Everyone has been asking about the name "Bubble Kiss Party" ~ Several years ago, one of the jealous guys asked Missy and Katrina "what they did on girls' night out, anyway?" Katrina, being her usual boisterous self, answered, "What girls always do: blow bubbles and kiss!" (and have pillow fights, etc.) Her answer turned into a term for girl time. Soon after that, she and I, with Missy, Tine, and Jen, went to Bonnaroo 2004 together with no guys in our camp. We called our camp The Bubble Kiss Party, with a banner and everything. We were absolutely pampered and spoiled by all the guys camped around us, and had a blast at the festival! Since then, Missy has called her bachelorette weekend at Shakori Hills Grassroots festival Bubble Kiss Party II, and I called my night with the girls pre-wedding BKP III; in a few weeks, Katrina is having Bubble Kiss Party IV (The Sexy Bitch is Getting Hitched!)
The girls and I had a tough time getting out of the rehearsal dinner net; we had to coordinate cars, people, baggage, and the baby. Russell and I were splitting ways until the next day at the ceremony. He was camping at Shakori; Orion and I would be with the girls at Kevin's house. It took a lot of planning to figure out what needed to be where and when; we didn't always get it right. The diaper bag was an item that never seemed to be where it should, even after I made up a second one.
We managed to get disentangled and on the road to Pittsboro, with just a few random stops and starts. Once there, we settled in and started playing with stuff. Patti, Crash, Missy, Katrina, Aimee, and eventually Tine joined me for the Bubble Kiss fun. Adam and Liz were staying at Kevin's too, and they helped out by distracting the baby so that I could work on stuff. We mostly just listened to music and crafted yet more steampunky accessories for the wedding. Missy and Katrina worked on a cool feathered hair barrette for Kat. Crash and Aimee added a bit more pizazz to Crash's mini top hat. We did a jewelry swap and reused some of those pieces, too! I was a busy bee; I handed out all the items I'd made for the girls, including the peacock feather fans, Adam's monocle, and a necklace for Missy. I also made boutineirs for the groomsmen and Adam, vamped up Adam's vest, and made a bouquet for myself. I never used the bouquet; in the confusion I couldn't find the flowers, so I used a fan instead. I gave my fan to Katrina after the wedding! Poor Crash was so burned out from a night of driving and a long day working in the sun that she went down for the count early. The rest of finally settled around 2am, just after Tine arrived. It was a true sleepover; most of slept in the living room on various pieces of furniture. Orion had a chair to himself right by my head, pushed up again the couch for safety. It was fun - like being a little girl again!
In the morning we woke up relatively late and got a bit of a slow start. There was a lot of stuff to be done, for sure, but no part of me wanted to get pent up and stressed out about it! We served up fruit and lox bagels, had a compainionable breakfast, and organized our day. Missy was taking Orion to my mom for the day, and then taking Katrina to find some shoes to go with her outfit. Adam, Liz, Patti, and Kevin prepped to go out and gather the rest of their needs for the wedding. Crash and I got on the road to go to my hair appointment out in Saxapahaw, at La Coupe, Nealy's place.
We had a nice drive out, it was hazy and hot, but it was good to spend some time with her. We are always together in places where there is a lot of activity; we rarely have time to sit and chat. As usual, we discovered yet more things we have in common. She's really my sista from another mista; we truly vibe well together. I don't usually get on too well with other women; I think I have too big a personality and I threaten a lot of people. But Crash and I have clicked since moment one, dancing on the playa at dawn!
The hair cut and style was fun! Nealy is very talented and his shop is a delightful place to be. It's in a log cabin behind his house in Saxapahaw. He's got good hands, too, so my sensitive head is rarely twinged. He gave me the full treatment; hair wash, cut, and style. I loved the style! Half-up with ringlets in the back. I wish it looked like that everyday!
After the hair appointment, we arrived back at Kevin's around 2pm. We had four hours before we had to be at the wedding. Pretty much everyone was out doing something, and I had only to do my makeup and get dressed. For the first time in weeks I paused, almost confused, and realized that I had nothing to do. Nothing on the list. Plenty of time to just relax. With a sigh of relief, I ate lunch and kicked back a bit, and finally wrote my vows.
Actually, I had written my vows on Tuesday night while we were at Oishii. I was suddenly inspired and wrote them on the back of a sushi menu checklist. I really liked what I wrote, and I folded it up and stuck it in my pocket along with the brainstorm sheet I did the week previous. On the way home I reached for it and realized I lost it at some point. I was devastated; I tried to re-create them a little while later but couldn't catch the flavor of it. I gave up and hoped it would come to me, in some form, again. Finally it did in a quiet moment on the couch in Pittsboro. I obviously didn't have them memorized, but I wasn't worried; I didn't want them to sound stiff or formal, and I had already planned to half-improv it anyway.
The girls returned from their errands, Gail and Natalie arrived, and a flurry of activity began. We turned up the music, applied make up, fussed with hair, and got dressed. The cars were packed and off we went!
Meanwhile, at Shakori, another huge flurry of activity was taking place. Russell was inundated with a million and one questions; people arrived, the DJ equipment was set up, tents went up, the potluck loaded in, and life was good! Russell and his entourage had stayed up the night before and had a good time, and they still managed to put in a solid day of work before the ceremony. I wasn't the least bit worried about how it was going at Shakori; a couple of times I thought, "Oh, I hope that gets done..." but never enough to actually concern myself with it.
That's one of the things that I really love about Russell; he is so dependable. I don't have to worry about stuff, or do everything myself. He's hard working and he thinks ahead. Plus, our preferences are usually similar if not the same, so it's easy to do things up to each other's standards. I knew for sure that he would never let me down on our wedding day, so there was nothing for me to stress about. I knew he had it covered. It was a relieving thought. It also was that feeling that allowed me to find the words for my vows again. That, and thinking about how magical it all was when we first got together, how wonderfully easy our relationship is, and how much we have in common. We love all the same things, and we love each other. Life is easy!
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