Jen and Damian's Wedding 2012

I first met Kevin's cousin Jen in November of 2007, after Kevin and I got engaged. She was warm and friendly and made me feel very welcomed into the family.  It wasn't long before she was telling me about Damian and her desire to marry him. She was completely ready. When you know, you know. (See if you can spot Jenny at our wedding physically demonstrating the depth of her love.)

It was no surprise then that after the ceremony many of the guests said they had never seen a happier bride.  She was fluttering with glee at the altar.

Jen and Damian, blissful after the ceremony (I'm pretty excited I took this photo)

After the ceremony, they both relaxed a lot and were able to get to the partying. The party was super fun for me because it was the first family wedding (other than my own) that I had ever attended. First there was the pleasure of enjoying the wedding with the family members I already know. On top of that, I was able to meet tons of family that were more distantly related to Kevin.   love genealogy so I ran around meeting as many of them as I could, and was delighted by all of them. Kevin comes from a really fun family apparently.

 

Clouther-Rogers family right before the reception (photo by Amanda G. B.)

Gontarz Table

George, Kathy, and Fran, friends for over 35 years!

The maid of honor, Jen's sister Megan, and the best man, Damian's best friend, both gave really good speeches.  They both talked about the relationship to the bride and groom-- and the part that a lot of wedding speeches skip but shouldn't-- what happened when the bride and the groom met each other. The friends are often well-positioned to give the rest of the wedding guests a sneak look into the origins of the bride and the groom falling in love. And the speeches didn't disappoint at all. They gave us a front row seat to beginning of things from both Jen and Damian's perspectives.

Me, Kevin, Jen, Damian, Megan, Andrew, and Mike, cousins and cousins-in-law

Also, the wedding guests could really party it up.  Perhaps I'm dating myself, but I had never seen spin-the-bottle used to select who dances in the middle of the dance floor, but it's a great idea.  Kevin ended up dancing in the middle twice- well done!  I was psyched to go too but I was occupied with photo-taking. So occupied that I climbed on a chair to take this last one because I lack the  fancy camera equipment that lets you hold your camera above the crowd.  I darted across the room, tearing my shoes off on the way, and leaping on to a chair, because oh my gosh, look how cute they are! And look at this fabulous love!

Damian picking Jen up at the end of the reception