Our Rehearsal Dinner

Ben and I decided to have our rehearsal dinner at Maggiano's, the place where we had our first date on January 10, 2010. That first date was such a magical night for both of us. Ben arrived first but sat in his car until he saw me walk up and sit down at the patio. He made me wait for a couple minutes! I was sitting there playing with my phone, pretending I was busy, not just some loser waiting for a date ;)

Then after those couple minutes passed I saw the guy I had been chatting to online with via Match.com. He was sooo handsome and he was carrying gorgeous pink tulips. I still remember what he was wearing...dark jeans and a black shirt that had light pinstripes (the shirt he wore to the rehearsal dinner! coincidence? I think not!). I nearly jumped out of my seat with excitement. I had been a chronic online dater for several years, trying it on and off and I had never met anyone like Ben online before. We had great online email conversations and we were about to embark on the best adventure of my life-literally! Since meeting Ben we have traveled to Mammoth, Cambria, the Salton Sea, St. Louis (twice), Chicago, the Bahamas, the Mojave Desert, and for our honeymoon we went to Costa Rica! We just finished backpacking 26 miles in the southern Sierras. Life with Ben is anything but boring! We've ziplined, white water rafted, fished, hunted (well he did the hunting), snorkeled, hiked, biked, climbed, and explored. But for our rehearsal dinner we took it back to where it all started--Maggiano's. Where the red wine, flowers, and great conversation swept me off my feet! Oh yeah, and the fact that he looks like Brad Pitt does help a bit ;)

Here are some pictures of the rehearsal dinner!

Ben and I getting excited!

My mom and Ben's cousin, Kristin, with her boyfriend, Greg

Ben's uncles, Wes and Stu, with my dad.

Aunt Alicia and Uncle Jim

Uncle Leo, Aunt Marilyn, and cousin, Greg

My cousin, Heather, her husband, Greg, and their kids

Me passing out gifts to our wedding party

Mama and Me

James, the cutest baby boy ever!

My sister-in-law, Melissa and her kids, Landon and Paige

Ben's Uncle Guy, Aunt Karla, & Aaron

My sister and her boyfriend, Jeremy

Ben's groomsmen, Paul and Erick, and Erick's girlfriend, Bianca

Ben's parents, Laurie and Gary

Our wedding wouldn't have been nearly as wonderful without my amazing wedding planner and friend, Annette, and her friend (now mine too!), Roxy. Thanks ladies!