I’ve been going crazy trying to get Maca and Francisco’s full wedding preview up, but I’m not quite done yet. Since these gorgeous novios leave for Africa for their honeymoon tomorrow though, I figured I’d put up at least one for them to see before they go!

Occasionally on a hot dull Michigan evening I’ve been known to accept an invitation to hit a few balls at a driving range just across from the sub-division that I live in.  Upon arrival to the range, I’m fascinated by the golf ball scooper uppers, by the intensity of the “serious” players, and by the fashionable golf attire.  It could be a little intimidating if I let it.  Because I’m not an avid golfer I could let the driving range become a source of frustration to me.  But instead I choose to laugh as I swing the unwieldy club, make huge divots in the manicured turf, lob the ball to the far left or right (and always far short) of the target or miss the ball completely.  If ever I do decide to become a serious golf student I would love to be able to take lessons from a pro like Rory Mcilroy. If you’re wondering what Rory Mcilroy has in the bag, check out his page at “The Golf Channel”.

Rounding out my golf experience, I make it a point to attend the annual work sponsored golf outing once a summer.  This is definitely just as much of an excuse to socialize and drink beer as it is to enjoy the summer sunshine and play golf.  Good thing we play a scramble or I’d probably still be on the course.

While golf courses in Tucson, Arizona or in other temperate climates have the advantage of attracting golfers year round, in Michigan the country clubs and golf resorts have to be more creative in how to maximize their facilities and bring revenue in during the off season.  As mentioned before, one of my favorite memories relating to golf had nothing what-so-ever to do with the game and everything to do with a fine evening out.

A few years ago, in the middle of an especially harsh winter, a friend of mine who is a member of the Egypt Valley Country Club invited a group of us to the club.  There we had the unique experience of an elegant five course meal prepared and served to us right in the country club’s kitchen.  We were seated at a special table that had been set up in the kitchen and from there we witnessed the chefs whipping up the delectable dishes which were naturally delivered to us piping hot and paired with just the right wines.  As the evening wore on I forgot about the blizzard conditions outside and for the first time that winter coziness started to seep in.  The feeling could have been from the heat of the ovens or from the infusion of the wine but I mostly attribute it to the wonderful, playful camaraderie that developed between the hosts and the guests in such an intimate setting on a cold winter night.

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Maria Elena and Michael are two New York transplants. He’s from the dirty South and she’s from Chile. They’ve both adopted their city as their own and managed to bring back a little of that chic NYC style to Santiago for their wedding. They got married at one of the coolest, most underrated venues in the city, in my opinion – Casa Almarza. It’s an unbelievably lovely old casona in Barrio Yungay. One of Santiago’s top banquetero’s, Benjamin Johnson, transformed the dining room into a gorgeous vintage wonderland, with bottles hanging from the ceiling, mirrors on the dessert table, and more. It was absolutely beautiful.

I thought Maria Elena’s wedding dress was positively stunning. Like literally, she turned around and I gasped! It was an amazing Jenny Packham gown that she bought online and brought down with her for the big day.

These two just had absolutely impeccable taste, and with the help of Maria Elena’s mom, their Santiago wedding planner, put on an incredible event!

And aside from the wonderful day, I felt like Maria Elena and I understood each other. She speaks perfect English, I speak fluent Spanish, we just communicated the whole time in our Spanglish language and laughed during the wedding and had a good time. Plus, Michael is a really nice, quiet guy, who had a great time watching his wife get down on the dance floor, who enjoyed spending time with all her big Chilean family. I felt like they both just really enjoyed themselves. And that’s what it’s all about, right?!

I am OBSESSED with this next photo. Obsessed with the picture and obsessed with the back of Maria Elena’s dress!

See, everybody loved the back of it.

These musicians were ridiculously good too. They played during dinner and got the entire place clapping and all wound up and ready for the party. Seriously, they were SO good.

Man, I LOVE this first dance picture!

In case you didn’t hear me the first time, go check out the extended post here!

I’m not even going to try to make excuses. Instead I’m just going to keep posting shots from when we were down in Frutillar for Vale and Stanley’s destination wedding in the South of Chile. As soon as we got home I ran a quick action on these shots and had Seba upload a whole bunch of them so I’d have something to post over the holidays. Then I proceeded to ignore my blog through Christmas and the New Year because I was too lazy to write the post text nobody was online.

So now I have all these gorgeous frames left to share with you from my favorite place in the world!

We had seen these volcanos from afar and thought it would be fun/grueling to go up one.

And then when we drove around the lake and part way up one, we realized, hey! We could make some dreams come true! There was a ski lift that would take us part way.

All aboard. Ash was scared of riding up this thing and I can’t say I blame her. It looked very ummm, metal and rusty and unregulated and un-inspected as things in the South of Chile tend to look.

These brave souls walked up, bless their hearts.

The view was spectacular. That’s Lago Llanquihue we’re looking down at here. If that was the only thing we’d seen all weekend that still would’ve made the trip worth it.

Doesn’t this next photo look like a dinosaur spine? No, that’s just my imagination? Whatever.

Hahahahaha! Ash has her camera phone in her hand and she’s making fun of how serious we were with our big kid cameras.

Can’t wait to continue the fun with bright colors and love and even more pretty pictures