Deerly Beloved

Maddy and I drove up to Minnesota on Monday and got there around noonish.  Paid for the dorm rooms that we would be using for the week and moved in.  And when I say, "moved in", I mean that.  Over the course of the next 2.5 days, she and I moved ALL the wedding stuff that had been packed neatly into my minivan, messily into the dorm room.  I had expected to use that van for a virtual storage shed until Thursday or Friday, but no such luck.  It was like we were moving her back in.  There is a reason for this...  wait for it...

Anyway, on Monday, I sewed more on the dresses.  Norah's was done, but mine needed some work and Maddy's needed a hem.  So yep.  I had brought up all my sewing machines, an iron, a board and a big sewing bag full of things I might need.  I think hers got done on Tuesday night.  Matthew drove down and after he and Maddy dropped off the wood centerpieces and a deep freeze out at the reception farm, they and I did a Sam's Club run for a few things.  Then dropped in at a small country restaurant where his sister worked and surprised her.

Tuesday, after a quick homemade breakfast at the dorm, Maddy and I did a lot of shopping that day.  I was determined to find some shoes for me to wear to the wedding and I had to find navy socks for my three menfolk for the wedding.  We found it all at the first department store we stopped at downtown and at a huge discount!  Yay!  I love my shoes and they're so gold and comfy!  We did a lot of other shopping too.  

Ka-CHING, Ka-CHING.

We also drove out by the brewery to see if it would be good to take some photos on the grounds there.  The place is beautiful but at that time packed.  We had to turn around and I got to see a young deer!  Where's my camera?!  I have no idea if they actually DID drive down for photos on Friday...

Tuesday night, those two took me out to eat at a pub/restaurant in a nearby town.  Ever since Maddy started college here, we noticed a sign in a town that we drove through en route, advertising cheap burger nights on Tuesdays.  Well, we couldn't find the sign this time and we think it was the bar that burned down.  Oh well.  We enjoyed a quick meal there and then I finished my sewing.  Around nine-ish, a highschool friend of Maddy's showed up and stayed with us at the dorm.  Those two ran off to visit a college friend and I finished my sewing and worked more on cleaning out the van and organizing which items were to be used on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.  There were piles everywhere in the dorm room.  Friday's was bigger than the others.

Wednesday arrived.  The three of us stopped at Aldi and picked up 30 heads of cauliflower (cleaning them out), 30 heads of lettuce and lots of other things and a couple more stops, then met Matthew at the church and we did food prep together.  While Maddy cleaned the cauliflower, washed all the pitchers and coffee carafes, Matthew and Krysta cleaned and chopped the lettuce, storing it in the huge zip lock bags that you can suck the air out of.  I spent from 10am to 4pm on my feet and using the handy dandy food processor that I'd given Maddy for a shower gift.  I am practical when it comes to gifts and I did warn her that it would get a work out this week and wow did it ever!

Believe it or not, 30 heads of cauliflower, when cooked down, will fit in one big roaster.  hmmm...  I really thought it would make more than that.  And it was deLISH!!  I'm going to have to make this more often!  Here is the recipe for Roasted/Riced cauliflower.

Roasted cauliflower.

Clean and process a head of cauliflower in a food processor until it resembles rice. Short bursts of chopping.

Put in a shallow pan and drizzle some olive oil on it and salt.

Bake at 425 degrees for 25-30 minutes, stirring on occasion.  It'll get brown bits and be a brownish color when it's done.

As each pan got done, I scraped it into a common foil pan and when one got full, stuck it in the fridge.  I had 5 foil pans prepared by 4pm.  Everyone who sampled it loved it.  At the actual reception, it got RAVE reviews.  Seriously...  And they were shocked at how easy it was to make.  Just labor intensive at the quantities we were making it in. The only thing that made it take so blooming long, besides the quantity, was that I only had four ovens to work with.  I got to the point where I had 4 foil pans in each oven, and I'm kicking myself that I hadn't done that many earlier...  I could have been done by 3! ;)

When the others got done with their tasks, the roses and babies breath arrived and they worked on getting the flowers processed and into tubs of water to rehydrate.  I'd ordered them from Sam's Club and found out after placing the order that the flowers were actually coming from Ecuador.

Seriously...

