Trina and Mark are Married!

Wow, what a weekend. I didn't take a lot of pictures. There were so many people there that I should have shot. What I got you can see by clicking here: wedding. Yes, I also learned how to link to a website without having the URL hanging out. Big weekend.

Adrian and I drove up on Friday. It was a very easy drive and even the last bit in San Francisco getting to hotel was okay. We got there in time for the rehearsal, but I didn't have to participate. The woman who was reading the poem recovered and did a wonderful job. She had to rehearse. Most of the rest of us stayed upstairs at the bar and drank. The rest of us included Karen (Peter was practicing videographing), Jeff and Sandi, and Bill and Nisi. I haven't seen the last two since Bill's brother Bob's wedding. It was much fun to see them. Bill and Karen exchanged memories of growing up because Karen had brought him a photo album. I love to hear other people's memories of shared events. We all look at things from our own perspective.

I've just written about all our meals before the wedding because that's what I did mostly, eat. But that was boring to me. What I want to write about is how good it was to see everybody. So, let's do it like this, by sibling:

Eric's Family

Eric's son Mark was the groom. Mark was sweet and deliously beside himself. I tried to keep out of his way, because his activities were predetermined and focused on one woman - as it should be. Trina is a very sweet woman and I know that they will be happy together. She looked gorgeous at the wedding. We had chatted about the brides on a TV reality show about buying wedding dresses. It's a big decision because those wedding pictures are with you always. As you see above, she picked the right dress.

Chris was an usher. He is Mark's brother and his signifigant other is in Columbia visiting her mother. I talked with Chris a little, but most fun was dancing with him at the wedding. He was pretty game to dance with his stiff old auntie. I was avoiding a nasty woman and just full enough of champagne to dash over and grab one of the cutest guys in the room to be my dancing partner. My knees hurt all night, but he is worth it.

Tara is Eric's daughter. We we seated together at all events. Hurray! She's a sweetie and a bright new lawyer. We talked about my final move up to Albany in a couple of years. She desperately wants to learn how to cook and I can't wait to cook with her. That's how Adrian and I learned, we cooked with people. Tara's husband Ivan is becoming more a part of the family each time we see him.

Mark's mother is Millicent. She looked absolutely fabulous on both occassions, the dinner and the wedding. Her hair is usually long and flowing. She had it up and it looked great. We spent a lot of time on the staircase, waiting for the reception after the wedding. 90 minute wait with too few chairs. People were surprised that we were so friendly, since she hasn't been part of the family for a long time. I told them that when my mother got someone into the family, she never let go. Man, we almost sound like the mafia.

Eric's wife Cindy brought her two adult girls and a husband to the wedding. Cindy is wonderful. You can imagine how difficult it is to share your husband with an ex in the "parents of the bride" role. Cindy was perfect in this role. Her daughters are great. Carina asked me if I was going to take a picture the was "blog worthy" this time. This is my excuse for not getting a picture of 90% of the other people there. Last time I cut Carina out of the picture with Cael. Now she is here with Cael and Sean. Adrian and I also met Cindy's parents at breakfast the next morning. I got no picture of Kaitlin or the parents. Or Cindy for that matter. Tsk.

Karen's Family

I got lots of pictures of Karen and Peter and their son Kevin. And of course Maggie. They were sitting at my table. But Julie, Adam and the boys were always someplace else. And Maggie has more of my energy level. The boys are constant motion machines, but I think they were pretty good at the wedding because I never heard them once. I wonder how Julie and Adam did that. Kevin's Natalie was all over the place, herding Maggie to rehearsal and wedding. Maggie was the very precise flower girl. She knew her job. She had to get rid of all the flower petals in her basket when she got to the bride and groom. Too cute. I think that's why they have flower girls, cuteness factor. I just stole this picture from Natalie's blog.

Adrian and I drove over to Karen's after having brunch with Cindy's family. I guess Adrian had arranged to have dinner there that night with Kevin and Natalie. Natalie needed a break, so Kevin came over and cooked dinner with Adrian. He is his mother's son and made enough for Kevin to take home and Karen and Peter to eat all week. And the mothers enjoyed watching their boys take charge. Fantastic.

Jeff's Family

No pictures. I'm devastated. We had such a good time with Jeff and Sandi and Bill and Nisi. We all went to lunch on Saturday to celebrate Jeff and Sandi's 39th wedding anniversary. The women had been out shopping and found the perfect dress for Sandi to wear at her daughter, Cathie's, wedding in May. So here's my excuse. I always hated that my mother made us pose for pictures constantly when we were growing up. Now I like looking at those pictures, but it always seemed to break to the flow of things. Even though I have my camera in my purse at all times, I forget to bring it out to snap little memories. Are the pictures in my head better than the ones I can put in my blog? Sometimes. But I sure wish I had thought to capture all those pictures that I missed.

Happy New Life, Mark and Trina!