Rachael's Wedding

I already mentioned that this was coming up, but as planned, my youngest sister Rachael got married last Saturday. I'm afraid I do not have NEARLY as many pictures as I ought to have of the event. Craig was busy filming it, so he didn't take as many still shots as he normally would have, and I was running around trying to keep the kids happy and trying to figure out how to walk in heels (something I've never been very good at, and which was made much worse by the soft grass outside the temple. Thanks to me, that grass is now well aerated. During all this was also when Bentley decided it was fun to head-butt me repeatedly. I think I'm lucky I never actually fell over, although it was close a few times...) So, yes, there should be oodles more pictures than what I have here. If by the end of this post, you're still thirsting for more, say so in your comment and I'll send you the links to the picassa web albums that other members of the wedding party have set up.

So, without further ado:

Samuel, Bentley and Kendra play with cars outside the temple while we wait for the newlyweds to come out.
I am hovering overhead, taking pictures and ready to protect the flowers at any given time.

And here they are! I recommend zooming on this one so you can see the happy couple better!
And on the right, you can see Ian's dad, my mom, and most of Tracy (holding baby Caleb).

Here's a good shot of Rachael. She looked stunning, but I expected no less.
(Kudos to my friend Laresa's sister for making such a perfect veil. Thanks, Heidi!)

My family with Rachael and Ian. L-R: Mom, Dad, Rachael, Ian, me (trying to cover the baby bump with my flowers), Natalie, and Tracy. My oldest sister, Leah, is very much missed in this photo, but since she gave birth approximately 41 hours after the ceremony, I guess she made the right choice staying home!

Bentley found a pair of (ahem, women's) sunglasses and thought they were great fun.
He was trying to be as cool as his cousin Samuel:

See? Isn't he cool? A nice James Bond look, I think.

Craig thought to take this adorable cousin shot.

My Dad takes advantage of the few minutes before the reception starts to make good use of the nearby putting green. Gotta love playing golf in a tux!

After the reception, we put all the flowers in the kitchen. It made it hard to cook anything, but it sure was lovely!

I know, I know-- you're thinking, "Where are the pictures of the actual reception???" I don't know. Not on Craig's iPhone, apparently. But at least you get the idea, right?

For information's sake, the entire day was lovely. The sealing was beautiful, and I managed to keep my usual wedding day sobbing to a fairly low decibel at least. Afterwards we spent way too long taking pictures, which is exactly how a good wedding should be. The weather was perfect Seattle summer: sunny, cloudless, high 70s. Eat your heart out, Virginians! And then while the bride and groom wandered the temple grounds for more couples shots, the rest of us headed over to the restaurant for lunch. Lunch was my favorite Mexican restaurant, Azteca. It was a bit difficult for Craig and I because Bentley had fallen asleep on the way there, and spent the entire meal sitting on our laps and feeling tired and grumpy. Right before we left, he finally ate a tortilla slathered in sour cream and then turned into the happy kid I'm used to.

Next was the ferry ride back to Bainbridge Island. Unfortunately the line was long (Saturday tourist traffic), so we had to wait for the second boat. But this gave us time to hang out with Ian's family in the parking lot and get to know them better, which was great fun. I also enjoyed explaining to them how the ferry worked-- it's nice to be the one who knows what's going on! The wait also gave me time to finish Ian and Rachael's wedding gift, which was an idea I TOTALLY stole from my very-good-at-crafts sister-in-law, Jeni. She did this for our wedding, too, and I loved it so much I copied it: basically I folded up paper to look like fortune cookies and then either placed money or very happy fortunes inside. My favorite fortune was Craig's idea (keep in mind that Ian plans to become a podiatrist): "Many years of foot problems will bring you wealth and happiness." Classic.

Jeni's version was cuter, but I did the best I could.

Rachael and Ian didn't want to be stuck waiting, so they walked on (rather than driving) to the first boat, along with my sister Tracy and the photographer. This gave Rachael the perfect opportunity to get a picture of herself on the ferry in her wedding dress. I love it when things like that work out! It also gave them lots of time to make sure the reception area was all set up and take more pictures, which was what they were doing when we arrived.

The reception was held at the Wing Point Country Club, where my Dad has been golfing since I was about seven. It's entirely possible that he spends more time there than at home (certainly more awake time there!). And-- just for the record-- it's really not nearly as snobby as the phrase "country club" sounds. Trust me on this. Back when my Dad joined, it was because the membership fee was the same as my sister's ballet lessons!

The reception was exactly what it ought to be: good food, lots of friends, and a lovely bride and groom running around trying to meet everyone, cut the cake, have their first dance, toss the bouquet, and then (sniff) leave. During all that, Ian found time to perform some magic tricks for Bentley and Kendra. It was hilarious, actually, because he'd meant for the button he had to disappear and then reappear in someone's ear, but it got dropped on the floor instead and he and I spent five minutes looking for the silly thing. When Ian finally located it, Bentley clapped his hands in sheer delight, then threw his arms in the air and said, "Do it again!" Gotta love an easy audience! Mostly I was impressed that Ian would find time during his own wedding reception to pay attention to my kids. I told you he was a good guy!

Rachael and Ian left with us waving sparklers in the air around them, and I managed not to cry then, too. It was an absolutely beautiful day. And I'm glad Rachael found such a great guy. I wasn't sad to be done with my heels, though!