Home Again

We flew to Vegas to see L and CB get married in the Little White Wedding Chapel.  It was a really nice ceremony.  Pretty sweet actually.  I don't know what I was expecting for a Vegas wedding, but it was quite traditional. Well, except for the bride in a favorite dress and flip flops and the groom in shorts and polo shirt.  At the end of the ceremony, a couple came in who had been married there 35 years before.  A nice omen.  I think L and CB now have plans to go back someday, too.

The Newlyweds

Vegas is something else. 

What I hated about Las Vegas: how crowded and dirty it is, no coffee pot in my room, blasting cold air conditioning, how expensive everything is, so few places to sit and people watch, and how noisy it is. 

What I loved about Las Vegas:  the pools at the Flamingo, free margaritas when I played the slots in Margaritaville, walking a lot, the Venetian casino and hotel, The Wicked Spoon buffet at the Cosmopolitan, the flamingos and hummingbirds in the Flamingo garden area, dueling pianos and karaoke at Harrahs, the Bellagio fountains, and making money on the penny slots.

What I especially loved about Las Vegas:  the sun coming up over the desert and mountains in the morning.  We left our hotel curtains open so we wouldn't miss it.  From the top floor of the Flamingo, it was beautiful.  Oh, and that I only gained a pound after all that eating and drinking.

Another thing to check off my Bucket List. 

A Few More

These wedding photos are from the family album.  (Well, they will be if we ever get them printed!)

The girls love their dad.

The "girls" of Easy Street.

CT comes from a male centered household.

He's joining a female centered household.

K calls this photo, "Poor CT."

(I say he doesn't look too upset...

And the Mr. is glad for the company.)

Our family 2010.  The best of my Thanksgiving Blessings.

Wedding Photos

I couldn't believe it.  The photographer had over 1200 pictures of the wedding.  He couldn't believe it either.  He said an "all day" affair will have that many shots, but the light was so perfect at K and CT's outdoor wedding that he went a little crazy. 

There are some definite favorites. 

The Ceremony

 After the ceremony

The wedding party

The bride and groom

Behind the scenes--picking stickers out of the dress.

Pretty much worth it for shots like these!

These aren't even the photos that he re-touched.  There are also a lot of family pictures to share. Those will be coming in the future.  

Finally!!

K and I are headed to the photographer's tonight to see her wedding photos.  Finally!  CT is working, so Mom gets to make this trip. K didn't exactly have to twist my arm! 

We've had a preview of some of the photographer's work.  He had seen me taking a few photos during his shoot the evening of the wedding and asked me if I didn't trust his photography.  I assured him that I wasn't worried, but that I wanted to share some wedding pictures at the end of the reception video. 

He sent me 22 pictures the morning after the wedding so that I could put them into the reception video. Bless his heart!  That had to push him a bit.

So now we are finally going to see how the family photos turned out.  I promised Crazy Cousin Ree that I would send her a copy of the reception video and that I'd put together a video of the wedding pictures, too. I missed her birthday.  Maybe by Christmas???!!!

K is hoping that there is a photo to send to the papers.  We haven't sent in the wedding announcement yet.  Maybe by Christmas???  (Am I sounding like a broken record??)

I'm sure it will be fun to see the photos.  I feel bad that CT can't be there, but it works out rather nicely for me!!  And yes, I'm pretty sure that you are going to have to sit through a few more wedding pictures.  I'm apologizing right now!

Reception Part II

After the cake cutting, the bride and groom shared their first dance.

They danced to an old Kenny Chesney song, "Me and You."  And it may very well have been their 1st Dance.  K loves to dance.  CT?  Not so much.  I think he told K she could have three dances and to choose carefully! 

Next up was the Dad Daughter Dance to Darius Rucker's "It Won't Be Like This For Long." And true to L's words, K cried most of the way through the song.

 Thankfully, the Mr. is pretty good at charming her out of tears, and then midway through the song they had arranged for all the Dad's and Daughters to join them on the floor. 

And no one cries when L joins them.  Of course, she is taking pictures with her cell phone, taking calls, texting, or who knows what!   Mainly, she is doing what L does best--entertaining!

Loved the Dads and Daughters joining them.

Next up was the Mom Son dance to "A Mother's Song." 

And then little brother joined them when other Moms and Sons were invited to join in.

And my favorite Mom Son dancers:

I love the little guy peeking at the photographer, and his mama just happens to be one of my favorite colleagues!

K wanted the parents to share a dance, too.  She had chosen the song "All Because Two People Fell In Love," but living up to their new moniker of 'the worst DJs ever' they forgot to tell her they didn't have the song.  (She could have burned it for them.)  There was a quick change to "Then" by Brad Paisley.

