A Mexican Wedding

Saturday, we flew to Denver to see Ryan's cousin Chantelle marry Ruben. While facebook can be a dangerous tool, it also serves as a great way to connect with family...family you had never met before but felt like you knew them for years. Throughout the past several months, her & I have traded numerous messages regarding wedding stuff, surviving being engaged (yes at times we wanted to choke our fiances ;) ), family planning, and general life stuff. So it was wonderful to finally meet Chantelle, her sister Casandra, and her parents Rosemary & Cesar. **Rose is Mr. T's sister.


The Thompsons are part of 8 siblings and Mr. Espinoza (Cesar) is one of 10 I believe. Ruben, being full Mexican, has 20+ aunts and uncles making a whole lot of cousins! They invited over 600 people and nearly 550 attended the soiree. 

lovely church

here comes the bride...

The beautiful bride & her dad 

no turning back now ;)

Rose, the future-in-laws, & I

goin to the chapel and we're...

The ceremony was set at a beautiful Catholic church in Brighton, CO (ironically where Ryan's Aunt Jeanette got married many years ago). It included a full blown Catholic mass as well as many Mexican traditions to send the couple on their merry way to wedded bliss. Portions were preached in Spanish, really testing my skills. Needless to say, I struggled to understand those parts since my vocab extends as far as hola and como esta. Nonetheless, it was such a neat combination of cultures.

mariachi band!

pretty in purple

Thompsons

Jeanette, Lorenzo, & Eric

a packed house

Laura & I

soon-to-be Thompsons

table for 2

yummy cake

Go Cubs Go!

Mr. & Mrs. Ruben Chavez

Now onto the partayyyy and boy was there ever one! Three bands and a DJ supplied ample amounts of kick-off-your-shoes-and-dance music for the guests. A mariachi band entertained during cocktail hour, serenading us with Mexican favorites. Next was a band from Northern Mexico traveling through the US given as a gift by some of Ruben's family members. Lastly what I deemed a Mexican Country band rocked the house. It was so fun getting to see new traditions and explore my two-step swag. 













The following day, we took a mini drive to Boulder to see the sights. The scenery is breathtaking. People say that CA is so pretty, and it truly is to me. But I actually find CO to be even more beautiful with its snow capped mountains and vast landscaping.

heading to Pearl Street 

Pearl Street, aka shop heaven

bar on wheels, college town...check!

gorg back drop

all smiles

The Sink

monster pizza

We strolled down Pearl Street, nestled close to University of Colorado's campus. Ah to be in college again...we enjoyed some light shopping, fall weather, and a delicious late lunch at The Sink (recommended by Uncle Lorenzo). 


Finishing up our trip with quality family time, we caught up on life with Chantelle, Ruben, Casandra, Rosemary, Cesar, Jeanette, & Lorenzo. A side of the family that without wedding events, I might not have met for years and years to come.


We are so excited to see the newlywed Chavez family at our wedding in just a few short weeks!