Welcome to Santa Cruz

My cousin's wedding to a Californian native was the coming weekend in Santa Cruz so we caught a Greyhound bus down which only took about 3-4 hours from San Francisco. I was happy to be leaving the city for a smaller more laid back town and of course to see more of my extended family who had all arrived for the impending nuptuals. The weekend consisted of a hens/bucks night, rehearsal dinner, wedding and post wedding brunch over 4 days so it truly was a whole weekend of events.

We arrived in town around 3pm and none of us had had anything to eat since breakfast so we dropped our bags at the Holiday Inn and headed out looking for some grub. We weren't staying in Santa Cruz but a smaller town called Watsonville where the wedding was also located. It was nice enough but the weather wasn't perticularly good. Meanwhile the time was ticking away and we became worried we would miss the hens/bucks night due to them both being early evening events. Luckily we made it just in time after quickly throwing down dinner and chucking on our clothes for the night. C & I headed to the hens night at a cool little Hawaiian themed restaurant where the food was good and the drinks were better. The boys went off to a pub for the night. The bride's spray tan was booked early so she was whisked away after only an hour so we all headed back to the hotel.

The next day we all rose fairly late and went down for the hotels free breakfast - best free breakfast buffet ever - they had everything you could think of and more. Back in Australia you'd be paying at least $20 per head for it... so stoked. Anyway we didn't have any plans for the day but the rehearsal dinner in the late afternoon so we caught up on some washing, wandered up to the shops for lunch and had a swim in the indoor pool. There was a wheelchair access chair into the pool and we had a pretty good time testing that out, I nearly peed my pants when I sent C in on it!

We all got ready and caught a taxi to the rehearsal dinner together. The driver didn't seem to know the address we were asking for as it was at a private house, so he ended up going the wrong way and had to pull over while I loaded google maps on my phone to show him which way to go. This difficulty with directions was a sign of things to come.... The venue was decorated rustic with sunflowers and yellow tablecloths and there was a freshly made margharita stand and taco cart, so cute and fun - oh and the house it was held at was bloody stunning. Despite the confusion in getting there the rehearsal dinner was really good and it was nice to see all my family yet again - the bride and groom seemed really relaxed and we are always guaranteed a great time with them. As people started to leave we called a taxi and waited out the front for it to arrive. We waited over an hour and a half for it to get there and made 3 calls where they insisted someone was only '10 minutes away' and still no cigar. Most of the guests had left and we were still standing out the front, I was so pissed off. The brides dad kindly offered us a ride back to our hotel when it became clear no one was coming to get us. It was so lovely of him to do that for us but I felt terrible it got to that stage, Watsonville Taxi - zero out of ten!

Directions to the rehearsal dinner - loved the flags!

D, N & A enjoying the free booze

The day of the wedding was cloudy, soggy & cold. When I woke up I hoped so much that it would clear for the ceremony at 4pm but as the day went on it became apparent it wasn't going to change. The property where the wedding was held was supposed to have amazing views of the ocean but the fog was like pea soup so we weren't able to see anything. Again, the event was held at a gorgeous private house located on a hill and was decorated in navy and yellow accents. It was just beautiful. The ceremony was very personal and heartfelt, I did a reading selected by the couple and it was so special to be a part of it all!

My colour coordinated outfit for the wedding -
 the zip on my dress broke just before we had to leave... PANIC! But I fixed it!

The stunning house the wedding was held at - I think we all wanted to move in



D&S - they wrote their own Vows which was lovely

I just loved the decorations, the bride had serious style!

We ate our yummy buffet dinner outside in the elements - it was cold and the fog didn't go away but the sounds of chatting and laughter increased as the night drew closer. On dark the party moved to the garage which was set up with fairy lights and a photo booth and of course the DJ. We danced the night away (partially in fancy dress items taken from the photo booth). Everyone had an amazing time and got very sloshed!

My crazy family who made the trek to the states

The next day we all woke up, most with sore heads and made our way to the Brides parents house for a farewell breakfast. Wouldn't you know it the day was PERFECT and completely opposite to the day before. The sun was out, not a cloud in the sky and very warm! The complete opposite of the wedding day! After grabbing some yummy food and a cold drink we decided to take a walk down to the beach through a nearby campground. The beach although nice wasn't as good as the beaches back in Australia... We are truly spoiled there though we did see a pod of dolphins cruising the waves which was amazing!

Directions to the beach - we got lost!

OK - where the hell do we go!?

 After saying our goodbyes and waiting near an hour for another taxi back to the hotel we kind of just lazed about for the rest of the afternoon in anticipation of our direction towards Vegas the next day.