Having finished my rapid change, we headed back out to the porch and a few things registered:

• The golf cart wasn’t where we’d left it
• It was at the far end of the lane like the driver had taken it down to turn around, but it wasn’t moving
• “I don’t think the wheels are supposed to point like that”
• Up pulls the shuttle bus

Unfortunately, Kara didn’t get a picture of the broken down cart but it looks like a slightly less extreme version of this:

Turns out, the front axle snapped when he was turning the cart around–it wasn’t until the end of the reception that we saw the flatbed carting it away (they had to get a crane out to get it up onto the flatbed). Some of guests later reported that they saw the driver sprinting up the hill and wondered what it was all about.

Was this a pivotal moment in our day? No. But as unexpected things go, it’s pretty memorable and definitely makes for a good story among the guests. You can’t even blame anyone, really, all you can do is mark the moment and move on.

Which is exactly what we did!

Meanwhile, back at the Owl’s Nest, our guests were finding their seats with the aid of a quickly put together seating chart. Since my original plan to make champagne jelly as favors didn’t pan out, the cork-patterned fabric I’d planned to use on the tops of the jar instead went to wrap the backer board of a large frame. Another benefit of the short guest list is that we really didn’t need a complicated seating system: everyone could easily scan the six tables for their name and know exactly where they needed to be.

I will say I was a bit selfish when creating the seating chart. With no real head table or rules to follow, I figured Roadie would want to sit next to his mother since it’d been longer since he’d seen her (FiL Road Trip came down to visit us the previous November) and I figured what’s good for the goose is good for the gander so I sat Dr. Aunt (the only out-of-town relative on my side) next to me, and we worked the family and friend-units out from there. This worked out quite well and I don’t think anyone batted an eyelash at Mama Leadfoot being at to the corner of the cross table instead of right next to me. (Especially since she got to sit between her two sons and she and I see each other five days a week at work!)

As the last guests found their seats, the shuttle dropped us off right at the base of the stairs where we waited for our entrance cue.

The Road Trip Wedding Recaps:

• Dishing the Dirt on the Venue
• Baking & Bride-Napping
• A Moment of Calm
• And Then the Chaos
• We Rehearse
• Our Rehearsal Dinner
• Last Minute Edits
• Up with the Sun
• Getting Spiffy
• Family Pictures
• And Then We Waited
• Let’s Mingle
• Shall We Process?
• The Ceremony Begins
• The Rings and the Rest
• The Group Hug
• Presto Change-o