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On July 22, 2006, Chris Bradley and Jennifer Schultz (two of my closest friends, as well as the greatest super-couple in the world and the pair who will produce the cutest and smartest babies in the history of mankind) became the first of my really close friends to get married.
I had a great time at their wedding, and I have a ton of pictures to share with you. Here they are, complete with sometimes witty commentary.
This photo gallery covers the entire wedding weekend from rehearsal on Friday to the gift opening on Sunday.
This also marks the 10th consecutive weekend that Kevin Baltzer and I have hung out with Chris Bradley. There's a good chance this is a new record for all of us.
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The Bradley Wedding Weekend started with a rehearsal at the University of St. Thomas Chapel. Everyone was decked out in their finest business casual garb, and we all sweated our ass off in the chapel. According to the wedding planner, the Archdiocese has rules against being comfortable in church (so no Air Conditioning was allowed). It was cool to see the inner-workings of the church, though. This was something I missed out on in college (I didn't spend much time in church during my 4 years at UST).
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Gathering around the church.
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I have a feeling that this weddeing is going to kick some major ass!!!
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I'm so excited!
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The beautiful bridegroom.
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Gathering around the church has officially transitioned into loitering. Let's get this rehearsal going already!
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Oops, I accidentally used flash photography in the church. Don't tell anyone!
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Let's finish up this rehearsal already!
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While the rehearsal was obviously necessary for our wedding run-through, the rehearsal dinner was the highlight of the night! For those of you who have never been, Ichiban is a Japanese steakhouse in downtown Minneapolis, and it kicks a lot of ass. I go there often for Sushi, but this is only the second time I have been there for Teppanyaki. For those of you who don't know what Teppanyaki is, read Wikipedia's Definition.. The photos don't really do the experience justice, so I am hoping to post some videos from Ichiban in the near future.
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Mr. Bradley and Chris, giving a small speech before we eat.
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Chris gives a little speech before we eat.
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The chef must be doing something cool, given the looks of concentration on everyone's faces...
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I call this piece "Chopstix Contemplation".
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Resident Asian culturalist, Nick Schleder, gives the sometimes Asian Katie Moen a lesson in the finer points of using chopsticks.
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Shields is camera shy.
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Taking a photo of Kevin taking a photo.
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After we finished dinner at Ichiban, a large number of friends and family headed down the Nicollet mall to Brit's pub for a drink. All of us were tired, so it ended up being exactly that; A drink. The highlight of Brit's was when some (insert euphemism for east coast Douchebag here) tried hitting on the bride to be, Jen. Luckily, Jen's father, uncle and brother were there to thwart his attempt (much to the chagrin of the east coaster, who said "what's with you midwesterners being so protective?"). Here are a few of the photos I managed to snap while I was at Brit's.
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Chris and Brandon talking shop at Brit's. Sample conversation:
"What do you think about the British stock market circa 1846? My contention is that there were like a lot of stocks and stuff. And there was a market!!! I'm retarded".
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Ladies and Gentlemen, you have the right to be seduced by Mandy.
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Best man Jason Bradley enjoying the British atmosphere of Brit's pub.
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"Oh my gosh everyone, some guy just hit on me!!!"
P.S. I love Chris Bradley!
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Jen and her proud father, Kirk.
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Saturday was the day of the ceremony. I was an usher at the wedding, and my role afforded me an insider presence into the pre-wedding antics. Unfortunately, I didn't get much of a chance to take advantage of my role, and spent most of my time sweating in my tuxedo.
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My fellow usher, KB.
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I can't tell if I am trying to be serious or joking in this picture. Either way, it does not make me appear to be an attractive man.
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Waiting for the ceremony to begin. Surprisingly, the 2+ hours before the wedding seemed to go pretty fast.
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Last minute preparations.
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And for your second reading today, Mrs. Cara Pearson!
*cheers and applause ensue, capped by an inappropriate scream of "take it off"*
P.S. I'm the one who yelled take if off. Sometimes I have no inner monologue.
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The groomsmen, posing for pictures.
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The title of this piece is "last minute regret".
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Taking a picture of Brandon, who is taking a picture of Nick and KB.
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This is easily the most sizable portion of my Bradley wedding gallery, and was arguably one of the most fun parts of the entire wedding experience. The bus left St. Thomas and followed the Mississippi River Road into Minneapolis, and then through downtown Minneapolis. I'll let the pictures do the talking.
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It's party bus beer time!
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I have been told that my look of excitement unmistakingly resembles my look of pain. In this photo, I am in pain.
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Conspiring look of nonchalance.
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No underage drinking occurred on this bus.
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Either Nicole really loves the smell of flowers, or someone passed a little gas (or as my mom Fran would say, "someone was a little gassy in the chassy"). My vote is for the former (she indeed likes the smell of flowers).
