Friday started out early. I had to meet my bridesmaid Maria (Gabe's sister) at the nail salon at 10:15 AM to get my nails done, and I was, of course, running late. When I finally got there, we got started. Now, I had been going to this salon for 2½ years and Diane had NEVER put so much time and care into doing my nails as she did that morning. By 11:30 AM I was on my way home to get my mom so we could pick up our dresses, and to pick up the guest bags and drop them at the hotel. When we got there, the back of the reception desk was overflowing with guest bags for other weddings! Apparently four other wedding groups were booked at the hotel for the weekend. When I told them I was the "in-house" bride (my reception was being held there; the rest were elsewhere) they treated me like royalty. We got everything set, then Mom and I were on our way to the dress shop.

About 40 minutes later, we were at the shop. We picked up my dress and my Mom's dress, and the shop owner gave me a hug and wished me luck. The dresses looked great (and were very heavy!) I started tearing up as we left, but Mom and I made it back to my car and all the way to the hotel without a tear shed. I checked into my suite (I stayed at the hotel the night before with my girls) and Mom took my dress upstairs and hung it up in the closet. I was ready to head home and pick up some last minute things. As I was walking back to my car, my Aunt Martha and Uncle Glenn arrived at the hotel with my Grandmother. It was so nice to see them and Aunt Martha totally helped me relax. Just seeing her had a calming effect on me. I visited with them briefly and then I was off to the house to get my overnight bag and all the little things I needed (like the attendants gifts, my shoes, etc.) I got my stuff and left Gabe and his best man (Kenny) to bring the reception paraphernalia (cake top, cake servers, favors, etc) to the hotel later. I headed back up to the hotel. I visited a bit with my family and stalked the catering manager's office because I still had a few last minute details to confirm with him. I finally found him and everything was set, so I headed up to my room to change for the rehearsal and dinner.

Side note: Let me just say, at this point, I was a nervous wreck. I hardly ate all day and my stomach was in knots. I drove myself, my Aunt Martha, my sister Kim and her boyfriend Lee to the rehearsal, and it was scary that I was driving because I was shaking so much.

Surprisingly, the rehearsal went very smoothly. I was a little late, which in turn made my entourage late (my bridesmaid Tracey and her husband Howard followed me, and my parents and grandmother followed them up to the church). We ran through the ceremony with Deacon Pat twice and everyone was good to go. I had a slight Bridezilla moment around 7:30 PM. Another wedding rehearsal was scheduled, but everyone from our party was just kind of loitering in the chapel. So I politely told everyone that there were people waiting and we should head out. Well, no one paid attention to me, so I yelled out, "I'm not kidding - everybody out!" and then they started moving! We then began our caravan to The Store Restaurant where the rehearsal dinner was held.

After the rehearsal at the church was over, an incredible calm washed over me. Every bit of nervousness left me and I was completely fine. The rehearsal dinner was very low key and quiet, which was nice. A few gifts were exchanged: Gabe's sister gave him an engraved pocket watch and was completely unable to recite the speech she had prepared (Maria got all choked up!) and Gabe's Mom gave me a gift from his aunt who was unable to make it to the wedding - a beautiful (and heavy!) gold bracelet. It was a long night and we finally left the restaurant around 11:00 PM. I think everyone was exhausted.

My bridesmaids all stayed with me in my suite the night before the wedding. I gave each of my girls her gift and a sappy card when we got back to the room. The girls loved the jewelry and tried it on with their dresses, so I got a sneak preview of how they would all look the next day. I made Maria cry with the card I gave her, which was a nice surprise. My sister Kim gave me a counted cross-stitch which she made with "Pam and Gabe, June 24, 2000" on it, and my bridesmaid Tracey gave me her present as well. We went to bed around 12:30 AM.

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