Wedding weekends are simply the best. Especially when you get to watch your best friend say, “I Do” to the man she loves more than words can describe.

We arrived in Vegas on Thursday evening and ended up passing out almost immediately. After a long work week, I knew it was important to get some rest in order to fully soak in all the wedding festivities.

We woke up bright and early on Friday morning and started the day off at the gym.

We needed to sweat in order to indulge in breakfast buffets and Fat Tuesdays. #Vegas #Everclear #College #StillGotIt

We also went on a short gondola ride as we waited for everyone else to arrive and settle in.

Around 6:30, we met up with Rachel and Adam and took the tram over to Treasure Island for the rehearsal dinner. The weather was perfect for the occasion as we sat poolside to toast to the soon-to-be-Pearls! Mama Albert made cute pink tote bags for the bridesmaids and Gina stuffed them with all sorts of goodies for us. They were such thoughtful gifts and it made me all the more excited for the wedding the next day!

After the dinner, we went back to the Mirage and got ready to meet everyone at Rhumbar.

Rhumbar had an outdoor patio area with couches, a mini dance floor, and a DJ. It was a perfect kick-off to the wedding weekend.

Our Rieber 3 North family was reunited after the longest time and it was so fun to celebrate the one who’s kept us together all these years.

Around 11, Gina and I took off and went back up to her suite to start winding down for the big day.

(Pizza and fries may have been ordered.)

The Big Day:

The bridesmaids met downstairs at the Roasted Bean at 9AM to get breakfast and coffee. Around 10AM, Abby got to the suite and she started applying our make-up for the ceremony.

Since there were several of us getting our hair and make-up done, there was a lot of down time during the day. But it ended up being perfect because it was really nice to have the day to ease into the wedding.

I was so impressed with Gina’s calm demeanor the whole time. There is, naturally, a lot of stress that comes along with wedding preparations – especially the day of! So I was pretty surprised at how relaxed she was.

Tyler and Gina had planned to have the ceremony outdoors by the pool/waterfall. But, as the afternoon passed by and the rain started coming down pretty heavily, she decided to make the call to hold it indoors in one of the ballrooms.

I know that must have been a hard call to make because it was the vibe and the ambience of the Mirage pool that made her choose this particular venue. But she handled it so well. She said, at the end of the day, all that mattered was that she got to marry Tyler. (<— one of many reasons why I love this lady. She’s got her priorities straight.)

Even though we had the ceremony indoors, it was still perfect. And it didn’t really matter what the ballroom looked like because all eyes were on the beautiful bride. I had to try my very hardest to keep my tears under control. She was absolutely stunning and beaming the entire time.

I almost lost it when I looked over at Tyler. As Gina walked down the aisle toward him, his eyes filled with tears and his smile kept getting bigger and bigger. You could just see how much he loved her by the way he looked at her. It was a very emotional moment watching Papa Albert hand her over to Tyler.

The ceremony was short and sweet. The pastor kept it light-hearted but also very emotional and meaningful at the same time.

Gina and Tyler had a “Blending of the Sands” ceremony. They poured their blue and pink colored sands together to symbolize the joining of the bride and groom and their families. It was only fitting that they did it in a Mickey/Minnie glass container. I didn’t get a picture since I wasn’t able to carry anything in with me, but it’s a cute keepsake that they can place in their new home!

The reception took place in another ballroom. I was so nervous to give my speech because I was afraid of how emotional I would get while I was standing up there. Writing the speech itself was a challenge because every time I sat down to it, my eyes would well up with tears until I could no longer see the computer screen.

Luckily, I kept it together. Once the speeches were over, we spent the rest of the time dancing the night away.

The dance floor was hoppin’ the entire night and I spent most of the time dancing and chatting with friends.

I love these people so much.

I don’t know how they managed to do it, but the beautiful couple stayed smiling all night long even though there were an endless number of pictures and people to say hello to.

Probably because they were both just so very excited that, after 7 years of being together, they are finally husband and wife.

Big congratulations to Gina and Tyler! We had such a wonderful time celebrating your love this weekend. Thank you for including us in your special day!