Happiness is a Wedding - Amy L Peterson

For those of you keeping track of the wins and losses lately, my losses (which included one pet hamster, one pet bird, one father and my female dog) greatly outnumbered the wins lately. This weekend, though, was a win. And a big one.

See, once upon a time I married a guy with four kids and the oldest turned 31 on Saturday AND got married. This is the bride with her three siblings, all of whom happen to be my stepkids.

This particular wedding was outside on a Lake Michigan beach. Getting there was just part of the fun. Sweating while wearing a dress–one Mark said reminded him of a pillbug–was also part of the fun.

About to wander down the nifty stairs to the beach.

The setting for the wedding looked something like this.

Wedding on Lake Michigan complete with flags that reminded me of Survivor.

The guys in the wedding were these guys.

Minister, groom, groomsmen and guy in charge of music.

The ladies chosen for the event were these.

The decorations over the wooden thingy were blessings written during one of the bridal showers.

IMG_3255 - Copy — Colorful good wishes, similar to the prayer flags Willi saw in Nepal many years ago.

The father of the bride (whose side role is that of my husband), looked something like this.

Mark demonstrating that not only were shoes optional, so was common sense.

I got to pose with a guy that looked a lot like a celebrity but was really my handsome stepson.

Now, I know by now you’ve all noticed that I have a dress on. I also had a necklace on. AND I had a pair of schnazzy sandals with like polished rock-type things on them. Those three things–dress, necklace and schnazzy sandals, hadn’t come together since, well, nobody could remember when. But nobody could remember when they saw a nifty scene like this one, either.

Like most weddings, the bride and groom said their vows, got blessed, there was this reading by a friend and a poem read by my stepson (which he wrote). And after all the mush and tears, the event was over. Ten minutes later, it rained for exactly five minutes. Then there were more pictures. Back at the Ronora Lodge (near Water Vliet which is near nothing), we took even more pictures.

Mark's son, nephew, brother and well, Mark.

I hadn’t seen my brother and sister since our Dad’s funeral in August, so it was nice to be with them for a happy occasion. Mom said she wanted a photo with the three of us, so here `tis.

My stepmom, Norma, also came to spend time with us.

Norma kicking back before the reception.

At the reception, Mark gave a nifty little speech that made some people laugh, others cry, and everyone hungry.

Mark being happy and mushy at the same time.

Mark offered a blessing focused on taking care of critters.

A glimpse of Mark's audience at the reception.

Then we got to eat. It was all vegetarian and very, very yummy. Here’s one lucky participant who got to eat and eat and eat. (Not really).

My sister with a 10-pound plate of food (not really).

And finally, after the bride got her dance out of the way and a few other traditional dances happened, the rest of us got to join in for some fun.

: Lloyd’s wife, Susan, with me, Aby and well, Lloyd.

All in all, it was a perfect wedding. The weather was great, the people friendly, mushy, and fun, and the food yummy. Thanks Willi and Brian for such a great time. Best wishes for a happy, full life together.