In Which I Gain a Brother and a Niece

This weekend I gained a brother and a niece! Last night, my awesome sister-in-law tied the knot at a gorgeous ceremony at a local park's lodge. Her handmade dress looked beautiful!
Her hubby teared up when he saw her. I love it when the groom gets misty-eyed-- that's not bad is it? I love it in an "oh, that's so sweet" kind of way. His daughter stole the beginning of the wedding as she twirled her down the aisle-- twirling so much she got dizzy and stumbled a little. Emmy and Cate had fun dancing later on too. I love that they are officially cousins now. I'm sure they'll grow to be great friends. They played "getting married" quite a bit last night too.
Cate also had fun pretending to talk into the microphone. She actually got very upset when we wouldn't turn it on for her to talk. I think a performer may be in our midst. My little man finally got to meet his grandfather, Eric's dad, who drove up from North Carolina Saturday morning before the sun even rose.
We had some crazy tornadoes in our area on Friday night, and his dad didn't want to drive through them. I don't blame him after seeing all the destruction on TV. We were spared in Cincinnati, but towns within an hour east, west, and south of us were destroyed. But back to the wedding...
My two favorite decorations for the night were the mason jar centerpieces......and the cake topper. Josh, my new brother, is in the Army. Kristin is a doctor who will begin her residency in May.
I have to hand it to my sister-in-law too-- she planned this whole wedding for a fraction of what most people spend. And it looked beautiful. It was a fun night and we wish them all the best. They're flying to Germany for their honeymoon (apparently European honeymoons run in the family as Eric and I took ours in France) right now and we hope they come back with some great stories and pictures to share.

Congratulations, Kristin and Josh. And welcome to the family, Emmy-- I'm so excited to get to be your aunt. You're my first niece!

~Melody :-)