AND I got an email saying the flight was delayed but it would still arrive on Wednesday after 5pm.  We were pleasantly surprised when they arrived around one-ish.  It was too many flowers...  We definitely didn't need double the babies breath!  And now we have dozens of roses wilting in my house, but they smell SO fantastic!  I take a bouquet with me whenever I visit anyone.

Here you go.

Meri arrived around one also, after having driven straight through.  We put her to work but then she had to get the last bachelorette party plans finished up.  And THAT's why we needed to clear the van out.  She had planned a scavenger hunt with clues all over town for her, Maddy and 5 other girls to traipse around finding and she needed room for them in one car.  okey doke...

I helped her deliver the little pink clue packets everywhere and set up the hotel room for the girls to do facials, nails and watch sappy movies, whilst wearing crowns.  Then I went back to the dorm by myself and tried not to freak myself out by thinking of Harper's Island.  I mentioned it to Maddy the next day saying that I didn't even KNOW where the secret tunnels were in the dorm!  Come to find out, that she did...  

REALLY?!  

I guess every college in Minnesota has contingency plans if the campus gets snowed in that no one can walk to classes...  Or  they all did at one time.  Matthew had worked in the campus library and showed her one of the tunnels once.  Apparently they're not "safe" anymore and are mostly closed up.  So it was still freaky to be on our dorm hall alone and walk to the downstairs kitchen in the dark to get my salad.  Whew!  It was a relief to get back to the dorm room and lock the door.  I'll just sit on my bunk and watch Death in Paradise alone in the dark until I get a "good night" call from Robb.

Thursday...  Maddy, Matthew and I picked up some final things (there are ALWAYS final things...) and after I picked up the tents, we all met out at the farm with his family and friends and loads of tables.  One of the tents turned out to be red and white striped.  SURPRISE! 

REALLY?!  

I guess that's the grooms tent.

I guess I assumed they'd all be white...  I was more concerned with them being big enough to fit 250 guests under.  I got two 20x30 tents.  and we had purchased a smaller 10x20 for the bridal party to sit under.

That was placed between the two.

About this time, we had realized that we hadn't gotten ANY of the cheese for the cheese course.  I had 56 beautiful marble tile cheese boards in a heavier than sin box, but no cheese for it...  Maddy and Matthew talked about it and decided that we'd just skip that course.  Okey dokey!  And that was fine with me.

We scrambled to get the tents up and Meri and a sister of the groom stayed in the farmhouse kitchen and heated up the lasagnas and prepared a meal for everyone.  By this time, Robb, Ryan and Leon drove in with several tons of smoked pork in coolers.  They got it packed away in the many fridges around the farm. After doing a bit more work around the farm, we then went to check in at the hotel and get cleaned up for the rehearsal.

Rehearsal.  The wedding rehearsal was on Thursday afternoon at the church.  

Leon and Norah took it REALLY seriously at first, until the third time through just about killed the boy, so he walked in holding Norah's hand and doing a penguin walk.

SERIOUSLY?...

yes he did.  He straightened up when he passed my pew and I said, "KNOCK IT OFF!"

One of the bridesmaids couldn't get off of work that day, so the fiance of a groomsmen stood in for her.  For the rest of the weekend, her name was Megan slash Tessa.  They're getting married THIS Saturday so it was a good run through for them.

I was expecting to get weepy and I did JUST a little, but not enough for a kleenex.

After that, Matthew's parents had everyone attend a dinner at a local restaurant.  YUM...  Brats and burgers?  Yes please!  And Anika, a great niece, discovered what happens when you turn on the lemonade server spigot and just walk away.  Leon had a blast with his cousin Caleb and they were thick as thieves after that.

Went back to the hotel and I ironed at a sister-in-law's room because we had people sleeping in mine.  Didn't get it all done...  The story of my life.  But that's another story for another day... unless I block.  Then it's not.

That night I woke up around midnight and worried about what needed to get done yet.  So I was up for a while... Robb woke up around 4:30 and he and I went out to the lobby at 5am so people could sleep.  TODAY was the big day.  The "show"...  We plotted, I worried, but we knocked out a plan as to who would pick things up and when and yet get to the church on time.  By 5:30, when I needed to wake up Maddy, I was ready to take on the day.

More tomorrow.