May Day!: The Morning After

The day after our wedding, Mr. Goodlaff and I got up incredibly early (for newlyweds).  Duty called--we had morning breakfast at Casa Goodlaff to attend.  We rolled out of bed, made ourselves presentable, and headed out to the car. 

Oh, the car.  You remember the streamers, right?  Well, with a highway involved in this journey, we couldn't leave the streamers attached.  It was cleanup time. 

As you can see, the streamers weren't only outside the car, but all over the inside as well...

We decided to leave the "Just Married" sign, because it wasn't going anywhere....

 Because this would probably be my first and only chance to ever drive this beautiful car, I made the most of it. In the tradition of those elegant screen legends of old (and because I didn't want messy hair), I wore a scarf over my head, and pretended to be a glamour goddess. I think it worked nicely with my hooded sweatshirt, don't you?

At Casa Goodlaff, most of my extended family was assembled, preparing to depart, and within 30 minutes, hellos and goodbyes were over, and just the Goodlaffs plus a few friends and family members were left eating leftover wedding cake and other tasty treats for breakfast.  We sat around visiting for a while, but we had serious business to attend to.  There were a few wedding gifts left to open: one from my Aunt V, and another from my cousin C, who was at that time stationed in Baghdad.  They were both incredibly special gifts.

Cousin C had chosen a gorgeous silk Persian rug for us, and it just might be the nicest thing that Mr. Goodlaff and I own.  The color, the design, the size: it was completely, totally perfect.

You can't tell in the picture (my camera is complete crap, as is the lighting in our house), but the rug is very neutral with a beautiful gray-green color.  It's just elegant enough without being too fussy, and somehow manages to make even our Ikea furniture look classy.

From Aunt V., we got this:

A handmade quilt just for us.  It's a king-size quilt, which is no small feat.  It's just so beautiful, and is a constant reminder of just how much the two of us are loved.  Months before, I picked out some of the fabric, and Aunt V built everything from there.  Now that we've had a chance to use it, we love it even more.  It's just perfect for summer, and so lightweight, and I catch myself looking at it all the time, thinking of all the love and effort that went into making it.

We hung around and visited for a while, but as morning turned to afternoon, we had to get going.  Mr. Goodlaff and I said our goodbyes to my bridesmaids, some of my extended family members, and to some of our very dear friends. 

What was the hurry, you ask?  Well, a few weeks before the wedding we decided that we would like to do a day after session with our photographer, Niki Ross.  We had to go home, once again put on our wedding day best, and take a few hundred more photos!

For those of you having a morning-after wedding event, I would strongly recommend making it later in the day.  Mama Goodlaff originally told us that breakfast was at 10 AM, which was do-able; however, our guests were eager to get on the road, so it was moved up to between 8 and 9 AM, which was brutally early for those of us who'd just spent a year planning and executing a wedding.   Trust me on this: you'll be tired the next day.  Schedule your event for later in the morning or in early afternoon.  You'll be happy you did.

Are you planning a morning-after wedding event?

Miss something? Catch up here:

The Cows Come Home
Alcohol Plus Costumes, Equals...
Just Dance
The Best Things in Life Are Free
You Are My Sunshine
Holy Cake Bar, Batman!
Getting Toast-y
The Luckiest
Too-Rah-Loo-Rah
I Think We're Alone Now
Family Photos
A Recipe for Photos
Kiss the Bride
Rings and Roses
We Vow
Getting Hitched
Here Comes the Bride
First, We Walk
An Interlude
The First Look that Almost Wasn't
It's All About Me
Sharp Dressed Men
Girls, Girls, Girls
My Chariot Awaits
Dress Success
Beginning the Bridal Transformation
Painting Faces
Perfectly Coiffed
Calm Before the Storm