Matthew's Wedding

We ventured down to Jacksonville Beach for my cousin Matthew's wedding the last weekend in September. He and I grew up together, and when I was little, I even told people that he was my little brother -- and they believed me! So when Matthew announced his engagement to a great girl named Monica, we immediately started making plans to be there, and offered our photography services as a wedding gift for my honorary brother.

Ken caught this photo when I stopped to give Matthew a quick hug while he was hanging out in anticipation of the wedding ceremony.

Lindsey and Kathryn enjoyed the day. Lindsey helped pin on corsages and boutonnières, and kept Monica hidden 'til it was time to walk down the aisle. Kathryn took her job as flower girl very seriously, and l-o-v-e-d it. Both girls liked feeling helpful, and hanging out with Monica and the girls before the ceremony was pretty doggone amusing at times. {grin}

After the ceremony, Matt and Monica had allotted extra time for photos before they needed to be at the reception. So much fun! I just have to share one of my very favorite shots (if you'd like to see more, check out a few wedding/reception photos, and day-after at-the-beach photos!)...

After photos by the church, we went to nearby Friendship Fountain for some photos, and took a few by the St John's river as well. Kathryn and Lindsey tagging along, even though they were hot and tired and hungry. Sometimes they got to act as assistants, holding a flash or reflector. I caught this shot as we were all walking back to the car to head to the reception, both of them helping hold Monica's dress, and loving having a part in a romantic day. Our girls are so immersed in weddings that they are both going to have their wedding planned about twenty different ways before they ever meet their future husbands. Look out, guys! {grin}

Kathryn has always loved Matthew, but after he and Monica asked if she'd be their flower girl, they earned extra-special points. I've always thought it was funny -- and kind of neat -- that somehow Kathryn managed to inherit (if that's possible) Matthew's funny ear-fidgeting habit; he always did this weird thing with his ear when he was sleepy, and Kathryn always did nearly the same thing.

Once we'd all eaten, the girls hit the dance floor. Lindsey and Kathryn both danced nearly non-stop for the entire reception! Needless to say, they both went to sleep that night as soon as their heads hit the pillow! Here's Kathryn dancing with her cousin Cullen. You may have seen him in some of our field trip posts and such, since he's family, but also a homeschool friend!

When we were little, Matthew and Shannon and I were the Three-Musketeer cousins. Maybe because we were all close in age, and the older cousins were too cool to play with us. (Jonnia!) Anyway, we spent a great deal of time together, and every Christmas, there was at least one photo taken of the three of us sitting on the same couch in my grandmother's house. We haven't done that photo recently, so it was time for an updated version:

Ken and I love to dance, and we did get out on the dance floor a time or two. It cracked me up that after we'd finished a swing dance, my uncle Bill came up and said, "I didn't know you two taught dance lessons! You're good!" But we're not the only ones in the family who know how to dance. He and my aunt Culline (Matthew's parents) really know how to cut a rug, too!

There were quite a few family members Lindsey hadn't met before this Florida trip. After the rehearsal dinner Friday night, she told us she thought she'd feel funny meeting all these new people, but said they were all goofy enough that she felt like she fit right in. I know that everyone in my family means well and that they have good hearts, but it made me all warm and fuzzy inside to see how they accepted Lindsey as if she'd always been part of the family. I love my big crazy clan of relatives.

Lindsey danced with my dad (her Granpa), with Matthew, and with Monica's littlest son Devin. When she danced with Ken, she cried "like a baby" (her words). She told me that was because she'd never had a dad to do things like that with her. I told her it would not be the last time she'd dance with her Dad. She said it probably wouldn't be the last time she cried while she danced, either.

My uncle Bill taught her the two-step, Texas-style.

Lindsey mentioned that we needed to get a photo of Granpa with her and Kathryn. So this is the first photo of my dad with BOTH girls.

I'm so blessed to have been able to spend this special time with family, to see my cousin Matt say his wedding vows, and to make such wonderful memories with our daughters.