Yes, my son wore a cape to the wedding.
The main reason for this summer trip is my cousin’s wedding, and today is the day! I have only 4 first cousins, so its’ pretty exciting when one of them does something like get married! I was also certain there would be some extended family attending, so this promised to be a mini family reunion.
The wedding was not until 3:00 pm, so the kids spent the morning swimming and playing in our really neat campground, and I went to town for supplies.
The wedding was at a place near our campground called Lydia Mountain. It took place under a rustic pergola facing a view of the vibrant valley below, and the groundskeepers had wisely sprayed the entire lawn with bug spray, and so the wedding was perfection. My cousin had decorated the pergola with strings of crystal beads ending in a tear drop, and there vases of dahlias decorated with rose petals hung on the ends of the rows of chairs.
A lot of family members were there. Dad’s cousins Alan and Sheryl and Jannet were there, as well as my second cousins John and Daniel. Not only that, my only boy cousin Isaac, who I had not seen in about 12 years, was there! It was like a mini family reunion! And of course, the Oregon cousins were there and there was a grand reunion between our girls and theirs. Lots of girlie squealing, and sizing one another up, and tossing of hair, and happy screaming, and marching off to catch up with girl talk. There is no lack of girl pride in this family, for better or for worse.
The wedding itself was wonderful. Little Megan was magical throwing rose pettals down for Emillie to walk on, Ryan didn’t lose the rings, and Emillie was more beautiful that one would imagine. When Kiki saw my Uncle John walking Emillie down the aisle, she gasped, horrified, and said loudly, “Oh, no, Mama! She’s going to marry that grandpa!” There was a lot of explaining about what was happening in the wedding after that!
The wedding!
Megan and Sunshine – two peas in a pod!
What Ryan and Judah did during the wedding. Judah was NOT amused.
Then there was the reception. There was a playground and lawn games to play, and marshmallows to roast, and tons of North Carolina pulled pork, and amazing green beans, and slaw, and mashed potatoes, and drinks and good company. There was none of the odd awkwardness that can happen when two families of strangers and their friends come together to meet for the first time. And it’s no wonder. Emillie and Jeff are both pretty spectacular people, and so people were nothing but joyful!
As it got dark all the magic was complete when the fireflies joined in to light up the lawn. It was all warm, with cousins playing, knowing they would have only a few days before separated again for many months, that nice feeling one gets when surrounded by family distance prevents you from seeing very often.
Judah was dreaming of the playground all through the wedding.
I always thought my parents were pretty awesome for making such an effort to let us get to know the East Coast family, and I am determined to give my own kids the same sense that the distance doesn’t have to mean they are isolated. I am so happy we decided to make this trip so we could be here for this!
More wild blackberries. Virginia is magical!
Recent Comments