Our Crazy Weekend, and Verde’s

A dear friend of mine got hitched this weekend, and I was honored to be asked to rock a gorgeous purple Vera Wang dress and precede her down the aisle towards never-ending marital bliss.  The wedding took place in Lakeway at Vintage Villas, setting the stage for a semi-destination wedding only 30 minutes outside of Austin.   The venue is gorgeous, with party rooms and guest suites all overlooking Lake Travis.   The rehearsal dinner Friday night at Laguna Gloria was  elegant, with a cocktail hour and four course meal with wine pairings to match (thank you, rented party bus, for getting us all safely back to the Villas, even though you ran into a gate).  S and I reserved a guest room for the night, which was spacious, but cozy.  I had little time to enjoy our beautiful view Saturday morning, as the festivities started at 9am!

View from our guest room

On a side note:  Vintage Villas is lovely, but quite pricey.  I heard from one of the other bridesmaids that signing up on their email list will yield you great deals on rooms on non-wedding weekends.  We’re talking 50% off.

The wedding was set in a lush green lawn under a white gazebo with Lake Travis in the background.  The flowers, by Visual Lyrics, were perfect bouquets of green and purple orchids interspersed with white hydrangea and hypericum berries.  These details were nothing compared to my friend, who was an absolutely stunning bride!

Ceremony Site, early Saturday morning.

Almost time to walk S down the aisle!

At the reception The Sophisticates inspired everyone to rock the dance floor with their mix of classic and contemporary covers, and rock it we did.  For four straight hours.   S and I understand the responsibility of being in a wedding party — you have to party harder than anyone else at the wedding.  Can’t…feel…feet…

After the buffet dinner and garter toss and cake and first dance and last dance, we saw them off  at 10:30pm to their villa with a wall of bubbles.

You may think that our party stopped there. Oh no. It was just now party o’clock at Graham Central Station for B’s birthday fiesta! (I would like to take this moment to make a quick shout-out to KMacB and her apparently epic post-preparty performance with a hard hat).   A quick change in the car and a hop-skip-jump down FM 620 and we were ready for more! With home base at Denim and Diamonds, brief ventures to the ghetto, karaoke, coyote ugly, and biker bars were more for some serious people watching than they were for dancing.  Words I would use to describe this place:  hysterical, seriously?!, OMG, colorful, that just happened, are you seeing this?, fantastic, and bizarre.  Seriously, I felt like we were at a circus. And the best part is almost everyone there is taking themselves seriously.  SO, highly highly recommend, but maybe only once, just to say you’ve been there.

Home by 2:45am, bed by 3am.  Woke up at 1:30pm Sunday afternoon (thank you, Benedryl).

Feet…still…hurt..

Partied…too…hard…

BUT IT DIDN’T STOP THERE! Sunday S and I had to go pick up his car from Vintage Villas (as we just took one to GSC).  We took a small detour to Verde’s, a Mexican food restaurant just west of SH 71 on Hamilton Pool Road.  We’ve driven past this place many a time, and it’s always packed.  Craving queso after a long weekend, we stopped by.  Definitely not packed on a Sunday afternoon at 3pm, although our waiter said there is almost always a wait on weekend nights. And I can see why.  The back of the lot is a huge lush green grassy area littered with footballs, soccer balls, and Frisbees, perfect for wearing out the kiddos while relaxing with a ‘rita on the outside patio.

Patio and Yard

Queso – pretty good, but not great. Chile relleno – are these usually fried? S generally enjoyed his.  Chicken quesadilla – just chicken and cheese, nothing else.  Good for picky kids, maybe not for adults with more sophisticated taste buds.   Margaritas – are you kidding? After the weekend we had? Pass.  Prices – more than I usually pay for Mexican food.

MMmmm, queso.

Quesadillas - only ok.

Atmosphere gets a big fat thumbs up (if you have kids and can score a spot on the patio), food gets a thumbs to the side.

AND THEN, we had a weenie and marshmallow roast at the in-laws, complete with a TV on the deck by the fire pit so we didn’t miss Desperate Housewives.

Whew!