Back when Kirsten and Jonathan got engaged last year, they asked Atticus and Grace to serve as a ring bearer and flower girl in their wedding! Atticus has been in two other weddings: Ana/Charley and Jill/Geoff and Grace is just now old enough to make it down the aisle with Atticus by her side. So, I was excited as the time got closer. I was also very excited for Kirsten, who we decided we have known since she was 14. At least that is when we met her and over the years, have loved having her as part of our lives. We are so happy she has found Jonathan and that they will now live happily ever after! And, it was really special that she asked the kids to be a part of her day. Remember that she and Katie (and Jonathan on this last delivery) have come both when Grace and Everly were born to take care of the remaining kids until family could get here. The first time, it was in the middle of the night and the second time, they had to come get our car, pick the kids up from preschool, and handle everything at home. It's great to have them in our lives; they love our kids like they were their own and will care for them, keep them safe, make them mind, and spoil them. And, I hope to do the same for their sweet babies one day!
Anyways, I got distracted! So, the big day was June 3rd! On June 2nd, at lunchtime, Grace and I attended her bridal luncheon at The Village Care in downtown Bryan. It was there, that Grace was given the most precious James Avery flower girl necklace and a precious little robe to get ready in on the big day! It was fun for me, also, to have special girl time with Grace.
That evening, Atticus, Grace and I went to the rehearsal. Vic had
been through a long workweek and had a sinus infection and was exhausted
and sick. So, he kept Everly so he would be sure to attend the next
day. We went to the rehearsal and I loved watching these two. They were
both so excited and in the best moods and just best friends all evening.
Atticus kept wanting to take pictures and would kiss Grace on the
forehead every time! He would include her in everything. And, while they
fuss and argue and pester each other regularly, Grace LOVES to be
wanted and included by Atticus. She will do almost anything he says if
he is including her and showing her love!
They both did
a good job practicing and then after dinner, they played and played.
The venue is way out in the country outside of Franklin, so about 50
minutes from our house. It is really nice and they had a bunch of
outdoor games - like cornhole, balls, a giant Connect 4 game, and more
to play with. And, Atticus hit it off right away with Ryder, the other
ring bearer and they hunted bears with their water guns (their ring
bearer gift) and played all night. Grace even sat and colored for at
least 30 minutes quietly while I visited with other adults. Sometimes,
through the craziness of raising little ones, it can be so rewarding to
relax when they get to a certain age...as long as that age is combined
with everything going their way. I mean, they are still little kids!
Here we are at the rehearsal in the lodge part of the venue. They had the best time!
Grace is always so proud of her big brother!
Rehearsal time. See a quick clip at https://youtu.be/a8ygNM8GUJc of them practicing their first walk down the aisle. Also, can I just tell you here that Grace constantly talked about "when I walk down the aisle to marry Atticus". These two are so funny when they talk about who they will marry. Grace usually says Daddy or Atticus. Atticus will sometimes say "fine, he will marry Grace!". Oh they are silly and cute and naive and I love it!
The next morning, I took Grace up to the salon to get a little updo
done. Kirsten told me I could just do her hair half up and nothing
special, but Grace's hair is so fine and it's so humid so I was afraid
it wouldn't hold any curl or look cute for the wedding. After paying the
salon lady, I realized I could have done what she did, which was
basically put it in a ponytail, tease the top, add a few curls and bobby
pins and be done. Next time I will be more confident in my own skills.
She did put a cute little bow on top, but by the time the walk down the
aisle came, the curls were gone and the bow was flat.
She looked so fun in her little robe! And, she loved that she was going to the "salon".
The "bow" was cute, but I could have done this!
And, this was "curled" but "messy". I mean, it was fine and cute but again...I could have saved $36!
The
big kids and I headed to Franklin at 3 for pre-wedding pictures. Well,
it turned out that the flower girl dresses would not arrive until 5:45,
so pictures had been pushed back a little and they didn't really have to
have the little kids in them anyways. So, I probably should have kept
them home a couple more hours. Atticus was dressed and ready and Grace's
hair was done, and it was so hard to keep them entertained, even though
I brought plenty of things, when they just wanted to run and play in
the big open reception area. But, after saying "stop running" 100 times,
it finally got to 5:45, we finished getting dressed, Vic and Katerina
and Everly arrived (Vic picked Katerina up on the way) and we sat down
for the wedding to begin. Also, I should note that about 4pm, it started
pouring buckets outside! And while the wedding was indoors, you had to
walk about 20 feet outside to get from the reception to the chapel. But,
miraculously, it stopped raining right as the wedding began around
6:30!
We arrived to the venue at 3 and as soon
as the other ring bearer showed up dressed, Atticus was ready to get
dressed too. I LOVED this little bow tie. And they each carried a sign.
One said "Where are the rings?" and one said "Bring me cake!"
Just hanging out like she's one of the adult bridesmaids!
While we waited, we saw the groom's cake. Pretty neat!
And,
finally the dress arrived! Kirsten had someone make the little girls'
dresses. And they were precious! Lace and beads on top and the
seamstress even sewed a little necklace of beads to the neckline. And
then tons and tons of tulle. When she tried it on the day before, it was
a little long, so since they had to have the other one altered also, we
sent it back to get it hemmed. She loved being dressed and loved this
dress!
The
photographers were taking pictures of them and I am dying to see those
pictures! But, Grace thought she looked so great! And Kirsten looked
beautiful!
