June 3 - A Wedding

After Lila's swim practice this morning, we drove to Tennessee for my cousin Lauren's beautiful wedding. She got married in Franklin at Carnton Plantation, a perfect setting for a summer wedding. Their ceremony was in the garden and all three of my children were able to sit through it quietly which was a huge relief after the screaming and crying that took place on the way there. Here is a shot of the newly wedded couple.

I love family weddings! It's such a gift to see a loving couple commit their lives to each other and to get to see extended family members. It's also a great opportunity to capture group shots of everyone looking spiffy. Here is my family. L to R: Dad, Mom, Nellie, Karen, John, Miriam, Ewan, Rick, Lila, Lucy, me. We missed Uncle Chris who had to work.

My little family. I thought it was funny how all three girls are gesturing similarly.

My siblings. It's so rare to get a picture of John smiling! I love this shot.

The front of the mansion with a pink sunset.

The gingers hanging out together. Lucy is holding a chunk of Karen's hair because she likes the way it matches her hair. Karen's and John's baby might just end up looking something like this one.

John and Karen practicing their parenting on a niece and nephew.

The Wheeler crew. L to R: Gracie and Jenna and their mom Mary Ann (my cousin), Aunt Betsy (mother of the bride and my mom's sister), my mom, Aunt Lura Lee (mom's other sister), Lucy and me, Lila and Nellie, Ewan and Miriam.

This was one of many special details at the wedding. They had photos of their deceased grandparents hanging in a little tree. This is my grandmother and grandfather.

Another lovely detail: child-sized tables with crafts and snacks at the reception. Seriously, how thoughtful was that? Here's Lucy dancing with Nellie to the sound of the awesome bluegrass band.

Lila, Nellie, and I with the stunning bride. Lauren was the program attendant at my wedding when she was around 12. I still think of her as that cute little girl. I can't believe she's all grown up and married!

John telling one of his "the one that got away" tales. Actually, no, that's more of my dad's shtick. This is likely a story about his dog Nancy. Yes, Nancy.

I am amassing a great collection of photos of Lila eating wedding cake at various weddings. Lila loves cake. A lot. She loves going to weddings because of CAKE.

Me, Mir, Mom and the babies.

So, yeah. This might be my favorite shot of the night. Those tiny little feet all snuggled up between my hands might be the cutest thing ever.

But then there's this. And that might really be the cutest thing ever. The End.

In milestone history, on this day in 2005, I was in Gatlinburg for the weekend with 10 of my college buddies. I couldn't find a group shot of everyone, but here is Vanessa, Medessa, Ashley, Shara, and Misty.

I was about 36 weeks pregnant with Lila, and my sweet friends threw a rocking baby shower for me that weekend. Here are Molly, Vanessa, and Ashley dressed like babies in toilet paper for one of the shower games. Good times!