~WEDDING DAY...and excuses...~

Don't you hate excuses? Well...



...last night at 6pm, my Grandson, Alex, was married to the beautiful Natalia Arrango. He is the eldest son of my next to the youngest daughter, Mary and son in law, Brock.
Unfortunately, I forgot to check and make certain the camera was charged, thus after just a few pictures, my camera died. Needless to say, I was frusterated...but didn't go outside and scream and break the camera and act like an enraged fishwife! (I have never claimed to be the most mature woman on earth and this was a wee upsetting)..just a WEE!!!
No..I just calmly put the camera away and did without it. Thus very few photo's to share with you. Do I hear applause? No? Well, I should because I wanted do some damage to myself for being so...irresponsible! Or to put it in bj's words... "BWAAAAAAAA!"


I am using this photo I took of them on Christmas day the week before their wedding and hopefully I will have their wedding portrait to share when I can get one from Grandson, Frank, who was the photographer at the wedding....(and please don't hold your breath as he is family and we take our sweet time with things and he is a very busy young man. (to brag a bit, he is a graduate of NYU film school and quite the photographer!) :)

Alex and Natalia taken on Christmas day.
(Wasn't he just toddling around yesterday and got his zipper caught....?? Never mind!)

The wedding theme was black and white. My daughter in law Cheryl made the cake! I thought she did a lovely job!

If you enlarge the photo below you can see photo's of my great aunt and my grandmother in hats made by my Great grandmother on the far left. Late 1800's. The center photo is of me and three of my four children at that time. There are also photo's of Alex (groom) in childhood days. The mantel is full of my ancestors, my daughters little family and myself. I do love this fireplace mantel! It is handmade.
The ceremony took place in front of this fireplace and the entire room was lit only by candlelight. Our Minister, Andrew Short, performed the ceremony for us...and said something very profound.
He told us that our job in this union was not just to "attend the wedding", but to be there for this couple while they make their way through life. WE, he reminded us, are a support group. Every single person in the room was a close relative or very close friend.
The groom, busy doing something with ...the music? Anyway..you get an idea of the table set up. Please enlarge by clicking on the photo and remember...this is also an historic home. It once was the old polo club here in Riverside back in the 1800's.
This is Christina, the bride's mother and the bride, Natalia. I thought she was just beautiful.


This is the lovely bride, Natalia and myself. The wedding bouquet was made by my daughter Mary, so please enlarge to see the tiny details. All the decorating, flowers arrangements and decorations were done by my daughter, her sister did the meat and daughter in law did the wedding cake. The wedding was in Mary and Brocks home.. which many of you already know was the home of Emilie Barnes the famous writer of "IF TEACUPS COULD TALK" and many other books. What a lovely place to have a wedding!

This was not the a very good post of the beautiful wedding that took place last night and I regret I didn't do it justice.

Our family is beginning 2010 with a brand new baby, a new life for a happy couple, the opening of the other half of my son and DIL's bakery. I HOPE and PRAY that all of you out there will have wonderful new beginnings and a wonderful year!
Love and smiles,
Mona