Columbus: Blake and Brendan get married!

At the end of July, Levent and I headed to Columbus to his younger brother's wedding/family time with the Millers. I had really looked forward to this trip because I knew it was going to full of fun activities but also because I genuinely enjoy hanging out with my in-laws. Plus, Chadwick and Tirzah were going to be there (all the way from Japan). We hadn't seen them since our wedding in 2019. It was really nice to be all together again, and this time, with Brendan too.

We arrived very late (or early) on Thursday night (Friday morning) due to some aircraft delays. But we made it, which was the important. Friday morning greeted us with a family Turkish breakfast complete with Turkish coffee for afters. Turkish breakfasts are one of my favorite things the Miller family has introduced me to.

Shortly after brunch, we packed up and headed to a park to have a picnic and stroll with Brendan's family.

Afterwards, we had the afternoon free from wedding things, so naturally (as I did a lot that weekend), Shirley and I walked to Upper Cup, their neighborhood coffee shop. I ran low on sleep for that entire weekend so this was my natural pick-me-up solution. (Plus when I am on vacation I want some kind of iced coffee/chai every day. It's such a bougie habit). 

On Friday evening, the Miller "kids" attended the Grooms' party at Land Grant Brewing Company. There were food trucks there as well, including pizza (which is what we opted for) and a donut place. Afterwards, we went to the after party at Blake and Brendan's friends' house and stayed up like I was like 19 again.

On Saturday, Shirley's brother Gary's family came over for brunch. In the afternoon, Tirzah and I went to a new boutique I found via instagram called Evolverie. And I made yet another journey up to Upper Cup. 

The evening was the night of the wedding rehearsal and dinner. I was very honored to be a part of Blake's wedding party. I got to walk with Levent up and down the aisle and sit in the front row next to Shirley and Wilbur. Blake has a ton of friends, but opted to just include family on his side of the wedding party. I felt so lucky to be included in that.

The rehearsal dinner was Lebanese food which was a-maz-ing. Levent also gave his speech as one of the co-best men. He will shake his head and say it was fine, but he did such a good job. Still waters run deep with that one. And I was so proud of him, especially since stuff like that fills him with anxiety. But he did such a good job.

There was an afterparty at Blake and Brendan's following the dinner. 

Sunday was the big day! At noon the Miller wedding party side (Chadwick, Tirzah, Levent and I) headed over to Blake and Brendan's to get ready with the rest of the wedding party.

We arrived at the wedding venue (a pavilion at a downtown park) in the mid afternoon for photos. Everything went so smoothly. One highlight of the whole event for me was their Polaroid guest book, where they had everyone take a Polaroid of themselves. Since we had some time to kill we took more than just one. It was so fun.

The ceremony was outside and decorated with the skyline of downtown Columbus. I maybe cried the whole time. (Gosh, I am such a sucker for weddings. Love is beautiful). Some of the Miller cousins sang and play instruments for the whole ceremony and oh my gosh they are so talented. Thus even more crying.

The reception was in the pavilion with tables set with vintage plates and house plants. They had a wood fire pizza place cater along with a bundt cake place for dessert. So good.

After dinner, dancing begun. I danced off and on with Tirzah and eventually even Shirley. (Levent was a good sport and danced with me a tiny bit too). But I also took a lot of breaks and strolled outside with Levent.

It was such a lovely day.

This is usually where the wedding weekend usually ends. However, Blake and Brendan decided to post-pone their honeymoon to Iceland so we could spend some time as a Miller family, since the Japanese fam was in town. So the morning after the wedding, all the Canadians came over for a quick breakfast, before the core Miller clan headed to Katalina's to meet Brendan's family (the Smelter-Erb) family for brunch at Katalina's. (There was a lot of feasting during this trip).

That afternoon we packed up and headed up to Belleville Ohio to stay at this 1970s chic cabin in the woods.

We had a fun time of eating/snacking together, play a game, walking in the creek and getting ice cream at 11am before we headed out of town a few days later. (We got to the cabin on a Monday and left Wednesday morning).

Wednesday afternoon we were back at the Miller house to say goodbye to Blake and Brendan before they left on their trip.

Afterwards, Wilbur and Shirley took the rest of us out of eat for Levent and my 3rd wedding anniversary. We went to a neighborhood German restaurant and beer garden. It was incredibly hot but delicious.

And then just like that, the wedding week was over. Levent and I flew back home to Kansas that evening. 

Well done, Blake and Brendan for planning such a fun celebration.