We couldn't understand a word the DJs said, but the dancing commenced:

And you know if the DJ played the Cotton Eyed Joe, that we were going to get YMCA at some point in the evening.  Yep!

One dance move seemed to be a hit with my kin.  I'm thinking these little ones might have had some training!  (Uncle Z did you have a busy summer?)

It was fun to watch the little ones dancing.

A lot of adults got to share in the fun with the tiny tots.

There are many dance photos to come.  I'm hoping that someone caught my siblings on their backs on the dance floor, acting out the scene from "Animal House."  They've still got it.  The crazy gene runs deep!

But for now I'll leave you with a few of my favorite shots.

I love this picture of K with her Grandpa on the right and CT's Grandpa on the left. 

I call this photo "The Girls of 99."  These are the friends who have been together through thick and thin.  M is on the left, and she and K have been friends since pre-school days.  J and B on the right are the Chicago girls.  J and B became good friends with K and M in high school, and they lived in an apartment together in college.  After college J and B both married great guys and ended up in Chicago.  K was the last of the Fab Four to marry, and M has been the first to begin the next generation with her little Sloane.  These girls do an amazing job of maintaining their friendship.  Their lives are quite different, but they are there for each other through the good and the bad. They know how to have a good time, and they bring out the best in each other.  The men in their lives just stand back and let 'em go.  They wouldn't dare come between them!

I'll end with this final photo.  This was a great evening with a lot of special moments these two will remember forever.  There will be a lot more of those special moments for K and CT to share in the years to come.  "Newlyweds become oldyweds, and oldyweds are the reasons that families work."  Here's to a long, happy marriage...and to a family that works!  Love to you both!

I'm pretty sure you haven't seen the end of the wedding photos.  All of the pictures shared so far were taken by my kid sister. Bless her heart!   M's big sister took another batch which she is sending my way. And if K and CT ever get the full album of the professional photographer's pictures from the wedding that Thursday night, I'm sure I'll share a few more. 

Reception Part I

When K and CT started planning this reception/party, there were only two main requirements:  a relaxed party and good food.  They held the reception on the Saturday after the wedding took place on Thursday, so that the nerves of the actual ceremony would be over. 

By the time "kids" get to this age, the numbers start gaining on you.  They have high school, college, and work friends.  They had to edit their guest list quite a bit. They had a hard time with this, but their parents had a harder time.  (There was a whole 2nd generation of my dear relatives and quite a few work colleagues that we didn't have room to include.  About killed me!)  In the end, the goal was to surround themselves with the people who love them and the ones who have maintained a close relationship through the years. 

For the food:  CT's dad and friend took care of the meat and baked beans.  They smoked and barbequed pork and deep fat fried 15 turkeys. 

There was delicious pork and turkey, baked beans, veggie and fruit platters, and pasta salad.  A friend of CT's family provided all the serving platters, took care fruit and veggies, and also decorated the food table.  The girls on Easy Street made the pasta salad, with help from Aunt B.  On the night of the reception, two of the Mr.'s work colleagues manned the food table and refilled dishes.  All of the help was greatly appreciated!

The bar was covered by a couple who are colleagues, too.  They were good sports and in charge of one of the most popular spots of the evening.

K's beautician friend volunteered to do her hair again for the reception.

And after final touches, everything was ready:

After people arrived, the happy newlyweds made their entrance:

They greeted their guests as people made their way through the food lines.

People ate and drank, and finally K and CT had a chance to eat, too.  At the end of the eating, there were toasts.

L revealed how there were two things the women in our family are known for:  klutziness and tears. She guaranteed that we would see both from the bride before the end of the evening.  Prophetic words.

The best man (CT's little brother) is a bit of a wild card. The bride and groom might have been holding their breath.  He said that if you didn't have a nickname, you didn't know CT.  He looked around the room and reeled off a ton of nicknames CT had for different guests... all of them in fairly good taste.  He ended by saying the only nickname he really wants is Uncle S.  He told them to get working on it.

The bride and groom enjoyed both toasts and probably breathed a sigh of relief that they weren't too embarrassing.

After the toast we shared a video slideshow of K and CT from childhoods to dating and ended with photos from their wedding on Thursday night.

Then it was time for the cake cutting. CT's aunt made the cake in vanilla and strawberry layers.

CT feeds K the cake.  No problem.  K goes to feed CT the cake and...

klutziness rears its ugly head!  Thankfully, CT is used to K by now.  He expects anything...and loves her anyway!

Tomorrow, we'll pick it up with the dance.  I'll leave you with some of the love:

Young and old celebrated with K and CT.  And it was just what they wanted.