everyone traveled to the Antrim 1844 on Sunday for the wedding festivities.
The Antrim is a lovely hotel/bed and breakfast type establishment in Taneytown, about 40 minutes away from Frederick. There's a big main building, as well as a handful of other buildings with rooms and suites. Sarah the Bridesmaid, her sister Barb, and I stayed in the Slonaker House, which was just as pink as it looks:
Since Sarah was in the wedding, and Barb wasn't there yet, I checked in before heading over to the ceremony. I was guided by a very helpful young man who gave me a golf cart ride back to the main building after giving me the room tour.
The grounds of the Antrim are gorgeous. There are tons of pretty flowers,
a beautiful altar for weddings,
and a fountain featuring what appear to be spitting lions on the top.
The weather was beautiful as well. A bit hot at first, but overall, sunny and lovely. Very nice wedding weather, for which we can all be thankful.
The groom and groomsmen entered first and took their place at the front. From left to right, Michael the groom, Jason his brother, and Jacob the bride's brother.
Next, the bridesmaids came in. From left to right, Sarah's college friend Amanda, her other college friend Robin, and her high school friend Sarah (who, if you are new to reading, went to Hood with me and is how I know Sarah W. and came to be invited). I am endlessly jealous of their dresses. I want one.
Finally, the bride arrived. (Note the spitting lions making a reappearance in the upper right. To my knowledge, they did not spit on Sarah W.)
Sarah's father gave her away,
and the minister (who bore a slight resemblance to Brad Pitt) began the ceremony.
It is at this point that I'd like to thank Michael for having a last name that starts with a W, so I can keep referring to her as Sarah W. I have too many Sara(h)s to start changing nicknames now. As it is, she's the second Sara(h) to get married on September 20th. I told Sarah the Bridesmaid that she better start working on next year's Sara(h) September 20th wedding, even if it is a Monday.
After the wedding party recessional, the guests headed inside for cocktail hour.
The inside of the main house was quite the maze, but we managed to find the bar, where I found water, red wine, and vodka gimlets, and Barb was promptly carded. After she retrieved her ID from the car and proved to the bartender that she was, in fact, of age, he happily served her the seven and seven she ordered.
But weddings are not all about the open bar - cocktail hour also featured waiters and waitresses roaming the grounds with trays of delight - raspberry brie puffs, mini crab cakes, and one of the greatest things I've ever had - beef and cheese wrapped in bacon and skewered. The bridal party was equally ravenous.
During cocktail hour, the photographer was quite busy. He took the traditional wedding photos, of course, but these are the ones I can't wait to see - croquet time:
After cocktail hour, everyone filed inside to the reception area. The bridal party lined up,
After the wedding party recessional, the guests headed inside for cocktail hour.
The inside of the main house was quite the maze, but we managed to find the bar, where I found water, red wine, and vodka gimlets, and Barb was promptly carded. After she retrieved her ID from the car and proved to the bartender that she was, in fact, of age, he happily served her the seven and seven she ordered.
But weddings are not all about the open bar - cocktail hour also featured waiters and waitresses roaming the grounds with trays of delight - raspberry brie puffs, mini crab cakes, and one of the greatest things I've ever had - beef and cheese wrapped in bacon and skewered. The bridal party was equally ravenous.
During cocktail hour, the photographer was quite busy. He took the traditional wedding photos, of course, but these are the ones I can't wait to see - croquet time:
After cocktail hour, everyone filed inside to the reception area. The bridal party lined up,
and walked in to their respective tables.
Before sitting down, the bride and groom shared their first dance.
Dinner was venison that Sarah W said was from New Zealand, with a really good salad and risotto to compliment it. Unless you were Barb, who had her V-card ready to show the waitstaff so she would get a vegetarian meal (which she also said was very good).
The cake sat in the middle of the room, waiting, and taunting us.
After a bit of dancing, Sarah W and Michael cut the cake (accompanied by a song that Sarah later told me was by Cake).
The cake was as good as it was pretty - marble cake with either vanilla or mocha filling, and buttercream icing.
Dinner was venison that Sarah W said was from New Zealand, with a really good salad and risotto to compliment it. Unless you were Barb, who had her V-card ready to show the waitstaff so she would get a vegetarian meal (which she also said was very good).
The cake sat in the middle of the room, waiting, and taunting us. After a bit of dancing, Sarah W and Michael cut the cake (accompanied by a song that Sarah later told me was by Cake).
The cake was as good as it was pretty - marble cake with either vanilla or mocha filling, and buttercream icing. A bit later, Sarah W threw the bouquet. We had all decided that Sarah the Bridesmaid should catch the bouquet, and shoved her to the front of the crowd. She was not expecting this.
But despite her best efforts, she wound up with it anyway (although it came home with me because she couldn't take it back on the plane to Michigan). 