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I can't tell if John is posing for the camera or doing an impression of Triumph the Insult Comic Dog. Either way, it's a sweet picture!
FOR ME TO POOP ON!
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Who said disco dies in the 70's?
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I am really interested in what you have to say... Just kidding! BEER ME!
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Mandy eyeing the camera while Brandon is eyeing her Miller Lite.
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The newly married couple approaching the party bus. It's time to party!!!
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BEER ME!
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Cute picture (so cute that I'm at my wits end).
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An otherwise boring picture with the exception of Jason Bradley in the background.
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These people all need beer!
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The newlyweds celebrating two marriage firsts: 1) Their first pretzel rod while married. 2) Their first beer.
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Beer Me!
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Beer Me!
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We paused the bus at the Mississippi river for more pictures... and to shotgun a beer!
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This piece is titled "Giddy off two Miller Lites"
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EVERYONE is taking photos!
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Chris loves the non-alcoholic champagne...
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Troublemakers.
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An extremely unattractive photo of Mike.
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Not to be outdone, I take a very unattractive photo of myself as well. Here's to shots of Patron!
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Brandon drinking the Patron like a pro.
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Girls don't get much hotter than Katie Moen.
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What did you say to me boi?
P.S. I told Nick that this picture wasn't any good, and forced him to take the next picture as a "makeup shot". Hilarity ensues.
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This might just be my favorite photo of the entire wedding weekend.
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Caught in the act! Beer me!
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It almost looks like Brandon's body was superimposed on this picture using photoshop. Seriously, it's eerie.
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"I wear my sunglasses on a party bus during the afternoon." The unsuccessful follow-up attempt from 80's one-hit wonder Corey Hart.
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So hot right now.
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The new Guthrie Theatre. (I probably spelled this wrong).
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Not content with my previous super-imposition of Brandon into the photos, I decided to superimpose a photo of him wearing sunglasses onto a similar picture.
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We drove by this guy on Nicollet mall... and then we had him get onto the bus and drink a beer with us!!!!!
I wish I wasn't kidding...
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Serious secret service assassins.
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Same picture with everyone smiling...
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I didn't get a chance to take many photos at the reception, but here are the few that made the cut.
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We arrived a little late to cocktail hour. Fortunately, many of us already had several cocktails on the bus and didn't miss a beat!
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A great group shot, complete with some very awkward hand placement, and Jim and Kevin's fake smiles.
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Beauty (right) and the Beast (left).
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Eating cake at the reception.
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The other side of the previous table.
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Jim and Kelley, forever.
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Don't leave me Jen!
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It may not be possible to enjoy dancing more than these two!
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"Do you mind if we dance with yo dates?"
"Sure! We don't dance"
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Arthur Fonzarelli? Is that you?
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Ok, so by the way these two are dancing, this would appear to be a slow dance. But what about Kevin in the background with his hands over his head? Something's strange here...
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Taking a moment away from dancing to pose.
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Ladies and gentlemen: Pete Rose Jr.
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The reception finished a little early (11:30 or so) and a lot of people wanted to keep the party going. So, we made a stop at a bar inside the Hyatt called Spike's. Here we played dominoes and drank shots of Jagermeister.
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The Bridegroom make an after-hours appearance at Spike's!
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And then just like that, they are off to their hotel room... seemingly to write thank-you notes to their esteemed guests.
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One more pose before they go...
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Red wine and water being drank. Here's my guess: the person drinking red wine will have a hangover. The person drinking water will have less of a hangover.
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Hank.
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Enjoying a drink after the reception.
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Two shots of Jagermeister please!
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During and after the reception I invited several friends up to my hotel room to keep the party going. Here are several shots I took during this experience.
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Serious face.
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Happy face!
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Upset face.
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Extremely happy face!
P.S. I'm talking about the face I'm making in the picture... Kirt's face remains almost exactly the same. It's uncanny!
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Screw you!
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I'm just kidding, I heart you. (Making the heart sign with her hands).
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This was the only decent picture taken of Tim. The rest were naughty.
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It's that time of night... to pick your nose... and eat it.
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Ladies and Gentlemen... the bassist for Maroon 5!!
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Uh huh huh. Uh huh huh.
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Passing out at 2:30 AM... LAME!
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It's getting late.
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Kevin looks like he's ready for bed.
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I'm here for the party!
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After partying late into Saturday night, we attended a gift opening for the bride and groom at 10:30 AM. Let's just say that I wasn't feeling very good (I think I might have had allergies or something... it was definitely NOT due to alcohol... JUST KIDDING!). I only took one photo of the gift opening, but I feel it accurately depicts the awesomeness of the opening process, so I have included it for you.
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"This gift is a casserole dish. I like casserole's, so I think this is going to work out well."
- Chris Bradley
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