A wedding weekend

One of my best friends in the universe got married this weekend!

It was a beautiful, holy exciting day.

First off, the bride:

If you have ever seen a more beautiful, radiant bride, than I am a monkey's uncle. 

In fact, this picture barely does her beauty justice.

Also, not only was she stunning, she was the most gracious bride I ever witnessed -- taking time to welcome each guest, spend time catching up with everyone in attendance, even making sure me, the pregnant bridesmaid, wasn't too hot (it was a scorcher of a day!) or tired.

 So here I am, at 24 weeks pregnant, decked out in my bridesmaid attire. I won't lie, I felt fabulous. So there.

Also, I received a lovely and somewhat amusing compliment right after the wedding Mass: 

"You look like Our Lady of Guadalupe!"
(The woman who said this was referring to the fact that I had a pregnant belly with a sash around my waist.)

Me and another dear friend. 

She was my maid of honour five years ago! 

I'm so happy that the three of us -- me, the blondie and the Redheaded Bride -- are all still close friends after we first met (coughcoughcough) ten years ago in university.

I never got a family picture! Argh! And we all were so spiffy and I had even ironed!

(Plus I needed to document Patrick's dreamy suit that we got for only $4 at St. Joe's in Madonna House!)

But the boys were so enthralled by all things wedding, and both of them are huge fans of the bride, so they loved every minute.

Also, it helped that the reception was at her family's home -- a huge beautiful piece of farmland in our neck of the woods. Lots of neat places to explore!

Also, I was stopped by a woman at the wedding to tell me that Noah would be a heartbreaker when he got older. Sparkling blue eyes, blonde hair, tanned skin and a love for cooking?
Yes, yes, I think she's right.

The beautiful outdoor reception. 

This, and all of the following photos were taken by Noah. He observed the photographer in action while we were having our portraits done, 

and decided he'd take my camera on a sentimental journey.

I'm so glad he did, because he got some great shots while I was busy celebrating.

 The lovely cake, made by the cousin of the bride.

If you were a Pinterest-y type (I am not, after quickly losing in it), I would have recommended you come to this wedding simply to put your Pinning finger into action.
Every detail of this country-themed reception is totally Pinterest worthy.

The lovely centrepieces made by some friends.

The roses and peonies were bought, but much of the rest of the flowers were simply picked from a friend's meadow.

Also, the little bottles are maple syrup, our wedding favours, which the family made themselves, dragging sap buckets on snowshoes across their farm to boil this past winter. I honestly can't think of anything more romantic.

The wedding was just beautiful. 

It was absolutely a tear-jerking event, however, as the Mother of the Bride is very ill.

When the father of the bride came to give a sweet speech reminiscing about his daughter, 

he shared lovely and funny stories about her, but ended his speech by toasting his wife of thirty-seven years instead. 

There likely wasn't a dry eye there.

The very artistic bride had photos of her and her now-husband adorning the entrance to the reception tent, both from their courtship and engagement, but also their childhoods.

Next to this photo display was the following quote, which for many reasons, is so perfect for them:

“Perhaps, after all, romance did not come into one’s life with pomp and blare, like a gay knight riding down; perhaps it crept to one’s side like an old friend through quiet ways;  perhaps . . . perhaps . . . love unfolded naturally out of a beautiful friendship, as a golden-hearted rose slipping from its green sheath.”

-- Lucy Maude Montgomery