Thursday, May 22, 2008

Here Comes the Bride!


All week, rain and wind and cold temperatures had been predicted for Saturday, May 17th, but when the day actually got here, only the wind decided to show up. It was nearly perfect for a spring afternoon wedding. Our younger daughter Jenna married her college sweetheart, Joe.

They'd become engaged in October 2006, so there was plenty of time for planning the wedding. Jenna planned the entire affair nearly single-handedly, arranging all the details down to a "t". We all were sure she hadn't allowed enough time for pictures, but we were proven wrong. (I'm sure we'll be reminded of this later. LOL)


The night before, we rehearsed the ceremony at the church, then traveled north a little ways to Lone Star, where Joe's parents hosted the rehearsal dinner. When we'd all filled our tummies and enjoyed the fellowship, we went our separate ways to get a good night's sleep for the big day ahead.



Two of Jenna's bridesmaids, as well as her sister Kara, who was her Matron of Honor, spent the night at our house, while several of Joe's groomsmen stayed with Joe at his apartment. In the morning, the girls headed out early, so they could get their hair and makeup done.
We arrived at the church at noon, snacks in hand for the girls, and finished getting ready.

My mom was really worried the girls would spill food on their
dresses, so I provided bibs. LOL

We tried to get as much of the formal picture-taking completed as possible, including a four-generation photo with my grandma, who is 93 years old.


Finally, it was time for the main event. Jenna was escorted by her dad down the aisle to
Canon in D as her sister stood teary-eyed, watching. I saw Joe wiping his eyes later, too. She truly was as beautiful as I've ever seen her.


After the ceremony, Jenna and Joe dismissed the guests by row, then came back into the sanctuary for more pictures. The wedding party left the church in a limo and traveled downtown to Freimann Square, where more pictures were taken.



Shortly a
fter the wedding party arrived at the reception, toasts were made by the best man and the matron of honor. As Kara related stories about growing up with Jenna, she mentioned a time when Jenna was mad at her and was chasing her around the family room with a kitchen knife. (As Mom and Dad cringed in horror.) When Joe heard this, he scooted his chair back away from the table, looked at Jenna with shock, and promptly grabbed Jenna's knife and passed it down to the end of table. LOL.

Joe's mom gave the blessing after relating how we as parents had prayed for our children's spouses even before they were old enough to think about such things. She said while Joe believed he was going to Manchester College for education and to play football and Jenna was going there to become an athletic trainer and play golf, God's plans were for the two of them to meet. Amen!


I recounted how Jenna had always been her dad's shadow as she was growing up and that now she would likely be Joe's. But both sets of parents would always be behind them, supporting them and being available when they needed us.


As they prepared to cut the cake and Jenna grabbed the long-bladed knife, someone in the crowd yelled, "Joe! She's got a knife! RUN!" I have a feeling we won't ever forget the knife moments!


Much celebrating and dancing ensued. Even Nannie was coaxed onto the floor, and loved every second of it. When she left the party, she declared, "If I die tonight, I'll die happy." Her entire family was together in one place (minus one grandchild's husband) and she'd danced at her great-granddaughter's wedding.































My shoes were quite popular with several people, to the point that I was afraid to take them off or they'd be stolen! (Just kidding!) I was asked what size they were, where did I get them, were they comfortable, did I want to sell them, etc., and more than once they were declared to be "hot". They really were great shoes!

Jenna and Joe left Sunday night for Indianapolis, from where they departed the next morning for Riviera Maya, on the Pacific side of Mexico, for their week-long honeymoon. I'll leave you with more photos from the wedding and reception...









Again, thank you to my mom, who did the flowers, as she had done for Kara and Adam's wedding. She's a true gardener in every way.

Other photos can be seen here and here, as well as on the wedding photographer's website (click on DeCraene Wedding).



Wedding Trivia

  • The flower girl wore the same dress that Jenna wore in 1989 in her cousin's wedding.

  • Jenna and Joe got married on the same date that Romie and I became engaged in 1974.

  • Joe's mom and I were escorted down the aisle to The Carpenters' Sometimes. This is the same song that Romie's mom and my mom walked down the aisle to at our wedding in 1975, and Kara had it in her wedding as well.

  • Jenna's Something Old was her great-great-grandmother's gold wedding band, Something New was her wedding dress, Something Borrowed was her sister's veil, Something Blue was my blue wedding garter, and she had a 1982 penny in her shoe (the year she was born).
~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~

The pictures here are a collection of those taken by my Aunt Kay, Kara, Lisa Johnson and me.

24 comments:

Katie said...

Kylee - I am so glad you shared such a wonderful day with all of us! I appreciate bloggers that get personal, because in the end, I consider you all friends and love to hear about your lives.

Your daughters were ravishing, as were you in that gorgeous orange dress! I loved it all.

Wishing you all the best,

Katie

growingagardenindavis said...

