Texas Trip Part 5 - The One With The Wedding

Brace yourselves, this is going to be a long one.

After getting settled into our cabin the night before, we woke up to the sounds and smells of breakfast on Saturday morning.

Even better than that was the amazingly cool and humidity free weather.  I think the bride and groom ordered it in specially for the wedding.

Let me give you a little family tree to help you navigate the photos and stories from the wedding.

The Mad Hatter's brother, my Uncle Doolittle (because of his many animals) and his wife, my Aunt Camera (because she takes many pictures) have three sons: The Lawyer, The Athlete, and The Groom.

The Lawyer and his wife, The Singer, have two beautiful girls, The Diva and The Lion.

(The Diva is in the back, The Lion is in the front)

The Athlete and his wife, The Paralegal, have one little boy, The Littlest One.

The Littlest One was a little shy at first, but we soon became fast friends.

The girls started the morning with antics like "Look cousin Meghan as we climb a tree and give everyone a heart attack!".

The Littlest One stayed closer to Earth, but no less in my camera's line of fire.

Some of us spent the morning taking in the local wildlife

While others pretended they were lions

And we all enjoyed feeding some feral kitties.

After breakfast, the Queen of Hearts and I walked around the site to take some pictures and help set up for the wedding.  The wedding was held at this adorable little hideout on the river.  Everyone at the wedding stayed in these luxury cabins and we all got to spend lots of time together.  The ceremony itself was going to be held right by the river.

While the Grown-ups set up for the ceremony, the kids enjoyed the freedom that came with having the place to ourselves.

Before we knew it, the time had come to get changed for the ceremony.

Everyone came back in their spiffiest clothes.

And as the ceremony started, I couldn't help but think about how our family has grown and changed.

For example, take this photo from around 1992

(Top row standing: My Uncle Doolitle, My Aunt Camera, My Grandma, The Groom, The Athlete.

Sitting: The Mad Hatter, Me, The Queen of Hearts, My Great Aunt Hantie holding my 2nd cousin M, and my Great Uncle Mac.

Very front: Oliver the dog, The Lawyer)

And when the Groom came down in his Armani suit, all I could think about was this kid:

(Me and The Groom 1989)

Or maybe this kid.

(Me and The Groom, around 1987)

But now he's married and I'm forced to see him as a grown up.

But still, when I see these people:

(From left: The Laywer, The Singer, Uncle Doolittle, The Lion, the Groom, The Bride, The Athlete holding The Littlest One, The Diva, The Paralegal, and Aunt Camera)

I also see these people.

(From Left: Uncle Doolittle, The lawyer, Me, The Queen of Hearts, Aunt Camera, The Athlete and The Groom is behind him.)

After the ceremony, as the hot Texas sun set over the river, the pavilion where the reception was held was full of dancing and laughter.

Then, as the children began to fall asleep, the adults, still sticky from dancing, wandered back to their cabins, all the while humming the chorus of an ABBA song.

What a beautiful and magical day it was.