And then we took pictures with gourds

After we went to DC, we briefly went back to NH for a few days to do some final preparation for the wedding.

And I'm sure you're starting to ask - with all this gallivanting around, did you guys even have a wedding? And the answer to that is, yes, yes we did and yes, I'll get to pictures soon! I promise.

Inspector Climate's family came from Australia for the wedding. We wanted to make sure they got the full American experience, so we got tickets to a Red Sox game at Fenway park. What's more American than that?

In the past when I've gone to Red Sox games, the crowd has been electric. There has been undying hope that this time, this at bat, the Red Sox will rally or sheer jubilance that the Red Sox are winning! But this was the last home game of a truly pathetic Red Sox season, and the crowd was deflated.

Not only did the Climates come along, but also one of my closest college friends.  We nonchalantly flirted with some crazy Red Sox fans in front of us while we searched the stadium for the Peanut Guy. You know the guy, the guy who sells the peanuts. We literally had to chase him down - my friend running after him down the aisles of the stadium while the two friendly drunks in front of use used their Boston accents to scream "peeaaaaanuuuuuuts!"

Anyway, unsurprisingly, the Red Sox were losing and so we put our rally caps on in the 9th inning in a last ditch effort (any excuse to look silly!).

The following day we drove up to NH again for the real last push before the wedding and the preception. Have I not mentioned the preception?

It was really important to me that we had a small wedding (25 people including our photographers were in attendance) - and if I could've gotten that number down, I would've. That was a bit more challenging for my mom. So instead of having a traditional rehearsal dinner the night before - we invited 50 of our closest family friends to dinner. As you do.

Thus we dubbed it the "Preception."

We decorated the Preception venue with gourds and flowers from my mom's garden (which became an unofficial theme of the wedding - we had plans on the wedding day to stick them in as many places as possible tucked in people's shirts, balanced on shoulders, hidden behind chairs etc etc - but on the day seriousness over took the silly a bit).

This is me!  Inspector Climate's sister was waiting for like 10 minutes to get a picture of Inspector Climate and I together in front of the gourds but he was busy chit chatting with people and not paying attention so instead...you just get me! You'll notice that my hair is curly - and I did not sleep in pin curls!

Oh, here's inspector Climate!

One of the most special things about having our wedding at my family's farm is that it forced my brothers and I to be home at the same time. We haven't all been in my parents' house since I graduated from high school in 2003. That's a long long long time. The fact that we all got to be home with our families together meant so incredibly much to me.

The reason I bring this is up is all for a picture I can't even show you - but Sister Climate also took a picture of my brothers and I all holding gourds and laughing so hard that I actually had tears in my eyes.  I treasure that moment, that memory, that photograph.

The Preception was an amalgamation of the most important people in my life: the midwives who were in the car with me when I was born, the physics teacher who inspired me to study physics in college, my best friends throughout the last 27 years, family friends who saw me in halloween costumes, and teachers who've made incredible impacts on my life.

I didn't give a toast that night - because if there is one thing that truly terrifies me it's public speaking, my voice is getting shaky and I'm a bit choked up in just thinking about to say something in front of 50 people - but had I given a toast I surely would've mentioned that there is no way I would be the me I am without all those people in that room.

A big thanks to Sister Climate for letting me use her photographs on my blog!