Couldn't Do It On The Beach

That is where the wedding was supposed to be but we were in Traverse City on Lake Michigan and just like the unpredictable weather in the mountains, by the water you never know.  The intention was to hold the ceremony on a peninsula at the 45th parallel mid way between the North Pole and the Equator.  There had already been a great deal of rain so the groom and his brother traipsed out the day before the wedding to see if the peninsula was under water, and it wasn’t, yet!

As you can see from the image the initials for Jenifer (I don’t want to hear from the nitpickers Jenifer with one “N” is the unique way she spells it) and Dan (my older son, known as Danny to his family) had been set with the date in stones. After watching glorious sunshine over the water with boats and waist deep fishermen in the lake during the early morning of the actual wedding day, within a short while the clouds rolled in and it was not long before the waves started to pick up and the lake looked more like the sea.  As luck would have it a few hours before the appointed time we received a phone call from my son informing us that we would be indoors after all. 

In the end the rain let up long enough to hold the wedding ceremony outdoors in the newly weds lovely rustic garden which had been decked out with lights on the porch and banisters down to the garden and in the bushes and trees with some Christmas Reindeer for good measure.  It was most effective.  There was just the close family in attendance but when you take all the grandparents, siblings and grand children into account it ended up between 25 and 30 individuals.

(Back to Front) Aidan, Danny, Jenifer, Meg, Lucy and Eryn

The wedding couple had written their own wedding vows bringing the bride to the brink of tears and leaving a huge smile on the grooms face.  An officiant made it all nice and legal.

Later in the afternoon the party began.  There were about 40 adults and the same number of children!    The doors to the garden opened and closed 500 times and that was just the kids.  I am sure you can imagine 40 children with an average age between 7 and 11 chasing each other from one made up game to another.  Someone, should have brought a whistle to stop the action every once in a while but all were getting along and were happy. Amidst the hubbub drinks and hors d'oeuvres were served outside.  

Just as it began to rain again we were invited into a large tent where a grand dinner was served.  I would like to think that the quesadillas for hors d'oeuvres and the fajitas at dinner were done just for us, the New Mexican family but I had already been informed that the foods were all favorites of the bride and groom.

The newly weds both gave lovely welcome speeches with accolades for their children, siblings and guests alike.  I made a toast of welcome to our new family and Danny's brother, Hunter, the actor, did an original humorous Rap piece enjoyed by young and old alike.  In fact one little girl announced out loud, "That was entertaining!".

After a short break inside we went back to the tent for the traditional wedding cake.

Danny is a commercial real estate broker by day but he has a band during his off hours.  As a teen ager after a less than auspicious beginning with a violin,

he directed his musical talents  to the drums and has continued to play.  He formed a band in Traverse City so the two brothers, without the full band did a song requested by the younger set in their practice room

The evening ended in dancing by all and for some went on until after midnight.