The Night Before the Big Day

The night before "the big day," we had dinner out at Grandma Carolyn's!  Almost all of families had arrived and it was so much fun to see everyone again!  (The last time I had seen my Grandpa Don was when Christian was a baby!)  Good food, good company, good timers!

Erin, Em, and Aunt Barb (who makes the BEST French Toast EVER and is brilliant and kind and  oh-so creative.)

Left to right:  Cousins Anna and Amanda, Gpa Don, Uncle Tom, Aunt Sharon, and Harvey's sister, Hazel

The Bride and Groom-to-be! (and Juliana :-))

The evening cooled off very nicely (it was actually cooler outside than in!)...and we found out later why it was cooling off.  A BIG storm came through that we literally just BARELY beat home (like, we were driving home just barely staying one step ahead of the storm and it started pouring just as we pulled into the garage.)  But, I digress.  The cooler weather made for pleasant times on the porch in pretty rural-ish Ashland :-).

 Juliana loved playing with the ice cubes--Cubby caught a shot with one in her mouth and the next moment when she spit it out.

 Christian and his "accessories."  Not sure if I've touched on his OCD tendencies before, but here goes.  As recently as this winter, Christian started insisting to bring various items with him--everywhere.  In the wintertime, it was his hat, mittens, and two jackets.  Sometimes an extra pair of shoes if he just couldn't choose between two pair.  Then, as the weather warmed, and he still wanted to wear/bring them everywhere, it got a little ridiculous.  But, Christian is extremely stubborn and it took a loooong time to persuade him to ditch the winter clothing.  (Good thing it was a cold spring!)  Now-a-days, he wears his Angry Birds hat, sunglasses, CTR ring, and a long-sleeved shirt (just in case it gets cold...even when it's 90 degrees).  As of two days ago, we've been able to leave the house a couple of times without the shirt and he's been ok with leaving his hat/glasses/ring in the car for swimming or sports.  Yeah, this was important to document b/c I want something to show him when he comes to me complaining that his kids are OCD.

And here's baby J with the most wonderful Great-Gma you could ever ask for.  Juliana loves her so and often reaches for Great Gma to hold her, even when my mom or me has her!

Sweet baby, getting so big!

Snapped this picture on the way out to the car...the wind was picking up!  A very nice, laid back evening with family--what more could you want on the night before your big day?

At LAST!

The beautiful bride!

At LAST!  The most anticipated wedding of the past decade (for our family, at least)!!  After 14 1/2 years of friendship and dating (including a 7 YEAR engagement), Mom and Harvey FINALLY GOT MARRIED!!!

Now, as a disclaimer, I in no way captured all of the various parts of the day.  That's what they got a wedding photographer for, right?!  I don't even have shots of Harvey's family from the wedding day (I do have some from the dinner at my Gma's the night before, but that will be another post).  I'm hoping we'll all get a nice organized copy of the wedding cd, chalked full of pictures just waiting to be posted.  But, in the mean time, here are some of the candid shots I got of the big day!

Em and Gpa Harvey, looking so nice!

 The original plan was to have the wedding in my mom's backyard.  She and Harvey both work very hard on it and it's beautiful.  However, the weather forecast was all kinds of crazy with a 60% chance of afternoon thunderstorms and hot/humid after the rain.  So, the ceremony was moved to the primary room of our church.  Not exactly picturesque, but I was oh-so grateful when that AC kicked on and the cool air rained down!  My Uncle Rob officiated the ceremony (like he did for Cubby and my ring ceremony so many years ago!) and Emily and Kari were flower girls while Christian was the ring bearer.  My sister did a reading and Harvey's sister, Hazel, sang a song.  (She has a beautiful voice!)  Kyle and my Gpa Don walked my mom down the aisle.  It was very simple, very sweet, and very personal to my mom and Harvey.

Keeping the kiddos occupied prior to the ceremony

A few tips before the big event!

Erin, Gpa Don, and Mom

We asked Maggie to come and chase after Juliana for the afternoon so that we could enjoy the ceremony/reception.
She was worth it!

Grandma Beckie and the two sweet flower girls

Daddy and his girls

Me and my favorite ring bearer!

Uncle Kyle and Christian--sporting the bow-ties!

 After the ceremony, we drove back to my mom's for pictures and the reception (dinner, cake, dancing).  By that time, the rain that had come through had past, and it was still hot, but my mom's backyard had shade so it was comfortable.  We did eventually go home and change into casual clothes--after it's all said and done, it's all about comfort in our family!

Gpa, Gma, Daddy, and three of the four Amigos

Kyle and his girlfriend, Chelsie.  Don't they make a handsome couple?!

Me and my siblings!

 And, here are just a few of the flowers and the cake.  What event of my mom's would be complete without bunches of gorgeous flowers??!  My friend, Bridget, was our "cake lady" and the white almond buttercream cake was FANTASTIC.  (And I won't mention names, but many of us had two slices!)

So, even though it was completely stressful (of course) for my mom, the day was beautiful and it was so wonderful to be surrounded by so much family, many whom I hadn't been able to see for maybe 5 years!  And, now that it's over, the happy couple is able to kick back, relax, and FINALLY enjoy married life!

Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Hudson!