Erin's Wedding

So my sister, who many of you know, got married this weekend! You already saw the lovely green Holland contingent who came along to celebrate, much to my pleasure. This was a very big event for my family. It feels like we've waited a while for something really great to happen. Cody is really a godsend and so perfect for my sister.

Here are some pictures. It's a good thing the father of the bride is allowed to see her before the wedding, because my dad ("Papa-razzi" we call him) would have died if he had missed this first photo-op. As you can see, the style of the wedding was very Jackie-O and classic 50's style, with sheath dresses, pearls, and simple tulip bouquets. I thought it turned out beautifully.

Cody's family is southern, and in the south, apparently, people take friendship as seriously as family. So many of Cody's friends and his parents' friends came up from South Carolina that I honestly could not keep of track of them (including his black nanny who awesomely & spontaneously belted out "Stand By Me" with the band at the reception). The amount of southerners combined with the amount of people in my own large, boisterous family (Karen has met them) made for quite a combination of people, who all, as Lara noted, really, really like to party. My parents hosted three parties at their houses over the course of the weekend, in addition to the wedding itself.

The wedding was a great combination of Catholic spirituality and good, earthy, old-fashioned celebration. These two strains were brought together by the favor: everyone walked away with a personalized bottle of wine, called "The Wedding Feast" after the wedding at Cana. Just as Jesus was present for that marriage, E & C asked that he would be present in their marriage. Not something you see everyday.

Randall served well as "head greeter", and although unfortunately, Cruiser could not be incorporated into the wedding (Cody put his foot down), the whole thing was quite awesome, a fitting celebration, and everything we wanted it to be. Marriage is such a blessing.