets married, i have to face the music that i'm getting old.

and i'm still single. *cue 60 minutes stopwatch ticking sound getting louder in the background*

*brushing aside fears and moving on* i've known IJB since we were in nursery school, although i don't remember her from then. i remember actually becoming friends when i began attending public school in fourth grade. or was it third grade? yikes. maybe i am becoming senile.

regardless, if you map the trajectory of IJB's life, it's been pretty storybook. it's the kind of life parents tell their kids to pursue. she attended Wellesley College and then med school at GW, graduating this past May.  Now she's at Brown University for her residency. phew, actually writing all that made me even prouder of her for all her accomplishments.

but academics and career achievements aside, IJB's also been blessed in love. before graduating in May, she got married to her also-a-doctor-extremely-tall-handsome husband. IJB's the first of my close, same-aged friends to get married which made it even more touching and surreal at the same time.

IJB had the wedding and reception at the Madison Hotel in Morristown which is a gorgeous and classic looking hotel and apparently a popular choice for NJ weddings (someone else i know had their wedding there about 8 mths prior).

IJB and Papa IJB father-daughter dance



the ceremony and reception was elegant and had a lot of IJB's personal touches. their theme was the movie Up, and instead of the traditional guest sign-in book, IJB had hand-drawn the house from the movie with various colored ink-pads for people to stamp their thumbprint and initial to represent the balloons that lift the house up. how creative is that?!

Yep, the bride DREW this.

another adorable touch was the centerpieces on each table: IJB had gathered quotes and wedding pictures from various couples and each table displayed a different couple and their quote as centerpieces.  

aside from celebrating and sharing in the joyous occassion that is the bride and groom's nuptials, the best part of weddings is the food and drinks. open bars have become a standard for weddings, and IJB's was no exception. as for hors d'oeuvres, there was a nice selection, although Mrs.VW was cracking me up the way she was chasing down all the waiters. i don't think a single hors d'oeuvre escaped her that night. the food at the Madison Hotel is good in its own right, and i loved that IJB's menu had a little Italian mixed into it with all the pastas and antipasto, although i'm not sure it was intentional but i like to believe it was.

Yum cake!

Holy Bananas Foster. I could've eaten 5 of these, if propriety allowed.

when it's the right crowd, it can be quite the party. IJB's wedding was the perfect balance of initimate and endearing while at the same time fun and rambunctious. i could wax on nostalgic about all the great things about IJB's wedding but pictures speak for themselves so i'll just share those instead.



I thought they were going to drop them!



Bridesmaids on the loose!