Wedding Wonderful

Yesterday was quite the celebration of life and love.

My cousin got married to her soldier in a beautiful ceremony and upbeat reception.

I apologize is this post is picture heavy but who doesn’t love to see all the awesomeness of a wedding up close and personal?

First off, Jack and I had to road trip to the event so we both packed our bags and hung up our good clothes for a 2.5 hour drive.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We saw lots of windmills and trucks.  That was pretty much the extent of our viewing pleasure to be honest but thankfully the drive went smoothly.

Before we knew it we arrived at the campground where my parents were staying for the weekend and we immediately got our lunch on.

I had a turkey, provolone, and mustard sandwich on homemade bread with a side of wavy chips.  It was just enough to tide me over for the rest of the day’s events.  We had some time to kill before we four needed to get dressed and head out to the church so we spent the time yelling at the TV while watching the Maryland vs. Florida football game.  We can be fairly intense sometimes and Maryland really needed to step it up.  I can’t be held responsible for my words if you all are going to play so terribly.

With everyone all dolled up a bit later we motored on out to the church which was the most pink chapel I have EVER seen.

If I didn’t know better (basically my cousin’s favorite color is green not pink by any means) I would have said she picked it because it was so pink inside.  This was, however, not the case.  Actually it turned out to be the same church her now husband’s mother was married in.  How sweet.  Another side thought: anyone remember Steel Magnolias??  Blush and Bashful doesn’t even begin to cover this.  While we waited, we took some cute pictures.

Potentially my favorite picture of my wonderful parents, ever. =D

Finally the ceremony began with the mother’s lightening the family candles in the unity set but someone must have forgotten the unity candle was for the couple because it got lit by the moms as well.  The wedding planner quickly put that out.

Everyone was escorted to their seats and then the bridesmaids made their way down the aisle.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was time for the main event: the bride!

She looked beautiful.  The ceremony took less than a half hour and was full of good messages about emotional and spiritual intimacy and ways to express love.  I liked it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was a pretty cool part where the presider told the couple to look at their hands joined together.  He spoke about how these were the hands of your life partner, the person who is going to walk and work beside you, etc.  It was touching.

After the vows, the couple got the chance to light their unity candle (again…hehe) and then there was the kiss!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Too sweet for words.

Everyone filed out and we greeted the bride and groom a few moments later with a shower of bubbles and well wishes.

Pictures were the next thing to happen and, being family, we were involved in small part.  Jack snapped a few photos of us being professionally photographed.  Can’t wait to see how the “real” ones turn out.

Next stop: the reception!  Once again we hopped in our cars and drove a half hour to the reception hall.  First off we didn’t have the address so we had to find that out then it took us forever to get through the million and seven traffic lights we hit trying to avoid toll roads.  Finally though we arrived at the hall and boy, you couldn’t miss it.

The sign was huge and the place was very snazzy.  Their room was decorated in their wedding colors of red and ivory. 

 

The chairs were covered and sashed with beautiful knots and the places were laid out with personalized shot glasses at each setting.

Before we knew it bride and groom were being toasted by their wedding party.  They all said beautiful things about the couple and somehow I managed not to cry.

Soon after it was time for dinner.  The couple opted for a sit down dinner (<—big fan!) that started off with soup and bread, moved to salad, then to a choice of entrée.

I got salmon and Jack got steak but we ended up splitting both of the proteins.  Yum.  In the middle of dinner the bride and groom cut their cake so it could be taken back and sliced for dessert.  They were nice to each other so no cake was wasted on faces.  (Fun fact: Word has it the topper cost just as much as the cake…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the time we got our pieces of their lovely red velvet cake, the cutting left something to be desired.  My piece was basically all icing and Jack’s was basically all cake.  We did some swapping and enjoyed both of the pieces.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next came the dances.  First was the new couple, next the father-daughter, and finally the mother-son.

They were all wonderful and then were followed by a surprise photo montage of the bride and groom’s childhood.  Like I mentioned earlier, I hadn’t cried.  Well, that all came crashing down as soon as a picture of our grandmother (dead for five years) and our grandfather (unable to be at the wedding) came up on the screen.  My cousin and I lost it at the same time, and we lost it hard.  Tears were everywhere.  Happily though the tears were wiped away by some good old dancing!  We definitely got our groove on for sure.  Jack and I really used the space and had a grand type swinging out to modern music.

One of the best parts of the night was dancing with my dad and then, later, dancing with my mom.  I love them so much and I don’t always get to spend a whole lot of time so this was very special.

Another wonderful moment: Jack dancing with my mom.  She even special requested the song –> Whiskey For My Men, Beer For My Horses.  =D

It was entirely too darling to watch.  On the overall, the whole event was perfect.  I couldn’t have asked for more.  The chance to spend time celebrating my cousin, her now husband, and their love was awesome.  Being with my family was unbeatable.

Can’t wait until Thanksgiving when I get to see them again!  Congratulations to Lauren and Steve.  I wish you the best in the world.  Love you both!

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The morning after the wedding consisted of brunch with a good friend, Anna, who lives in the city.  We met up at Blueberry Hill for food and I ordered a multigrain waffle with a side of 3 egg whites (which unknowingly cost me $4 alone…) and she got the pumpkin French toast.  We had a great time catching up with each other.

At the conclusion of breakfast I picked up Jack, who had breakfast with our overnight host, and we headed back home.  We stopped at two gas stations and something new caught my eye:

No longer is it “King Size”… It is called “Sharing Size” now.  I think this is actually a good move.  It' reinforces that the big packages are not meant for one person, or at least one sitting.  Go candy companies.  Keep it up!

When we got home we crashed for 45 minutes and then perused the internet for a while before getting hungry at five and cooking dinner.  Jack took the reins and baked sweet potato fries along with salmon burgers.  He had his on a bun with cheese and mustard along with a side of lettuce and honey Dijon dressing.  I had mine bunless and cheese-less but I dipped it in the honey Dijon dressing and I snacked on a carrot on the side.

P.S. Carrots in ketchup are awesome.  Just saying.

I then headed back to the city to get my workout on in the fitness center at my apartment complex.  35 minutes on the bike was perfect and I came back to read a bit for class, shower, and eat some stellar dessert.

In this bowl I had peanut butter lava cake for one topped with hot peanut butter, rocky road ice cream, and chocolate sauce.  Yummy!

Well ladies and gentlemen, I should really get some work done and go to sleep.  Tomorrow is the start of a whole new week and with it comes prenatal counseling midterm studying as well as various readings and homework assignments.  A good night’s rest will do me well.  Sleep well all!!

Questions: What’s your favorite part of a wedding? Do you cry during the ceremony or the reception?