Um...is this your couch at your house, Grace?
I
asked them to pose and this is what I got. A big grin from Atticus and
Grace holding her dress like a princess. She does this a lot with her
dress-up princess dresses and she did it all night with this dress. I
love that she picks up that dress to walk and run and play!
Yay! The rest of our crew arrived!
Right
before the ceremony. This was an unplugged ceremony so no phones or
cameras. So, when the official photos come back, maybe I can get copies
to post!
The kids did a great job in the wedding. I could
only see Grace from where I sat. She stood between Katie, who was maid
of honor, and Kirsten. She was happy the whole time; she would reach up
and smell the flowers in the bouquets Katie was holding; she reached up
to touch Kirsten's veil a couple of times; and she arched her head
around to see what Kirsten and Jonathan were doing a time or two also.
But, she was just perfect. I couldn't see Atticus, but when he walked
back down the aisle, he had looped his sign he carried, somehow, onto
his belt loop. I didn't notice until someone pointed it out. Apparently,
he did this all while standing up there and the people who told me,
said he looked so proud to undo his belt, loop the sign on it, and stand
without holding it. What a stinker! I was super proud of them though. I
know that people always say when little kids don't act the way you want
them to, during a wedding, that it is cute. Well, I think it's only
cute when it's someone else's kids! ha! Kidding, but I was really proud
of them.
After that, they took pictures with everyone.
And then the reception began. I had told Atticus all day long that he
could dance all night long. Of course, I didn't really explain that
there is the bride and groom entrance, first dances, dinner, etc. before
the dancing could start. Boy, were they ready to dance! And they did!
There were SO many kids at the wedding, so the dance floor had more kids
than adults most of the time. Grace played with little girls and
Atticus just danced to his own tune most of the night. I hope he always does that! I hope that he always is himself and loves life as much as he does right now and always seizes the day! See this link https://youtu.be/smuiN3Y2DW0 for the first half and this link https://youtu.be/c6nZrz1m2Hg for the second half. They are just short
clips. It was fun for me too though; I loved dancing with the kids! I
also want to remember how Grace acted, even though it was painful at times. She was so good, but boy did she
melt a few times. Little things would make her upset and I knew it was
combined with the excitement of the weekend and little sleep. But, at
one point, she comes up to me and Katerina, and says "I'm going to cry
for a little bit" and then immediately bursts into tears. We couldn't understand a thing she was saying among the tears. When we
finally figure out that she just doesn't want the little girls to pull on her
dress while they dance anymore (although she had been fine with it for
awhile), she calmed down and then told us that "I'm just going to cry for a little while longer". She finally calmed down and got 100% happy again.
That girl!
Vic has this revelation after seeing
that Atticus was wearing a bow tie for the wedding. He realized that it
was a brilliant idea -- wearing a bow tie because you never have to tie
it like messing with tying a tie, which he and I always struggle with!
Since
it rained, all of the "outdoor" toys from the rehearsal were on the
porch. Before the music started at the reception, this is what they did.
Katerina, Katie and myself! Did you know that Katie's actual bridesmaid dress got locked in the alterations store because they closed early without warning? She randomly had this dress that was the exact shade and similar lace! How crazy lucky is that? And since she was maid of honor, it looked like it was planned!
Grace wore her beautiful dress almost all night before changing. And I made her take a ton of pics before I let her change. I just couldn't get over that dress and that sweet little girl in it! I would have done the same with Atticus, but he was ready to change immediately. But, they were both so cute and so fun! Everly, however, wins an award if I had one to give! Since she still wasn't walking and she couldn't just crawl around, she had to be carried most of the night. I took her on the dance floor; we fed her snacks constantly; I let her roam in the bridal party room. But, she was so tired. She would not fall asleep, but she would snuggle up on Vic all night long. It was precious, but poor poor baby. She was so sleepy. And did you know she never cried? She never got in a bad mood or cranky? I'm telling you - best baby award!
Like I said, Atticus changed clothes immediately!
This was the wardrobe that held the dresses earlier...aka a great place for Everly to explore!
We
almost made it through the night with no major problems until sparkler
time. Kirsten and Jonathan did a fake exit, since technically they were
staying the night at the lodge there with lots of the bridal party. We
let Atticus have a sparkler, but once it went out, he didn't realize
that he still couldn't touch it right away because it was hot. So, he
burned his finger. That did us in. He was bawling and inconsolable.
Burns hurt and you know how no matter what, they just keep hurting for a
long time until that intense pain goes away? I mean, no matter how much
cold you put again it, it just burns? We couldn't explain the pain
away. So, we packed up for home. I had the two big kids with me and he
cried most of the way home. He finally fell asleep. But, when we got
home, he woke up and kept coming to our room for us to spray more
lidocaine cold spray on it. It would give a little relief and then he
would be back in our room. It must have finally stopped hurting, because
he finally fell asleep and has not mentioned any pain since that night.
The entire weekend was fun and exciting, not only as a friend for Kirsten and Jonathan and Katie, but as a parent! But, did you know that my goal was to get a family photo with Kirsten and Jonathan and I never made it happen? Oh no! There was just too much keeping up to do with all 3 kids! But, here is a quick pic of them dancing!
Also, last fun fact. Their wedding hashtag was #rushingtothechapel because Rushing is their last name. But, I thought it was funny because Kirsten told me that they weren't actually "rushing" because their engagement lasted over a year and the phrase also makes you think it's a shotgun wedding! So funny!
