Helloooo everyone and happy Monday! I hope all of you had a fabulous weekend – I know I did! I spent the weekend surrounded by my family and friends for the wedding of my brother, Peter, and his wife, Megan. Peter and Megan met each other during their undergrad years at Notre Dame, so my family and I packed up the car and drove to Indiana on Friday for the festivities. Saying that it was a beautiful weekend is the understatement of the century, so let’s discuss!

Friday was a pretty laid back day in comparison to Saturday, which was the day of the wedding. We arrived in South Bend, Indiana around three and then headed to a hotel for a bridal shower for Megan. It was a lot of fun getting to meet all of Megan’s family and her darling bridesmaids, Emily, Keaton, Andrea, and Jennifer. What I enjoyed the most about Megan’s bridal shower was watching her interact with all of her friends and family without Peter there. That was my first time seeing Megan without my brother in a social situation and it made me like her even more! After the bridal shower, we checked in to the hotel we were staying at to freshen up before the rehearsal wedding and dinner. Here’s a few selfies that my sister, Kristen, and I snapped before we left:

^^^ Lol, I captioned our mirror pic “Just married” on Facebook!

The wedding rehearsal didn’t take long at all, which was great for me because I was SO hungry!! The rehearsal dinner was held at Papa Vino’s – the same restaurant where Peter and Megan had their first date. Papa Vino’s serves family style Italian food and it was so incredibly delicious. Plates and bowls of pasta, pizza, bread, dips, and desserts just kept coming and coming and I ate until I couldn’t take another bite. The evening was full of great food and conversation and by the time it came to an end, we were all beyond stuffed and tired. I was so ready for bed, so I was pretty happy when Megan’s family, my family, and the bridal party parted ways until the following morning for the wedding!

Peter and Megan’s wedding ceremony was held at the Basilica Of The Sacred Heart on Notre Dame’s campus and it is absolutely stunning. I could spend hours looking at all of the artwork and architecture that the church offers. The mass began promptly at eleven, but I was already crying well before then…I was so emotional! Watching Megan walk down the aisle with her father and watching Peter’s eyes get teary was my favorite part of the wedding. Megan looked drop dead gorgeous and Peter didn’t look too bad either! I was pretty shocked that my dad was crying during the wedding, which made my mom cry, which then made me cry. It was a big ol’ sob fest – but they were happy tears! The ceremony was elegant, sophisticated, and completely perfect. Peter and Megan looked so happy and in love and I really just can’t even.

After the mass it was time for pictures with the families and the bridal party. We took some photos in the church and then headed to the Notre Dame football field for some more photography fun. It was so cool being able to hang out on the football field as well as the football teams’ locker room for a Notre Dame style photo shoot. The pictures ranged from the bridal party in huddle formation around Peter and Megan in the locker room to an impromptu football game on the field. It was so fun watching all of these silly scenarios happen and it was such an awesome experience being able to explore the field and locker room. I got a picture in the locker room showers and when Kristen and I were opening some of the lockers we found a pair of boxers and a jock guard…SCANDALOUS!!! My cover photo is the bridal party in its entirety compliments of the photo shoot, starting from left to right: Emily, Jennifer, Andrea, Keaton, Megan, Peter, Michael, Andrew (my brother!), Brian, and Thomas. What an attractive group of people!

^^^ Take note of how Peter wrote his and Megan’s names and wedding date on the locker room whiteboard! So cute!!!

While the bridal party continued their photo shoot throughout the campus, my parents, Kristen, and I returned to our hotel to prepare for the wedding reception. Makeup was touched up, hair was straightened, deodorant was applied and then we were off to the country club where the reception was held. The open bar cocktail hour began at five and best believe that Kristen and I got turnt right from the get go. By the time dinner was served around six thirty, I was already five glasses of moscato in and feeling wonderful. The vegetarian entree for dinner was excellent, it was a pasta primavera and my only regret is that I didn’t eat more! After dinner, Megan’s dad and my mom gave a toast and then it was time for the father/daughter and mother/son dance. My mom and Peter danced to the best of their ability and it was actually really good! Take a look at some pics of the mother/son dance and the blushing bride and groom:

^^^ I LOVE THEM!!!

After all of the traditional toasts and dances were complete, the dance floor was opened to everyone. Kristen and I continued to throw back wine and danced our asses off with all of our family and friends. Halfway through the reception I was white girl wasted and I don’t remember much about the rest of the night other than how much fun I had! I do remember falling right on my knee on the dance floor because people kept spilling their drinks and it was really slippery. I now have a nasty purple and black bruise taking up the majority of my left knee. Hurray! I don’t remember breaking a nail. I do remember laying on the floor with Jennifer and Andrea to complain about said broken nail. I don’t remember how many glasses of wine I ended up drinking. I do remember having an amazing time…I also remember mentioning that already! I danced with everyone from my parents, my brothers, my sister, my cousins, Megan, the bridesmaids, the groomsmen, and a bunch of other people whose names I can’t recall. GREAT SUCCESS! (Except for the being sweaty part…that was gross.)

By the time the reception was over, Kristen and I were completely out of it and ready for bed. My family and I drove back to Ohio the following day around noon and returned safe and sound in the early evening. The entire weekend was incredible and I am so thankful to have been a part of it. I adore my new sister-in-law like no other and I’m so excited for what the future holds for the newlyweds! Peter and Megan will be leaving for their three week honeymoon in Italy today and I wish them nothing but blissful fun and safe travels. I LOVE YOU PETER AND MEGAN!!!

So there you have it, the Monday Update: Weekend Wedding Edition! I hope all of you enjoyed reading this post just as much as I did writing it! What was everyone up to this weekend? Anything exciting? I wanna hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah