Mountain Wedding High

So this past week I was in Glacier National Park for the wedding of these jerks -

More heartfelt feelings after the jump.

It was glorious, you guys! I am such a mountain-y forest-type girl anyway, but to be able to spend a handful of days reveling in the mountains with friends new and old, all to celebrate the greatest happiness of one of my best friends? So amazing.

Mountains and yard games and beergaritas and LARPING and late-night sing-a-longs and more mountains and a haunted cabin and A GRIZZLY BEAR JUST DECIDING TO SHOW UP WHILE MANTHEI AND I WERE WALKING IN THE RIVER.

East Glacier National Park, Montana

What time is it? Hammock Time! #2Legit

Brother...against...BROTHER!

Haunted cabin...what's in there? Just a bunch of creepy redneck torture family zombies, I bet.

Manthei, celebrating the fact that the grizzly bear must have had a big breakfast and therefore was not hungry enough to want to eat us.

And then the wedding! The most beautiful wedding in the entire world. If you know me, then you know I'm a huuuuge bawl baby...and weddings, especially ones of my best friends, cause me to sob and weep and cry like it's a full-time job.

Yeah. It is pretty adorable.

And this one...it was just so intimate and magical and beautiful, not just because of the way they did the ceremony but because of who Erica and Chris are as people. Erica is not just one of my best friends - she is a kindred spirit. Back when she lived in Minneapolis, one of our most beloved traditions was taking a walk around Lake of The Isles while we talked about boys and writing and other stuff. I can still remember the walks when Chris was just a boy on the internet, and then the walks after they had met in Columbia (aka, after they both flew out to Columbia to meet up and hang out - talk about romantic, right? And absolutely perfect, if you know Erica), the walks when things were starting to get serious and therefore a little bit harder, the walk after Erica had met Chris' wonderful parents, the walk when they decided that she would be moving out to L.A. to live with Chris. Those walks are now like a moving, physical, landscaped scrapbook to me, of the trajectory of her relationship with this guy named Chris.

I already knew I liked him when Erica would tell me stories about his funny texts and emails to her, or when she would post pictures on her blog of the boxes FULL of candy that he would send to her. But I started to really love him when Erica would tell me stories of his patient and kind love for her. Late night phone conversations, pep-talk emails, and careful trips out of his geographical and comfort zone told me that Erica had found a safe and happy home in his heart. And that is the best thing that a friend can ever ask for, when it comes to someone you love finding someone they love.

So even though their wedding weekend was the first time I was meeting Chris face-to-face - and even though he did not, in fact, come through on our original agreement - I already knew that I liked him.

A lot.


A lot a lot.


You could even say I love the guy, in that non-creepy, totally platonic, "Hey I love you for marrying my best friend!" kind of way.
So anyway, congratulations again, Chris and Erica! Thank you for giving us all the most magical week of our lives.

And also, the dance party? That was pretty rad, too.

But now you're in Bali, which supports my reasoning for calling you jerks earlier. Have fun being beautiful and in love and all married on your tropical island for the next week. Pretty sure it won't be as awesome as humid Minnesota weather or traffic on 62 or dog walks around artificial lakes in the planned communities of Minnetonka, but I think you guys will probably have an okay time.

Author Edit: Last night I stumbled upon this post I wrote after meeting Erica face-to-face for the first time! So crazy. This is why I love having a blog...sometimes you're just smart enough to record those crucial bits of your life as they're happening.