I drove up to Decorah Wednesday night and after dropping my iPhone in a bucket of water during the day, it magically started working again on my trip home! I really needed a phone for the weekend so I borrowed a neighbor's extra phone just in case, but someone (probably my grandma) was watching over me and knew how many times I would need my phone over the next few days! I got to Decorah around 9:30 and started right in on tying ferns on the programs with my mom and sister in law Amanda.
Thursday was spent getting everything ready for the big family/friend barbeque that night at my parents house. We did the same kind of thing for my wedding and I have such great memories from it. It was great to have everyone together and to meet some of Tara and Tony's friends who were in from California. The kids were great...Olivia and Mya held hands the entire night and all of the kids played so well together, so it was truly a nice night for the adults!
Friday morning Amanda and I hired our lifesaver babysitters/hair/make-up/nail girls (Mary Kathryn and Kelsey) to come and watch our kids all day while we decorated for the reception, ate lunch and got our nails done. Max got to hang with the guys on the golf course and at Brian's office all day so he was pretty much in heaven. The girls did girly things all day and they all took a nap which ended up saving us later in the night when they didn't get to bed super early. The rehearsal out at the barn was beautiful and it was so fun to meet everyone else involved with the wedding. The dinner was at the hotel winneshiek and it was delicious! Chris and I put together a slide show for Tara and Tony and it ended up turning out pretty well! It was a really fun day and the anticipation was definitely mounting for the wedding day!
Saturday morning when we woke up, I had a huge knot in my stomach. Not because my sister was getting married that day, but because it was threatening rain and the radar looked horrible!! The entire week prior the weather forecast said between 0-10% chance of rain. So, of course Tara cancelled the tent for the wedding ceremony! It was a bit tense getting our hair done and getting out to the wedding site as the rain never let up from 9am-12:30pm. I couldn't eat because I was so worried. Sometime around noon we saw on the radar that the big blog over Decorah had finally started to break up and we knew it would be okay for the wedding at 4:00!
The reception was awesome. Mingling and chatting with family and friends, the excellent food, speeches, and dancing! My kind of night:) Max and Mya did awesome the entire day/night. Max was the ring bearer so he had a few jobs during the ceremony. Ivy and Mya (along with Olivia, Grace, Kate and Collin) were special little ones and they walked in with my dad and Tony's dad. Max did the prayer before dinner and it was a big hit. I can't wait to see it on video. Ivy was a little bit of a pain so we sent her home right after dinner with Mary Kathryn. The rest of the kiddos stayed until around 10:30 and even then did not want to leave! They were having such a great time dancing with each other and everyone else. It was sad to see them leave, but we knew it was best for them.
The photographer was a friend of mine from high school Kristin Schultes. She was absolutely fantastic. I have had so many people ask me about who the photographer was! I can't wait to see the rest. You'll be able to get a good idea from just the sneak peaks!
Sunday we had brunch and lots of tears saying bye. Tony leaves for Japan August 1st, so most of us won't see him again before he leaves. Thankfully, we will see Tara a couple more times before she leaves. Trying not to think about that quite yet!
All in all----best wedding weekend ever! So thankful that we were all a part of it. The memories will last a lifetime!
I didn't have a ton of pictures on my camera so these will have to do! More to come I hope:)
Mya with the personal attendant Kelsey:)
Amanda and newly turned 5 year old niece Olivia
Love these two!
The view during the ceremony...absolutely gorgeous!
4 comments:
Just a fantastic weekend. I've been reliving memories every day. Great family, friends, pictures and memories. Loved it!
Not only did Max do a great job on his dinner prayer.....he got a standing ovation!
Looks like it was a great time! You guys all look awesome and so glad the kids did well!
I seriously love family weddings! :) That view is amazing. Zach and I still have fond thoughts of being at your wedding at the 2nd seating for dinner and having so much fun! :)
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