A White Wedding...in May!

Last weekend we had the beautiful privilege to witness and participate in a family wedding in the amazing setting of Estes Park, Colorado. With our kids being little, it's not often that we make the two-hour trip from our home to this historic town on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, so it felt a little bit like a vacation to us, too. Staying in a cabin on the rushing Fall River, sitting by the fireplace while we watched the snow come down...

Yes, I said snow. In May. It's the Rocky Mountains, people. Anything can happen.

Needless to say, rehearsal was a bit wet and cold. The bride and groom said if there was any chance at all of having the wedding outside, then we would rehearse outside. Even if it the rain mixed with snow plastered us all, and large clumps of snow falling from the towering evergreens made the entire bridal party duck and cower at times.

Let's just say rehearsal was brief.

And then we went shopping for longjohns to wear under our dresses.

We were amazed and pleased when we woke up the next morning to blue skies and sunshine! We didn't hold our breath since the ceremony was at 4 o'clock, but we were hopeful -- and grateful that the existing snow was melting and quickly evaporating!

While the boys napped, I went with Lucy to have her hair done.
She looked so precious, but way too grown-up with this up-do. She loved every minute of the process.

Fast-forward a few hours... the weather held! By 4 p.m. it was cold but dry. And I was on pins and needles wondering how (or what) my older two kids would do as the Ring Bearer and the Flower Girl.

Then the moment came. Daddy was on one end of the walk, getting them started and reminding them to smile, and I waited on the other end with the camera.
Can I just say that they did incredibly well! I was pleased to the point of tears as I watched my daughter (just a few days before her seventh birthday) and my son (who is typically a silly and stubborn three-and-a-half-year-old) do exactly as they had been practicing. Not to mention that they both looked so precious!

As I watched them from the end of their walk, I was kicking myself that I had left our video camera up by my seat. I only got still shots, but my heart will always remember Josiah watching Lucy drop the rose petals, glancing at her, and glancing behind as if he were wondering if she should really be doing that, or if maybe he should be picking them up for her.
I guess it was one of the few things we didn't prepare him for. But he continued to walk with her as he should, and he got some giggles out of the crowd, too. And it was so cute how Lucy would look at him and smile and just shake her head a little, as if to say, "Silly boy..."

Joey also seemed to be a bit concerned about the very large horse that was walking up the path behind them, pulling a carriage with the bride on board. Again, not enough prepping. Or perhaps it wouldn't have helped anyway. (I think even I would have been a bit concerned about an animal that large following me, too!)
In spite of many distractions, they continued on and finished well.

One of my favorite moments, which I happened to capture with the lens, was when the bride stepped from the carriage and into view, accompanied by her parents, and I could see Joey lean in and mouth the word, "Wow..."
He was right. She looked radiant in the sunshine!

They stood with the bridal party until the opening prayer when I waved them over and wrapped them in blankets for the remainder of the ceremony.

Though Lucy and Joey had the official rights to be dressed to the nines, I can't leave out this little gem:
Adam wasn't real happy with being restrained from practicing his new skill of walking, but some snacks and his taggie blanket helped during the ceremony. He did look sharp in his vest and clip-on tie, and he definitely enjoyed the wide open spaces at the indoor reception.

In case anyone mistakenly believes my kids were so well-behaved because of proper parenting, let's just say that Joey got his reward in the form of affirmation...and Twizzlers.
What a beautiful day! What a beautiful way to celebrate the start of a marriage! What a blessing to have our little family participate in such a special way! And, if I do say so myself, what beautiful, wonderful, amazing children I have! I fell in love with them all over again and feel such a distinct and undeserving honor to be the one they call mother.