Weekends that surround weddings are simply the best. Coming together to celebrate a couple – especially a couple as wonderful as Cherayne and Matt – puts everyone in the best mood!
Ryan and I arrived in Orlando Friday afternoon (we stayed at my parents’ place in Jacksonville on Thursday night since they were kind enough to watch Sadie for the weekend) and immediately showered and got ready for an evening with our very best friends from college.
Cherayne and Matt have been together since college (Cherayne and I were Kappa Deltas at the University of Central Florida together), so their wedding proved to be somewhat of a UCF reunion! Ryan and I made sure to soak up lots of quality time with our friends and a group of 13 of us headed out on Friday night for a nice dinner at Prato in Winter Park to kick things off.
(FYI, for the new readers: I went to college in Orlando and lived there for four years after I graduated. I always suggest heading to Park Avenue in Winter Park to any readers who email me looking for Orlando recommendations. It’s such a cute area! There really is so much more to Orlando than Disney as I mention in this post: Orlando: The Non-Theme Park Side.)
Prato was delicious (we actually saw Carrot Top there – remember him!?) and I had a great time laughing, drinking wine and just being goofy with everyone again.
(Thanks to Ashley’s Instagram for that photo!)
After dinner, we walked to Luma to grab another drink before eventually taking our party downtown for a night out at the bars in Orlando.
We finished the night at the hotel bar at the Grand Bohemian where we were all staying for the weekend and met up with the bridal party for some more fun. It was great to have some time with the bride who was bursting with energy and making us all smile and laugh. We couldn’t wait to see her walk down the aisle the next day!
(As if her dress didn’t give her away, the bride-to-be is in the pretty lace dress!)
Wedding fun to come!!
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Prada is my favorite restaurant in Otown (i’m from Winter Park!). Their meatballs are HEAVEN. i love the bride’s lace dress! I’m currently trying to find a rehearsal dinner dress for my wedding and can’t seem to find the right thing.
Ha — I mean Prato** I guess Prada was on the mind…
The meatballs were delicious!!! We shared them as an appetizer and they were fantastic!
Please tell me you’re going to frame the picture of you and Ryan laughing! Simply adorable!
I think the last time I printed out a photo and framed it was 2010… I’m overdue!!
Agreed! I also have long, thin, blonde hair – and I love the way yours looks in that photo. What did you use to style it?
I curled it by wrapping my hair around the outside of a curling iron and just used Big Sexy Hair volumizing hairspray. It is seriously the best hairspray for superthin hair!
There is nothing like getting together with your friends! Looks like a wonderful night out. And I love your outfit and the bride-to-be’s dress.
Looks like a super fun evening and not only is the bride-to-be’s dress amazing but your skirt is FAB!
Thank you!!
All my sorority sisters and I had mini-college reunion the other weekend at a sister’s wedding and it was heavenly. Talk about memory lane and nostalgia! Looks like fun!!
Isn’t it the best!? I kind of feel like death today, but it was so worth it. I said seeing them makes me happy/sad because we have SO much fun together, but then I get so sad that none of us live near each other anymore! Glad you were able to have some time with your best friends, too!!
No that is exactly right. When we are all together it’s a lot of “OMG I miss this, we used to have so much fun every weekend!” and then I get home and it’s a lot of “OMG I am dying, I have no idea how I used to do that every single weekend”!
Hahaha YESSSSSSS!
Aww that pic of you and Ryan is SO cute!
I LOVE wedding weekends! So much fun.
That picture of you and Ryan is adorable. Love your skirt too! Stichfix?
Glad you had such a fun weekend!
Thanks! It’s from Express.
Go Knights!! I love, love, love Winter Park. I used to work on Park Ave and loved taking friends and family there that we’re visiting. It’s the cutest. Looks like you had a great weekend!
P.S. I love your outfit!
Love the picture of you and Ryan laughing! Once again you’re posts on reunions for weddings with your sorority sisters always makes me so happy to see. Most of my best friends from my sorority graduated in May, so I’m trying to get used to the alumni life and not getting to see my best friends several times during the week. You always show me that they’ll still be a part of my life even if I don’t get to see them as much or live near them.
It’s definitely hard not to see people you basically lived with for four years every day! I miss them like crazy but thankfully we do seem to get together several times a year! It’s always sooo much fun to be together again. Non-stop craziness!
I always hit up Park Avenue when I go back to Orlando to visit. And I love the Grand Bohemian … in fact the piano player there was the woman who sang at my wedding ceremony in downtown Orlando. Glad you had fun!! Has anything changed? I haven’t been to downtown Orlando since January.
I haven’t been there in a while so I feel so out of the loop! Some downtown hotspots have changed but it all feels the same to me! Park Ave was great, as always!
Take pictures, please! I love white dresses.
I love that picture of you and Ryan! What a fun time! I love weddings.
Love the blue top and skirt combo outfit!!!
weddings are so fun! and being with your friends! best time everrr
you guys look like you’re having theee best time. i agree, wedding wknds are amazing.
Love love love your friend’s white lace dress! Looks like you guys had a fabulous weekend!
Weekends with college friends are the best! Although, we always comment on how “old” we all are because we can’t hang like we used to 5 years ago. No more partying until 3 am!
I’m loving your outfit! You wouldn’t want to share the details, would you?
That’s fun to hear you talk about the “non-disney” side of Orlando! Good to know!
These pictures are all fantastic – every single one looks like you guys are having a blast! I love weddings too… there’s seriously nothing better than celebrating with friends and loved ones in that kind of setting.
Ps. LOVE your skirt and crop top in the last picture – that pattern is so cute!
Seriously in love with your whole outfit! Details puh-lease?!
Whenever you get tired of that outfit, please ship it my way! Too cute!
Omg love love love her dress and your skirt and crop top!!
We went to Orlando last Memorial Day weekend and stayed at the Grand Bohemian!! What a fantastic hotel!
Love the blue top! Looks like a great time with great friends!
Love the outfit!! I want to go to Orlando to experience that side as well. Any chance you could ask the bride where she got her dress I’m a bride-to-be and I love it!! Thanks Julie!
Gotta love a good wedding! The best part now that we’re getting older is that it’s basically a college reunion every time.
Any idea where the bride to be got her white lace dress?! LOVE it! I am getting married in November and looking for something similar
I sent her a text and will let you know! Congrats on your upcoming wedding!
Looks like you had a blast!
So fun!
p.s. what curling iron do you use? thanks!
Cute outfit! I’m a fan of the “classy crop top” look lately (as opposed to the tweenage look haha). Sounds like it was a great time!
My wife and I just got back from a wedding recently. It looks like you guys had a ton of fun enjoying life and kicking up your heals a bit!
Reunions with good friends are the best
Okay, so I’ve been reading your blog for a while now, and I knew you lived in Orlando for some time, but I had no idea you were a KD at UCF. I was a ZTA at UCF PC’08! I now think I love your blog even more!
no way! very cool!!
I’m glad it seemed like a fun time! Jealous of the visit to Orlando, as the weather was probably fabulous.
Julie how do you get soft wavy curls? I’m dying to try them!!
I absolutely LOVE your outfit! That skirt is gorgeous. I went to UCF for the first half of college, but I never knew about this area. It looks adorable!