I know this is late but hey...cut me some slack.

The wedding could best be described as short and sweet, but to recap on the entire weekend I'll start with Friday.

Friday: We all got up and tried to finish packing, making sure that we had all the clothes and food and shoes and hair styling equipment and makeup and accessories ect ect ect.....(this took awhile) To my disappointment we had to miss speech but oh well, you gotta do what you gotta do.

So we tried to leave in enough time to get to the community center and set up for the rehearsal dinner before meeting everyone over at the chapel. We made it there (though not as early as we hoped) and set everything up. The beans were on low, the rolls were rising, and the brisket was warming in the oven. We were good to go.

We got to the church said hello to all the family and future family, and waited on the porch sheltered from the rain for the door to be unlocked. It eventually was.

After telling everyone what they were supposed to do we made a first run through of it. The bride (as is tradition) chose someone to stand in for her part. I was that chosen person. I was absolutely honored and delighted to be chosen (though pretending to marry your brother is kinda weird, I think it was even more strange for him though)

After making a second run through everyone was satisfied and we all loaded up to head over for dinner.

Well.......all did not go as planned. The beans apparently had sat out to long the day before and were spoiled. (The bog of eternal stench!) So we sent them on the porcelain express.
Dad ran(drove in a car, he's not that athletic) to waly mart and bought some Busch's. ( the beans.....not shrubbery) All was well. The night was a success and we all went home with smiles and big bellies, looking forward to the long awaited tomorrow.

Friday night: Mom was up trying to make a grooms cake. German chocolate was the choice and she was gonna make a good one. She forgot, however, to bring any kind of platter to put it on, so she goes and wakes up Dad(this is at 1:00 am by the way) and they both went to waly world (again) to get it. At this point I turned off the computer and went to bed.

After Mom and Dad got back, Mom continued fixing the cake. She put it on the platter and began to ice it. It was thick, it was moist, it was beautiful, it was finished....but something began to happen...... *CRACK.......SLIIIIIIIDE..........SPLOP!* The top layer split directly down the center leaving a gaping ravine and one corner completely broke and fell off. Don't ask why this happened.....cause we don't know. The top layer looked like it had been cut in half, there was no fixing this one. (this happened at about 3:00am) They stuck the earthquake cake in the fridge and went to bed.

Saturday: Dad went to the Butcher shop and bought a German chocolate cake. The rest of us got up, ate breakfast and started getting dressed, fixing hair, finding shoes and solving little squabbles midst the little uns.

We made it over to the church early so we could take pictures before the wedding instead of after. (Which I rather liked. You don't have to stand around being hungry forever)

Then the wedding began. Everyone looked lovely. First the grandparents were ushered in. One of my grandmothers was teary eyed and seeing her that way made me start to be teary eyed as well.
Next the parents were seated.
My brother was one sharp looking guy in his shiny black shoes and black tuxedo whose light pink tie and vest added marvelous contrast.( he was so handsome, I can say that....he's my bro) He and the best man (my cousin Seth) stood up at front waiting for the rest of them. The bridesmaid walked down the isle in a blushing pink dress with a bouquet to match.
The little 6 year old ring bearer ( my lil bro bryson) walked down the isle looking so "cheek pinching" sweet in his pink bow tie and holding his little pink pillow. ( the color scheme was pink in case you haven't guessed)
The flower girl ( my lil 4 yr old sis Brigette) was absolutely adorable in her long poofy pink dress. She walked down the isle strewing pink rose petals as she went.
And last of all came the Bride, walking beside her father arm in arm. Her dress was pretty and simple, just as she wanted it. She looked beautiful, and she needed no fancy and frills to make her such.

The ceremony proceeded, everything was going well. The further things progressed the more teary eyed I became. Tears were streaming down my face as I struggled to maintain my composure. My Grandmother passed me a tissue for which I'm most grateful.

I don't know if y'all can relate or not but it was hard on me. To see your older brother who you've looked up to and played with growing up, who was your friend and always around(especially since we were homeschooled) and stood up for you, teased you , aggravated you to death, but you always knew he loved you. To see him off and grow up and start a family of his own......it was tough. I love him so indcredibley much.
Toward the end my tears let up considerably and I thought "oh that wasn't too bad" but then I started to think, and that's very dangerous.

The wedding was over and people were standing to leave I stood up and began to walk down the side of the isle towards the back where all my cousins and aunt and uncles were. ........That's when I lost it. I couldn't hold it in any longer. My face became a picture of pain as I burst into tears. My Uncle Darrel gave me a hug and just held me and stroked my head as I sobbed and sobbed for what seemed like a long time. ( when I say sobbed I mean it.....I cried so hard, the kind of crying that makes your entire body shake and you can't stop it) After a while I began to laugh at myself for crying so hard, so I was laughing and crying at the same time. My Uncle Paul J also gave me a hug and I cried then too. But by the time I made it to the door I was able to control myself pretty well and tried to mingle.

You have to understand that this was unusual for me. I can usually control my self pretty well. Crying in public is not something that I do. It makes me uncomfortable when people see me cry, maybe it's because you are so vernerable at that moment. Your emotions are bared and you become transparent. I've always said, " you never really know a person until you've seen them cry" and I feel that it's true. Most of the time people put on a happy face when around other people and we think "oh everything's always fine" So I made a scene (unintentionally) People came up later and were like "oh here's the emotional one" and " what was all that crying for?" But everyone was nice in their remarks.
Oh and I thought I had cried all my tears out, but on sunday night I had lots of pondering time in the car on the way home, and ....well....I cried some more. I needed to cry, I'd been holding everything in.

Anyways, the reception was fun, the cake was gorgeous, they cut the cake, drank punch, threw the garter (bryson dove for it and slid on the floor. He was victorious) They threw the bouquet of which I caught. (yaay! go me) I found out later that one of Krissy's aunt's ( who is mentally disabled though not severely) was soooo mad because I caught it and she really wanted it. I was like "uh oh, already starting a family feud here"
I was stuffed. We did the machareina(sp?) and the chicken dance and bride and groom and parents and grandparents all danced throughout the day. (I didn't)

We decorated their car blew bubbles at them as they got in ,and they drove away running a red light and speeding round the corner. It was fun all in all and sad for me in a way, though I'm happy for them.

So begins a new chapter of all our lives.

Here's a picture. It's giving me trouble so I'm just gonna put one up here