My brother-in-law, Howard, and Angela are finally married!  Ok, I guess we weren't really waiting that long.  It only took them exactly one year after they met to get engaged in their own unique way on Halloween (in front of like 50 of their friends...and his mom...on his birthday...in costume...)

The festivities took place in the Washington DC area.  We barely made it down in time for rehearsal.  Alvin was the best man.  I was...hungry.  So Erwoo and I opted to get some Costco pizza instead of waiting around for our husbands to learn how to walk down an aisle.  We then headed over to China Garden in Arlington for a Chinese banquet rehearsal dinner.


Wedding guests stayed at the Westfields Marriott in Chantilly, VA.  I highly recommend this hotel for anyone planning a wedding in the area.  It's newly renovated and really beautiful.  The hotel bar was rockin for the two nights we were there (there were 3 other weddings staying there).  The breakfast buffet is also really great, complete with fresh waffles, omelets, and smoothies.  And crispy bacon -- Till now I had thought that crispy buffet bacon was just a myth.  There are also a ton of conference rooms available at the hotel for events such as the Chinese Tea Ceremony.

Wedding day was a blur of flash bulbs and stiff cheeks.  Even if it's not your wedding, you're pulled in a hundred directions by a hundred relatives into countless group photos.  I don't remember my own wedding to be this camera-stressful.  I think when you're actually the bride people feel bad for hogging you.  However, when you're a nobody family member, people don't feel so bad for making you stand there till all 25 cameras have clicked.  And then repeat when one more relative straggles in and you have to do a group shot all over again.

The ceremony took place at Foxchase Manor in Manassas, VA.  Howard and Angela were blessed with beautiful weather this weekend.  It was perfect for their late afternoon outdoor ceremony.  Their ballroom was beautifully and DIY decorated with crystal strung "trees", jewel-toned to go with their aubergine color scheme.  Howard and Angela had somehow gotten an army of friends and groomsmen to pitch in to help execute the big day.  Even more impressive was that they got the bar to serve Bubble Tea!  Definitely a nice treat after being on our feet all day.

All in all, a really fun weekend with family and friends, old and new.  And now the two lucky ducks are off to Tahiti for ten days.  Opa!