Thank you for sharing such a joyful day..I'm so glad the weather pretty much cooperated! Everyone looks so happy you can feel it...and you look lovely...scarcely old enough to be the mother of the bride!

Gina said...

Kylee - everybody looks so pretty! Even the boys (men)! Thanks for sharing this family experience with us.

Lisa at Greenbow said...

Kylee, you were a beautiful Mother of the bride. Wow what knock outs your daughters are. Seeing their parents a person can see why.

The wedding party looks great. I loved the bib idea. I should have one all the time. Ha...

The cake is great looking too. Just everything was wonderful.

You are mightly blessed Kylee. A beautiful family and you have longevity on your side too.

Unknown said...

Kylee- What a wonderful day. Thanks for sharing the fun moments with us. That trivia is wonderful too. Those funny moments will leave a lasting impression too. Somehow looking through these fun wedding photos reminded me of some from my own wedding (even though I looked nowhere near as ravishing as your lovely daughter).

Rose said...

I enjoyed seeing the photos of your family; your daughter was indeed a lovely bride. Loved the bibs :)

Shady Gardener said...

Kylee,
The wedding was absolutely beautiful, as are you and your entire family. What thoughtful attention to detail as well as inclusion of so many family traditions. :-) Congratulations.

garden girl said...

Kylee, congratulations to you and your entire family on the marriage of your daughter - such an exciting and memorable occasion. Thank you for sharing pictures. Your daughter looked beautiful, and she and her new husband had a beautiful wedding.

Unknown said...

Wow, what a beautiful bride! (And maid of honor, and mother of the bride!) She and Joe look very sweet together, and I'm glad you all had such a lovely day.

(And yes, those shoes are hot! But I would rather wear flipflops, like Kara is in the big family picture.) :)

Robin's Nesting Place said...

Kylee, you were absolutely stunning as were your daughters.

Karen said...

Kylee,
Such great pictures, you all look sooo happy! I love the bibs LOL

Muum said...

Wonderful! congratulations to all, and thanks for sharing your family with us. YOu look great, as does the bride and all.

Ahava Hopps Brooke said...

congratulations to the happy couple. wishing them a lifetime of happiness & maybe some grandkids for you too.

Anonymous said...

Wow--that truly was a thoughtful wedding. I can see it meant a lot to you and grandma. It sure went smoothly. The colors and simplicity made it even more beautiful. Congrats. I really enjoyed the photos.

Kylee Baumle said...

Everyone ~ Thank you so much for all the kind comments you've left here! This really was about as perfect a wedding day as one could have, for our entire family. A joyous day where we indeed felt very blessed.

We're now anxiously awaiting word from the newlyweds upon their return from their honeymoon tomorrow. I hope they had a great time!

verobirdie said...

Best wishes to the newly wed.
I think you grandmother summarized it well!
Thanks for sharing those pictures.

Sweet Home and Garden Carolina said...

Late to the wedding party, Kylee, but what a wonderful wedding it was ! Thanks for sharing it with us. My last baby is getting married this Fall and wants to have a wedding in my garden, so you can imagine I'm under a lot of pressure : )

Anonymous said...

Congratulations on your daughter's wedding, Kylee. It seemed like a beautiful ceremony, and you looked great as the mother of the bride.

Cindy Garber Iverson said...

Oh, Kylee, how wonderful!!! I love all the photos. So lovely. I particularly like the wedding trivia you shared. Such important connections.

Cindy at Rosehaven Cottage

Ewa said...

Kylee,
Thank you for sharing all these lovely moments of that extraordinary day.
Your daughter looked so beautiful :) and all of you very happy together :)
Cheers,

Connie said...

Our daughter was married on May 17th, 5 years ago. It actually SNOWED on the way to the church that day, but the sun came out for a time as they left the church and drove away.
The bride is beautiful...like her Mother. Those shoes are definitely HOT! :-) BTW, You look very nice in red.
Lovely...thanks for sharing your special event with us.

Yolanda Elizabet Heuzen said...

Like the bibs, love the red shoes and your dress, great wedding cake, wonderful to have 4 generations together on this very special day for you all, Romie looks very proud walking his beautiful daughter down the aisle, lovely wedding pics of smiling, happy people, you got 2 gorgeous daughters (just in case you missed that), lovely pic of the proud parents and in the last pic Jenna looks very much like you and Joe looks very, very happy, bless him!

I'm glad you all had such a wonderful day and I hope that Jenna and Joe will have a wonderful life together filled with that most important thing of all: love.

Benjamin Vogt said...

Well congrats to everyone! It's been almost a year (3 more weeks) for our first anniversary. In January we honeymooned on the pacific coast of Mexico, at Casa Que Canta in Zihuatanejo. That's not where they went, was it? Good looking fam--shoes and all (can guys say that?).

kate smudges said...

Just had to check out the red shoes ... and see read all about Jenna's wedding. What fun it must have been! Congratulations to Jenna and Joe and a lifetime of happiness together!

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