Brock and Kels Wedding Day

Another huge congrats to the special couple on their wedding, their lives together, and on throwing such an amazing party for us all to celebrate their love!!

This certainly goes down as one of the all time great weddings and certainly was an amazing trip for us all the way around!  We already knew that the newlyweds were great people, but it was a true pleasure having the chance to get to know both their families so well through the week.  Everyone present was a ton of fun and really pitched in to make the whole week a great time. Both families were fabulous hosts and we would be happy to call ourselves members of either group!

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The day had plenty of anxiety leading up to it for Superjen as she was the officiant, but her public speaking fears went undetected and the ceremony went off without a hitch (and was completely successful).  A few people even mistook Jen for a professional!  Good to know there's always a backup plan if needed...

The ceremony itself had everything a wedding should.  Moments of laughter, of tears, and plenty of love both between the couple and among everyone present to ensure its success.  I'm pretty sure the number of those left without tears at some moment in the ceremony could be counted on one hand.

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Almost everything present from music to decorations to flowers to the wedding gown was gathered, arranged, designed and/or created by those present- and it's clear that the couple has some very talented friends and family.  Wendy and SarRena especially did the heavy hauling and orchestrated the event from behind the scenes with the skills of hollywood directors.

I was asked to take photos of the wedding, so the day came with a backstage pass of sorts.  It was great fun taking photos and being around them both today and all week to share in this milestone, just as its been amazing to be part of their lives for the journey so far.  The wedding was absolutely beautiful,  and the weather held perfectly.

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The lawn games following were fun for everyone in attendance.  Although, the same games also led to my being  barefoot, and coming to blows with a rusty tent stake that severed my foot and left me hobbling for the rest of the trip.  Still not sure how the dangers got seeded against first Bride and mom-of-bride, and then Groom and nephew...but I can tell you that the crowd at a wedding seems to lean towards those newly wed.  weird.

As darkness fell on the day we headed back to McMenamins where the party continued/escalated.  Ty wanted to drive the bus back, and apparently has been dreaming of and hunting for a bus since long before we owned ours.  He's clearly one with the VW vibe, and we handed over the keys.

C'mon Ty, make the leap already, would you? ...you look like a natural in that seat.

After a round of toasts including touching words from both Fathers and brothers (and an amazing poem written by Nick for the couple), the real focus of the party turned to the bar, the never-ending famous tots and the dance floor where we all took part in and witnessed one of the greatest impromptu dance-offs in history .

Later in the night things got a bit out of hand...mostly just for me.
Luckily, I can use that foot injury for an excuse for being  barefooted and having poor dance form--and I'm even more lucky that the Bride's mom is a great sport.

Argh- I always get in trouble when "Devil went down to Georgia" plays...thanks again Dee. Really.

Oh, and sorry Cindy (aka Mom-of-Bride).