Congratulations Adam and Stephanie!

Words can not describe the day I've had with my family and old friends.

As I drove home from Adam and Stephanie's wedding the tear flood gates opened. Not due to sadness but happiness.

An all day affair. We attended the ceremony in the afternoon, then my family shared a meal in between the ceremony & reception.

We all always have fun when we are together. My sister and I wanted to take pictures in our fancy new dresses. My niece mocked us for taking pictures in the parking lot of Mulligans!

Then my nieces were texting to make sure they did not buy the same dress. Always a hub of activity and fun stories being told around the table!

Backtrack to the ceremony--When we arrived at the church, we gradually made our way inside waving at and chatting with those we had not seen in a while.

One of the most memorable moments for me personally was seeing my cousin Johnny's family and his children running at warped speed into my arms.

No one has really done that to me since my own nieces and nephew were little tikes themselves.

It felt SOOOO good to be loved and wanted by someone. The last person who made me feel like they truly needed & loved me was Mom.

I think my oldest niece could not believe they did that....it felt wonderful!

Then, the cutest little girl was passing out wedding programs. Turns out she was the daughter of a grade school friend I used to have the biggest crush on (a million years ago and he knows, so I am not letting the cat out of the bag!!).....he married a wonderful woman and they have 2 beautiful daughters. The little one kept eyeing my shoes! Little did she know I too was eyeing her shoes and whole outfit! What a doll!

The service was quite moving. So wonderful seeing relatives young and old, distant and close all in one gathering place.

Then break time where we all rested, changed, and started on round two of the day!

When you go to a wedding you never know what to expect! Fortunately, our night was filled with love, laughter, sharing, great food & drink, visiting with family & friends, and crazy dancing on the dance floor for almost 4 hours!

I don't think any of us wanted to leave but eventually we did shortly before the wedding ended.....

Again, so many highlights from start to finish. We were all seated together just next to the head table. Adam and Stephanie are super wonderful people. Adam is the son of my 1st cousin--Tommy's dad was Mom's brother.

I've always felt closest to this particular family and my cousin Diann and John's family. I'm quite lucky to be associated with all of these people.

Again, I can't verbalize the laughter, jokes, smiles, picture-taking, and visiting with those we may have not seen in a while.

Adam and Stephanie had a photo booth set up for their guests to take pictures as remembrances of the big day. One set went to the bride and groom and the other set to the guests. What a hoot! Such fun and a great idea so they knew who attended. Just seeing Uncle Sam in his Uncle Sam hat was tremendous as 5 of us did our 'Charlie's Angels' poses!

Seeing Adam's gramma jamming out on the dance floor was priceless....as well as being part of this memorable day.

Life is sooooo good.