My cousin Anna, who is sort of like a third sister, married a man who was created for her this weekend. Her lovely wedding was in LA and over our Spring Break, so it worked out perfectly to not only attend the wedding, but then share a little Southern California vacation with my sister. So many wonderful new memories were made during this week!
One of the first fun things we got to do was meet Heather's new boyfriend, Andrew, who is just the nicest, warmest, most fascinating guy! He and Heather actually met in the operating room! He's an orthopedic surgeon and she was an OR nurse! It took less then 24 hours for my girls to fall completely in love with him, which I realized when I looked over at them holding his hands during Anna's wedding ceremony! :) Time to just catch up with Heather was a joy too. I'll never forget walking into our hotel lobby late Friday night as we pulled into town and having the girls drop suitcases and run into Auntie's waiting arms.
The wedding was at a gorgeous outdoor venue and was packed with old high school friends and family from my mom's side. I saw cousins I haven't seen in almost 20 years and my mom's oldest brother-- the only member of the family still living. If you know Anna, you won't be surprised to hear that every detail was thoughtful and intentional. She walked down the aisle alone, but then stopped at a reserved chair at the front and laid her beautiful bouquet on it to honor her dad. She and Derek wrote their own emotional and powerful vows. The love and passion these two had for one another was just bursting out of them throughout the whole ceremony and there were not many dry eyes among the guests.
Afterwards we took lots of pictures. Above is the whole K Clan (minus just a few who did not travel for the wedding). Below are the cousins, Grandpa's Girls, including Kerry and Courtney, who live on the East Coast with their families.
Not only were Anna's details so thoughtful (like bags of 80's themed gifts waiting at the girls' table setting), but they were SO FUN too! Our tables were divided by "Famous 80's Movies Duos". We were at the "Wesley and Buttercup" table (Some other tables were "Johnny and Baby", "Goose and Maverick", "Han and Leia", "Chunk and Sloth", and "Indy and Marion".) To get to the buffet, we had to play "80's Movies Name that Tune", and then enjoyed a play list of classic songs from that era all night. Our favor boxes were filled with Pop rocks, Push-Pops, Big League Chew and other nostalgic sweets from our childhoods. Anna also decided to forgo the dreaded bouquet toss, and instead presented her flowers to the couple who proved to have been married the longest in an anniversary game (my aunt and uncle-- 46 years!). We just loved how she took this embarrassing tradition and flipped it on its head to honor special guests instead!
Another highlight of the night was watching Ella and Delia fall in love with their second cousin Leah, the teenage daughter of my oldest cousin Kerry. I explained to them what a second cousin was, and Ella adorably told me, "Well, Leah feels like a first." Too bad this lovely young lady is all the way on the other coast-- she'd made an awesome babysitter! ;)
After a fabulous feast and the best toast we've ever heard at a wedding, it was time to dance! I am proud to say that our family shut the dance floor down, staying late until the girls were actually falling asleep in our arms! This was such a great time of laughing and bonding with my cousins! Ella quickly claimed Andrew as her partner and let him twirl her around all night!
It was such an honor to be a part of this wedding crowd-- it was clear we all had such love and admiration for Anna and Derek. This was not just a special wedding because it was family, but because Anna worked hard to make it unique and HERS. Her attention to detail was all over it. Everything came together perfectly, and we all had so much fun celebrating the happy couple!
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