Friday, September 15th
Friday morning we woke up after an amazing night with our friends, and it was time for our welcome picnic. Carly, my mom, Aunt Robin, Matt, Heather and I set up an assembly line in the kitchen to make the sandwiches for everyone. It didn’t take long before I didn’t have a job, because I couldn’t get anything to work. I was particularly bad at trying to get the cheese slices apart (don’t ask). While last minute preparations were being made, I took a drive over to the picnic spot we had picked out. It looked perfect on Google Maps, but we figured we better go check it out quick before everyone else showed up.
We had hoped that this would be a fun activity for everyone that was in town, but with the wind coming off the lake, it was a little chilly, especially for the grandparents. We decided to take the hike to the falls before we ate lunch, just to give ourselves a little warm up. It wasn’t a particularly difficult hike, and I would recommend it for most people because of the pay off once you reach the falls! 
With the wind blocked by the trees and the sun shining, it was a beautiful day outside, and it made for a very enjoyable hike. Once we trekked back down to the lake, we hung out around the picnic area a little while longer as we ate our sandwiches, but I think everyone was ready to get somewhere warmer before too long.
After the picnic, it was time for the rehearsal dinner. We practiced the ceremony with everyone that was involved and decided last minute details of how it was going to go. We wanted to keep the whole thing short and sweet, and my brother, Matt, was thoroughly prepared for the task. I felt confident that he would keep us on track and everything would go smoothly the next day.
We ordered barbecue from a local catering company in Grand Lake, and it was some of the best barbecue we have had, especially in Colorado. Almost everyone that was coming to the wedding was in town at that point, and it was awesome having all of the two families together. Steve started us a bonfire on the beach for the younger folks, while the grandparents and the rest of my family hung out around the gas fireplace.
We might’ve all smelled like campfire at the end of the night, but it was so much fun having all of our closest friends in one place with us. We knew from the beginning of the night that we didn’t really have any good ideas of what to do when it was time to put the fire out, but when the time came, we had to do something. The best that we came up with was grabbing the metal rake that was there and spreading coals out. Then, by some miracle, it started pouring rain right as we were spreading the coals out, and solved our problem! We decided that due to the campfire smoke smell, it was probably in our best interest to stay around the gas fire the next night in our wedding clothes.
Wedding Day!!
I woke up to some small flurries falling outside, and I’m not sure if that’s good luck on a wedding day or not, but it certainly wasn’t good luck for our round of golf that morning. While the girls were getting the venue ready with flowers and rearranging the bar, the guys went golfing at Grand Lake Golf Course.
I’m glad that I had thought to bring my flannel lined pants, otherwise I’m not sure I would’ve made it through the round. The few precious moments where we got some sunshine were the most incredible feelings ever. We would all stop to soak in what little sun we could.
I don’t even know what I shot that day, because it really didn’t matter to me, and the course was incredible. We grabbed a sandwich at Cy’s Deli in Grand Lake before they dropped me back off at the venue to get ready.