It Seemed Like Such a Great Idea....

Oh my!  I knew I hadn't posted anything for a while, but had no idea it had been so long.  Which brings me to the topic of the day.  When the kids got engaged last Christmas, they immediately looked at calendars for possible dates.  Of course we had to juggle work schedules, sports schedules and school schedules.  The quickly realized that a vacation time from school would work well and guess what!  New Years Eve in 2016 was to fall on a Saturday!  It seemed like such a great idea!!!! Until......

It really did sound good. What a great way to celebrate the New Year.  Christmas and all that hustle would be over.  Family would already be here for the holidays.  How perfect!

Or is it?!  It seemed perfect right up until Thanksgiving.  Then, it proverbially hit the fan!  First, you have the logistics of navigating a wedding party that included eleven bridesmaids, eleven groomsmen, two ring bearers and three flower girls.  You would think that handling small children would be difficult and it was, but just a little.  The little ones were all ages six and under.  The youngest was two and three quarters.  For the most part, the kids did their jobs well and may even have stolen the show.  In another recent wedding, Mommy had placed fruit snacks in the bottom of the flower girl basket as a reward for Jonado.  She obviously remembered that as there was a spot in the aisle where a basket of petals was simply dumped upside down.  The older girls were experienced flower girls and knew their jobs well.  The boys were,  well.... boys.  They didn't want to get dressed, they absolutely did not want pictures taken.  However, when it came to walking down the aisle, they were champs and stole the hearts of most of the women there.  They carried a sign out of church announcing the fact that they were still available and single which was a hit.

The grown ups?  Not always so well behaved.  It is almost impossible to get 22 adults to listen to you and take you seriously.  Especially when a lot of them know you as Pook's mom.  And a lot of them call you "mom" whether they are yours or not.  There was the usual suspect behavior and joke cracking and general lack of cooperation.  Exactly what you expect from a large group of 20-somethings.  It wasn't even worth trying to explain that we needed to start on time and why.

Of course, to these young adults, it is crucial that we squeeze in bachelor and bachelorette parties.  Let's see, how many weekends are there between Thanksgiving and New Year?  Not as many as you would think!  But those events did get squeezed in too.

Now let's see, do we have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue?  Have we confirmed things with the caterer?  Are the flowers ready?  Oh my goodness, did we have the Bride's gown pressed?  How is everyone getting to the church?  What about music at the reception?  Did we get gifts for the attendants?  The list and details are seemingly endless.

Two major events right before the wedding itself are next.  Decorating the reception hall is first.  That was an all day event, compounded by the unfortunate situation of a conflict with a funeral dinner.  Not really something anyone can control.  Believe me, with weddings and other events, you learn quickly to adjust and be flexible!  The reception site was gorgeous by the time all was done. 

Did I mention that the Ohio State Buckeyes were playing their big game right in the middle of the wedding?!  We navigated that when Mommy got married at the same time and date of an Ohio State - Michigan game. Never thought I would have to navigate that again!!  We had a lot of Ohio State fans at the wedding and needed to make sure they could also follow their Buckeyes.  There were a lot of phones streaming the game that night!

Next in line is the Rehearsal and dinner.  Again, trying to get everyone to cooperate is a bit like herding cats.  However, mission accomplished and home we go for dinner.  I knew with a big family, our house could pull off a large gathering, but I was impressed with how well 60 people concealed themselves in my home.  Thank God for all of the extra hands helping, and especially for the Ninja running the household while we were at rehearsal!  The Blonde's boyfriend "Bear Man" was a tremendous help too.  Hard to believe he is still hanging out with this crazy bunch!

Nail appointments were had that day and my home transformed from a restaurant to a hair salon and picture studio the day of the wedding! 

Anyway, in spite of all the logistical waters to navigate, the most important event, the ceremony itself went off without a hitch.  Except for the strange man in the running suit that popped up behind the groomsmen and almost knocked over the Christmas tree as he tried to escape.  But It was beautiful.  The Bride was radiant and stunning.  The Groom was handsome.  There love for each other was clear.  The Groom did not kiss the Bride "strangely" as he threatened.  We did all giggle when he took her face in his hands to kiss her, not knowing what would happen!  They are a beautiful couple and we all pray that God will grant them Many, Many Years!