The Wedding

This past Saturday I got a new brother when my youngest sister Mallory married Fritz. It was a beautiful day that started at 4:45 AM.

Mom was picking me up at 5:45 AM so that we could get everyone coffee and then head down to Mal’s apartment for bagels before we went to get our hair done. The following story has really nothing to do with the wedding, but it’s a wonderful example of the kinds of interactions that you can have with people before 6:00 AM in Wal Mart.

Before we got the coffee, I had mom drop me off at Wal Mart so that I could grab some deodorant that would be invisible cause the last thing that I wanted was pictures of me bustin a move on the dance floor sporting bright, white deodorant streaks. I got to the appropriate isle and the following conversation took place…

Me: (Blankly starring at my deodorant options trying to decide what to buy)
Friendly/Creepy Wal Mart Employee: What are we looking for today?
Me: Well, my sister is getting married today and I need something super invisible and super strong.
Friendly/Creepy Wal Mart Employee: Ummmmm, why does it have to be strong?
Me: Ummmmmm, because I don’t want to smell by the end of the night.
Friendly/Creepy Wal Mart Employee: Well, I use Suave and I never smell.
Me: Ummm, ok.
Friendly/Creepy Wal Mart Employee: Here’s a good one, but I don’t know if it’s “super strong.”

We went around a little bit more before I spotted what I wanted and then ran out of the isle before she could start questioning me about feminine hygiene products.

Mom, Mal, Ang, and I sat around Mal’s kitchen eating bagels and chatting while we waited for the other two bridesmaids. It seemed like we had just done that the morning before Angie’s wedding and here that has already been almost three years ago now. I kept thinking how we must be there to get ready for a shopping trip. I couldn’t believe that it was the morning of my baby sister’s wedding.

Everybody else got there and we made our way to the salon. One by one we got our hair done and chatted about nothing in particular. It was one of my favorite parts of the day. Elyse was one of the last ones to get into the chair and I couldn’t believe how well she sat. She let Andrea curl ALL of her hair and then put about a thousand bobby pins in it to keep it all up for the day.

When we got back to Mal’s to do makeup it seemed like we had all the time in the world, but then all of a sudden it was like someone pressed the fast forward button and it was all MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!

But when we got to church and we all got dressed, the reality of what was happening that day hit hard and Mal looked gorgeous. I know that I am biased, but I think we were a pretty good looking wedding party…

Watching my dad give his last daughter away really chocked me up and you could see in his face that it was killing him. Luckily, our family has been blessed with the men that we girls have chosen to marry and so even though it was hard for him, I know that dad knew that he was giving Mal away to a really great man.

Now you may remember that Aaron was the ring bearer and Elyse was the flower girl. This made me a tad, um, apprehensive to put it mildly. We all know that Elyse is a total loose cannon and just about anything could have happened. Thankfully, they both performed flawlessly. Elyse showed restraint as she gracefully walked down the isle next to her brother and Aaron was heartbreakingly handsome in his tux. This is where I would insert a super cute picture of them walking down the isle, but due to an unfortunate premature memory card reformat, we don’t have any pictures from the ceremony. Ooops.

The “I Dos” were said, rings were exchanged, pictures were taken, and then it was time to party. As the maid-of-honor though I still had one more duty…the toast. I knew what I was going to say for weeks and had just tweaked it here and there. I had practiced it over and over again, but I was still a nervous wreck and scanned the reception hall for a good place to vomit while the best man gave his toast. But when the time came, I suddenly felt confident and relaxed and I didn’t stumble over a single word…no puking either.

Everyone had a blast the rest of the night. The cake was incredible, the dancing was fantastic, and seeing Mallory happier than I have ever seen her was the best part of all.

I wish that we had gotten some better pictures, but I guess we’ll see what the photographer caught. Would you believe that Mike and I don’t have one picture of the two of us together? That makes me a little sick and sad. Do you think everyone would be willing to do it all over again so that we can get a few shots together?

I have to say that the videographer was phenomenal. Check out this promo of their wedding video that he posted on Facebook…

Oser Wedding Promo from Jared Thompson on Vimeo.

Congratulations Mal and Fritz. We love you guys!