Portrait of a Wedding---And Then Some

 Over the river and through the fields 

to the bride's house we go...

We all know the way, it's a very special day...

And all our hearts are aglow...

(okay, I'll stop with the silly songs now).

Outside the barn, overlooking the fields, where the service was held.

It is a special day, though.

June 24, 2012

Our oldest son's wedding day.

The barn and indoor arena where the reception was held

Everything waits in readiness for the 

stars of today's events to arrive...

Distributing the flowers

The Groom

Bubba

The Bride

The soon to be "Mrs. Bubba"

(hmmm...we'll have to come up with a better name than that, won't we?)

The Best Man

My brother

"How much longer, man?

I can hardly stand it."

"Don't worry. The time will fly. 

You have a lifetime. Chill."

The Ushers

Tex and the bride's brother

The Maid of Honor 

and the Flower Girls

The bride's best friend and her daughter on the left

Firefly and Ladybug are on the right

The Preacher and his lovely wife

Can't get hitched without a preacher, can you?

The Groom's Family

Well, some of the members of the groom's family, anyway...

Boo, where are you?

The grandparents and great-grandparents

The uncle and aunt and cousins...

The Parents of the Bride 

The bride's mom and dad

Parents of the Groom

Me and Hubby

Oh, look, there's Boo!!

And the rest of you, too!!

Soon, the wedding begins...

The ushers seat the family members...

this is my grandmother who is visiting from Iowa.

The guys are waiting on the sidelines.

The bride waits out of sight. 

The music cues the flower girls...

Violin music plays softly as the three sweet 

flower girls spread rose petals on the already

glorious carpet of green grass.

The bride's maid of honor watches her approach the arbor...

Here comes the bride...

Beautiful.

A proud mother watches her son see his bride in her

gorgeous gown for the first time...

Does he look happy, or what??

A proud father walks his precious daughter down the aisle

to begin a new life with her love...

A teary-eyed mother misses a daughter already, 

but instead gains a son.

Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today...

More than an exchange of vows, 

it is a knitting together of hearts...

A covenant before God to never be broken.

What God has brought together, let no one put asunder.

"I now pronounce you, husband and wife..."

"All right...

...You may kiss the bride!"

"I present to you for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Bubba!"

(No, he didn't really say the Bubba part, but oh, well.)

"WHAT? You mean we have to do photos BEFORE we eat?"

Don't worry...like many other things,

the wait will be worth it. ;-)

Aren't the pictures beautiful?

The Wedding Party

Tex is on the left, Ladybug and Firefly are on the right.

My brother is next to Bubba.

The lovely ladies...

The handsome gentlemen...

The bride's family...

Her parents, her brother and his young lady.

Our growing family...what a blessing!

The bride and her brother...

Hey, when can we eat? We're hungry!

(and they've got these really cool glow sticks

on the tables inside that I can't wait to open...)

Just a few more pictures and it will 

be time to go in for the food.

My mom, her mom, Grandpa Bill, and my dad.

The Blessing Farm Family (with no Bubba).

The happy couple with Nanny and Poppy.

"Hahaha! You really did it! You don't know what kind of

crazy family you just married into, do you? Hahahaha! Poor Girl."

"You did well, young man. We're proud of you...

She's a lucky girl. May you both be abundantly blessed."

"Do you believe we actually made it through the wedding?"

"Well, sure, I always knew we would. Can we leave now?"

"No. I only get to wear this dress once."

Bubba and his wife watch their guests enter the 

festive reception area from above...

Okay ushers, grab the ladies and go get some grub! 

Mothers and Grandmothers first...

 Next to enter, the happy couple...surveying the well-wishers, the decor, and the feast.

I have on good authority, however, that they were too busy 

having a good time with their many family and friends who blessed them 

with their company to eat much, but what they did eat was delicious.

Now that's a line. Aren't you glad you didn't have to stand in it?

Great job, Mom and Dad (of the bride)!

The happy couple says, "Thank you for everything."

Here's a fun idea (though somewhat messy):

Have the guests add their fingerprints to a keepsake picture

(in shades of green and aqua, so they are like leaves on a tree)

as they sign in to give to the happy couple later. Priceless.

The couple leaving their own prints on the tree of their life together...

Every place setting had flowers, there were fans for all of the ladies,

fun glow sticks and bubbles for the kids (or kids at heart), bottles of local

wines at each table, and sweet birdhouses of robin's egg blue jelly bellies

for all to enjoy. What a treat!

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And then there was dancing...

Daddy and daughter dance to "My Girl"

by The Temptations.

"God Gave Me You" by Blake Shelton...

the couple's first dance.

Mother and son dance to "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" 

by Israel Kamakawiwo'Ole

All the married couples danced to 

"I'm Yours" by Jason Mraz.

My folks were next to last of all the married for longest married. 

They lost by ONE year to a couple (the bride's aunt or cousin, I think) 

who'd been married 47 years. Congratulations to them both!

The kids loved this one.

Okay, so did the grown-ups.

Cowboy spent much of the evening dancing with two

sweet young ladies over and over again. They were so 

patient with him. I am sorry to say, I did not get their photo.

If anyone has one, please send it to me!

Amazingly, while the rest of us had a great time dancing, visiting,

and eating, Boo ran around here and there, and kept out of trouble.

Hard to believe, huh?

What a cutie!!

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The Cake...and cupcakes galore.

Red Velvet, Chocolate Decadence, and Carrot Cake.

All I can say is YUM!!

(and isn't it a masterpiece, too?)

Cutting the cake...

No cake-in-the-face smashing for them.

All I can say is that they are so much more 

mature than we were...LOL.

(Just for the record's sake, I only smashed cake in his

face because I saw him going for mine. He asked for it.)

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We all had a lovely time celebrating and rejoicing over God's provision together.

Thank you to all who made it such a special day.

Sending the grandparents home, out of the heat.

Thank you for coming.

We sure do love you!!

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Random pictures I liked:

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Finally, we're out of here!

BYE!! We love you!!! 

Have a fantastic honeymoon (they did).

"Yay! We finally got out of there.

It was a wonderful day, but I am ready 

to start our new life together, and 

my cheeks kind of hurt from all that smiling."

"I know what you mean. If I'd had to shake even one more hand

I think my hand would have fallen off."

"You did a great job, honey. It was a special day.

Your family sure did seem to be having fun."

"Yeah. Did you see my mom out there doing the Electric Slide

and dancing to YMCA? How embarrassing."

"Aw, I thought it was cute. Your sisters and brothers were out

there, too. It was a like a family homeschool field trip. Hahaha!"

"Right. You just wait. I'll get you back for that one."

Sigh. "I love this dress, but it's a bit 

hot and I am ready to change into something more comfortable."

"No problem dear. I think I can help you with that."

*wink*

Blessings,

PS. Ladybug walked in as I was putting this together and said, "I don't think I've ever seen Phillip look happier. They are so in love." Awwwww.