It was quite a week of travel for me. On Sunday, Aug. 2, I flew to Chicago for FXExpress Publications, Inc.’s The Trazees and Wherever Awards, and by the following Sunday I was driving home seven hours from New Hampshire after a weekend of wedding festivities.

It feels like I completed a month’s worth of travel in one week.

I barely had time to marvel at my luxurious accommodations at The Peninsula Chicago before I met a friend to catch up and walk by the river. I capped off the beginning of the busy week with a team dinner at Alpana before the award festivities started on Monday.

Monday morning and afternoon was full of work, preparing the hotel ballroom for a successful awards night. During the event I handed out trophies and congratulated our winners, then mingled and enjoyed the delicious food being served.

The night ended in the fluffy comfort of my hotel bed for a good rest. Tuesday I was back to work in the morning, traveling home. On Wednesday I was working in the office for one last normal day before back to traveling.

Thursday morning, after I unpacked and repacked, I climbed into the car for a seven-hour trip to New Hampshire for my brother’s wedding.

The wedding venue, up in the mountains, was part of a beautiful resort called Owl’s Nest. It was definitely an owl’s nest with 180 degrees of green mountain tops. The resort had homes on a man-made lake, a well-kept golf course and a little area for restaurants. When we arrived, we soaked in the sunset views while eating pizza and explored the resort.

The wedding events started with a golf scramble Friday morning and continued into the evening with the rehearsal dinner and welcome party. We figured out the procession and where to stand in the burning sun, then celebrated the happy couple. I mingled with the many friends and family who traveled a long way. It was a happy beginning to the rest of the weekend.

As a bridesmaid, my Saturday morning, before the wedding, started early with hair and makeup. It quickly poured for 10 minutes, and then the bridal party was ushered to the golf course for pictures. Then we waited, hiding with the bride and groom in the upper level of the boathouse while guests arrived. The beautiful ceremony went off without a hitch, and the rest of the evening was filled with dancing and good company.

The next morning we scrambled to gather our things and check out before 10 a.m. and were back on the road home by 11 a.m. We had plenty of time to recap the weekend’s events on the car ride home. The overall consensus was a successful, fun night celebrating the newlyweds.

— Caroline Craig, administrative and advertising coordinator