Sunday, October 2, 2016

Gloria vs. the Wedding

In honor of Kyle and my upcoming FIVE year anniversary and because I was so tickled to be able to read some of the older entries about Gloria, I'm going to do my best to catch up on some of my more favorite Gloria memories over the past five years. I'd be remiss to exclude my favorite, which is Gloria vs. the wedding (the one that was only five years ago... oops).
When Kyle and I were planning our wedding, we knew we wanted to get married at home in Arkansas and we equally knew it wouldn't be complete without Gloria. For our road-warrior pup, this meant another trip on the plane. A few days before the wedding, we packed our bags, Gloria's kennel, and a few little toys and started our trek from Reagan International. You know how some dogs do well in the airport? Just kind of walk through it (or get carried through it) silent and checking this outs? Gloria was the irate, barking dog, giving TSA a piece of her mind from behind her kennel door while we hurried down the down escalator. It's OK, Gloria, sometimes I feel like telling TSA the same thing. After a fun few days of greeting our closest friends a family, mani/pedis, and a delicious BBQ rehearsal dinner, it was go time. The Matron of Honor's hubby (Jon) was Gloria's closest confidant, and designated leash holder, at the venue (called Colonial Court Celebrations) during the morning while everyone prepped. Kyle and I did a first look photo shoot before the wedding. It was perfect to get to see each other, just us and the photographer. The venue was two stories with a walkway and staircase to get to the stage where we were married. The hours of hair and makeup were worth it for this smile:
After our first look, it was time for family photos. We only got one, but it's one of my very favorites:
The Stephen, Kyle's best man, was volunteered to take Gloria to Kyle's grandparents' house for the remainder of the wedding, as sadly, pups weren't allowed inside the venue.
After a short and sweet ceremony by Eric, the bishop who'd also married my brother, we had a wonderful time with some of our favorite people: plenty of dancing:
snacks, and of course, wedding cake (plus an amazing tiramisu groom's cake):
As the festivities drew to a close, and unknown to Kyle and I at the time, it became apparent that there had been a mix up at pup drop off earlier in the day, for when Kyle's grandparents arrived home and pulled off their dancing shoes, Gloria was no where to be found. Instead of going to Kyle's grandparents' house and dropping G off, Stephen left her across the street at "the Necessaries." After a bit of detective work, Kyle's grandparents determined where Ms. G had been dropped off and retrieved her from her newfound friends. A little later, the familiar face of her Auntie Cheryl showed up to take her back to grandma D's for the night.