There was dancing throughout the evening as well. At one point the DJ was at the bar at the same time I was, and made the mistake of telling me to come request songs. He should know better than to request that of someone with as much Hood College Dancing With Groups of Girls Experience as I have...I might've had to ask him for a second sheet of paper. But he did play quite a few of them, of course in addition to those requested by the bride.
and a Do Not Disturb cat.
Our room was named for Abraham Lincoln, and lest anyone think of doing something inappropriate in the bed, he was watching over it:
Barb gazed at him adoringly.
We were also able to catch the end of the Emmy Awards. I've not missed an Emmy telecast in probably 15 years, so Sarah and Michael, this is how much I love you two! (Don't worry, I watched it on my Tivo the next day). If anyone missed it, the telecast was one of the best in recent history, if for no other reason than this: 
We checked out of our room, and stuck around a bit to help Sarah and Michael pack up. They also gave us a tour of the bridal suite, which had a gorgeous view of the courtyard (and the spitting lion fountains!).
It also had a set of stairs that led straight into the ceiling,
and a very surreal painting that reminds me of the scene in Garden State when Zach Braff's character is wearing a shirt with the same pattern as the wallpaper.
Their bed was even higher than ours.
After her sister had taken a flying leap, Barb used the bed to help Sarah W. repackage her wedding dress.
And off they went, in their beautifully decorated car, to their honeymoon in St. Lucia!
But despite her best efforts, she wound up with it anyway (although it came home with me because she couldn't take it back on the plane to Michigan). There was dancing throughout the evening as well. At one point the DJ was at the bar at the same time I was, and made the mistake of telling me to come request songs. He should know better than to request that of someone with as much Hood College Dancing With Groups of Girls Experience as I have...I might've had to ask him for a second sheet of paper. But he did play quite a few of them, of course in addition to those requested by the bride. 
For the last song, Sarah W's brother danced with Sarah's sister. Don't they look like they're at prom? This was of great amusement to the rest of us.
Sarah W and Michael departed amongst a wave of bubbles. (Good choice with the bubbles, by the way, guys - they've been put to good use this week in my office. We've all been blowing them at people who aren't expecting them and freaking them out.)
After the bride and groom had retired to their suite for the night, Sarah the Bridesmaid, Barb and I returned to our Pink House and our giant room. The room was lovely - giant bed (which all three of us fit into with plenty of room) and complimentary champagne,
a monstrous bathroom with a giant jacuzzi tub and a tiny shower stall and spotlit toilet (not pictured),
and a Do Not Disturb cat.
Our room was named for Abraham Lincoln, and lest anyone think of doing something inappropriate in the bed, he was watching over it:
Barb gazed at him adoringly.
We were also able to catch the end of the Emmy Awards. I've not missed an Emmy telecast in probably 15 years, so Sarah and Michael, this is how much I love you two! (Don't worry, I watched it on my Tivo the next day). If anyone missed it, the telecast was one of the best in recent history, if for no other reason than this:and this:
And in what realm does Jon Cryer deserve an Emmy over Neil Patrick Harris and/or Rainn Wilson? I like Jon Cryer a lot, and while I have my problems with his show, they have never been because of him. And he's Duckie, for goodness sake. But Neil Patrick Harris is the greatest thing about his show, let alone that whole night of TV (and most other nights too). (This might be a more easily debated topic if I knew what episodes each had submitted. I will research this.) Hopefully this will be rectified next year. I wish they would let me in the Academy so I could vote.
But I digress.
The next morning, we woke up bright and early and were greeted by the butler outside the door, delivering our coffee tray. He also took away the remains when we were finished.
We also put the leftover wedding bubbles to good use, by blowing them at the president.
We also put the leftover wedding bubbles to good use, by blowing them at the president.Before we left for breakfast, we made it a point to measure just how high the bed was. Our estimate was that it was really freaking high.
At 9, we wandered back across the grounds to the main house, where we met the overnight guests for brunch.
Let me just tell you - when you're at a brunch with a set menu, the very best place to sit is at a table with a vegetarian on your right and a girl who doesn't eat pork on your left. Look, triple bacon!
We checked out of our room, and stuck around a bit to help Sarah and Michael pack up. They also gave us a tour of the bridal suite, which had a gorgeous view of the courtyard (and the spitting lion fountains!).
It also had a set of stairs that led straight into the ceiling,
and a very surreal painting that reminds me of the scene in Garden State when Zach Braff's character is wearing a shirt with the same pattern as the wallpaper.The Antrim staff had delivered some of the leftover cake to the bridal suite for Sarah and Michael. And also, for Sarah and Sarah the next morning. (Sarah swears it was still good).
Their bed was even higher than ours.
After her sister had taken a flying leap, Barb used the bed to help Sarah W. repackage her wedding dress.After we cleared out the suite, we loaded the leftover flowers into Sarah's mom's car. While we were doing that, though, Sarah the Bridesmaid carried out a task commissioned by Jacob:
And off they went, in their beautifully decorated car, to their honeymoon in St. Lucia!
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