J + R = Wedding!

Last Saturday my middle brother, J, married R, in a ceremony and reception perfectly suited to their personalities as individuals and as a couple.

True to form, they were surrounded by friends (6 attendants a side), loads of family and well-wishers, and one "flower boy".

You see, J quite seriously felt that he should be able to get married while wearing a panda costume.  His sense of humor is like that.  The need to interject a great deal of laughter into every situation is just who he has always been.  When R informed him that a panda suit was not acceptable, he proposed the compromise of a flower boy.  Lest you conjure an image of a small boy throwing rose petals, let me assure you that was what J had in mind was for our 23 year old cousin, M, complete with a mustache, tiara and flower adorned suspenders to fulfill the role.

And fill it he did!  He entered the church to the song from The Lion King that starts the video below, and "delicately" threw rose petals down the aisle as he made his way into the church amidst much laughter.  It was easily my favorite part of the day, simply for the way the laughter and the crazyness of the moment so perfectly reflected the qualities that come to mind when I think of J and R.




They topped their day off with an awesome reception, fun speeches (including a laughter filled one from our baby brother T, who served as best man), and a dance that kicked off with a live band, led by T.  Around 10 pm, as they danced the night away, they arranged for a huge delivery of pizza, to curb the late night hunger caused by hours of dancing.  The party wound down in the wee hours of the morning, when we finally turned the music off to finish the clean-up for the evening.

Other highlights for me included the chance to participate in their ceremony by reading scripture, watching J's face as he caught sight of R entering the church, the looks on my mom's face as she watched her son get married, and the moment during the ceremony, which my dad was officiating, in which dad choked up and spoke through tears as he described both the blessings and challenges of marriage.  Knowing the many things my parents have walked through together in the last 33 years, that moment is especially poignant.

All in all it was a fun way to celebrate a marriage, and I wanted to take the time to tell you about it here.  You can find an awesome preview from the professional photographers, Scott and Jaime Gage )who are both extremely talented photographers as well as dear friends of J & R) here.

I also wanted to share a few of the photos I took, but blogger seems to be temperamental today, so I'll have to share those with you some time next week!  Make sure to check, since I definitely have some fun shots of most of my favorite moments, including the flower "man" as he preferred to be called!

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 303

Today's Daily 5:

1. surviving not one, but two midterms, back to back, on basically the same material
2. staying far away from some of the crazy that surrounded those exams by hiding out and having lunch with a friend
3. a sneak peak of a few of the professional photos of my brother's wedding
4. pizza and wine for supper
5. an evening with basically NO school requirements

Whimsical Wednesday, June 20, 2012

This week I find myself in need of the beauty of nature.  And, since it's been cold and rainy ALL week long, and I'm cooped up inside in classes anyway, I'm turning to pinterest.  As always, I'd love to hear if one of these images stands out to you, and why.

Source: bluepueblo.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: fairytalesbynature.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: lik.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: garden-artistry.tumblr.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Source: floryphoto.com via Lisa on Pinterest

Daily 5 - Year 3, Day 302

Today's Daily 5:

1. a fascinating post-conference this morning that included experiences of NICU, and a presentation from La Leche League
2. laughing with school friends
3. getting to know a classmate just a little bit better
4. cookies (seriously, always a highlight, right along with jello)
5. a long phone chat, catching up with a good friend

Tuesday Anticipations, June 19, 2012

This week I'm anticipating:

• my trip to Florida (something like 56 days!)
• the weekend and some down time
• house church
• the zoo with a few friends and their babies & toddlers
• catching up by phone and/or skype with a few other friends
• getting a couple of high pressure midterms and projects off of my plate

What are you looking forward to this week?