A Beautiful Wedding: My Brother's

A month ago, we attended my brother's wedding to his girlfriend/fiancé of 3+ yrs. They were engaged a couple weeks before Fred and I! I almost felt like I was raining on their parade when we announced our engagement.

Let me set the scene for you with our family. I'm 1 of 3 siblings. There's me, the oldest, and only daughter. Then there's my brother who just turned 40, and my half brother who just turned 30. Out of the 3 of us, I was the only one who'd ever been married, and was the only one with children. My brother at one point said I was cutting into his numbers because I kept having kids. Well, if I wasn't going to do it, who was? lol

When my brother met his now wife, he met her on a dating website. No big deal. Been there, done that. She seemed like a nice gal when I finally met her. It wasn't until we started having family gatherings after my boys and I moved in with my parents that we got to know her and my brother together.

WOW!

Those two. They're the couple you see walking hand in hand as 90 yr olds. They're the couple who always looks at each other like they truly think the other person is the bees knees. I have to admit, I've been fascinated with them. I love watching them together. They have that "something" couples are always looking for when looking for someone to share their life with. It's incredibly heart warming.

We drove over to Virginia on Friday night for the groom's dinner. It was at the hotel we were staying at overnight. When you first enter the hotel, it's beautiful and grand. The rooms themselves left a lot to be desired. We got settled in and changed for the dinner. The food was spectacular. I was sad my stomach wasn't bigger to fit more food into it!

Unfortunately, towards the end of the dinner I got very sick. Let's just say, Fred now knows how to purchase gallons of milk that should prevent that painfully violent illness I suffered the rest of the night. I can't remember the last time I felt so bad.

The next day the boys, Fred, and I headed to the mall to find dress shoes for the boys. We putzed around for a while until it was time to go to the location for the wedding. We got there early just to help make sure the site was ready to go.

I was so thankful to have had the opportunity to witness their union. I've seen my fair share of weddings. Not a lot, but enough. This one...it brought me to tears. The beauty of the words, the emotion from my brother, the vow they shared. Every piece of it was a tug on the heart strings.

I have to take a quick detour from the timeline to explain the two photos above. So, my brother, at the last minute decided to get a boutonniere. Unfortunately, the bud of the flower fell off while we were taking wedding photos. That darn thing had to last at least 5 more hours! Well, mom came in to save the day. As we're trying to get the bud back into the rest of it, my brother randomly says, "I know there's a pin on the steps outside. I left it there." So, the guys head out to this huge terrace looking for a pin. A PIN! bahahaha they're all standing out there searching for this tiny thing. Probably one of my favorite parts of the entire day. I secretly hope he really sent them out for his own amusement. Just to watch them search for a needle in cobblestone.

The gal who married my pseudo brother, Alan, and his wife Sarah, also married my brother and his fiancé. It was a small wedding of about 100 people in attendance. Lora stood facing my brother, smiling. The entire time. My brother, I'm not sure I've ever seen him so happy. Dare I say, he radiated his love for her. And then...he shed a tear, and I shed a tear. He kept having to pull out his hankie and wipe his eyes.

This brother of mine, who I never thought would get married, was marrying the woman who complements him in the most beautiful way. My brother thinks differently than I do, and I think mom and I figured they'd just live together, not seeing a need for marriage. We thought that was what worked for them. And now, here they were, making a lifetime commitment to each other, in a heartfelt ceremony.

I'm beyond happy to have added another female to our family. I've never had sisters, and although I'm not close to Sarah and Lora, it's nice to have the ladies at holiday and family functions. I know my mom is over the moon with this union. I don't think she thought she'd ever live to see either of her sons betrothed, let alone married. This was a good night for her!

After the wedding, we moved to the next room for a cocktail hour. They turned the room the ceremony was held in, into the room we'd be having dinner. The cocktail hour was a nice time for Chris & Lora to mingle with their guests. They had some delicious appetizers to say the least! The dinner was super duper fancy. Instead of a cake, they had a popcorn ice cream dessert.

It was a great and wonderful night. It was tough having to leave the festivities. We had a long drive home, so off we went. We left having a new sister and daughter in our family! We've expanded our somewhat small numbers. Next, my youngest brother!

Did you attend any weddings this summer? What did you love most about it?