The Wedding! Part 2

The bridal par-tay! 

Then it was wedding time! We took so. many. pictures. before the ceremony. (Note to all brides, please take your pictures ahead of time. You can have a romantic "first look" and all that, but for the love of your bridal party, guests, and anyone under the age of six, get those pictures out of the way!) Virginia asked all her bridesmaid to choose a black dress that made them feel beautiful to wear in the wedding, and the boys all wore silly socks under those austere suits of theirs. The pictures will be beautiful but man, was it chilly! The temperature dropped 20 degrees overnight, into the low 50s. We would huddle in our hoodies, then throw everything off to smile for the cameras. Matt surprised me with a cup of coffee when we all reunited at the photo site - it's true love, people. We finally wrapped things up and boarded the trolley back to the church for more pictures, followed by a very special blessing from both fathers, before the guests finally arrived and it was showtime!

My beautiful mother and I, waiting backstage.

Funny story. In the room where we were waiting for go time, we had thoughtfully been provided with a basket of snacks. Annie picked a bag of popcorn and wandered around the room, munching. At this point it was about quarter to five on a no-nap day where she had spent the majority of her time being told to alternately get in the picture and smile or get out of the way. The other flower girl had a total meltdown and I was worried it would set my girls off but neither of them seemed to notice. Annie just kept munching that popcorn. Well, it was finally time to line up for the processional, and still Annie has that darned bag of popcorn! I tried taking it from her, only to have my fingers nearly bitten off. I tried getting her to eat faster. I tried asking if I could eat some for her. Even Virginia tried her best, to no avail. Well, the music started and as I took my turn to march into the church, I had to leave it all in Grandma's hands.

I reached the front of the sanctuary and turned just as the maid and matron of honor are also taking their places. The previously crying flower girl made her way with no tears in sight. Now all that was left was my girls, carrying their signs that read "Uncle Lukas..." and "here comes your bride!" From the foyer I hear a loud and insistent "No! MY popcorn!" I see Lee Anne throw her hands up and send them on their way, Annie clutching her sign in one hand and that bag of popcorn in the other! (Hey, at least the black and white bag color-coordinated!)

The ceremony proceeded without a hitch until there was just one last thing to do. After the pronouncement of husband and wife, the girls were supposed to flip around their signs to now read "Mr. Fortunato" and "Mrs. Fortunato" and follow the bride and groom out of the church. As the final blessing is being given, I glance to the pew where they have been parked with Grandma and Grandpa and Matt's dad points at Annie... totally and completely asleep, Minnie Mouse underwear flashing the world, practically snoring in her exhaustion! But not to fear, Grandpa also motions to Violet, who grins and holds up both signs, one in each hand. Perfectly on cue, she hopped into the aisle just when she was supposed to. We walked out of the church, straight onto the trolley, and hightailed it to the reception. (I did have Matt text his parents to confirm that they would bring Sleeping Beauty to the reception since she missed her trolley ride!) Then we just partied the night away!

Look who I bumped into in the lighthouse!

What a great place for a party!

The view from the top (and the spot of the proposal).

She finally woke up!

Wedding selfie!

You know it's a party when the Chick-fil-a cow shows up!

Nutcracker!

Nutcracker!

We went to see the Nutcracker! It was so fun. I remember one year in high school, a bunch of my friends felt so grown up when we dressed up fancy and went to the Fox to see the Atlanta Ballet perform the classic. But it's the only time I've ever seen this particular show. So when Violet's friend Taylor invited us to join for a mother-daughter date, I jumped at the chance. For Violet's first foray into ballet watching, we went to a local production, rather than trek all the way downtown. I wasn't about to tackle the Fox without knowing if Violet would even be able to make it through the entire performance without demanding to know why no one was talking or deciding that this ballet thing is for the birds. And considering she had exactly zero background on what was about to take place, I thought she did awesome!

Before the show.

Our seats were fantastic. The theater was intimate enough that we scored seats in the front row of the balcony and it was perfect. We had a wonderful view (although when Violet got a little squirmy halfway through the second act, I freaked out a bit that the audience behind us was getting too good of a view of her feet propped up on the railing). After the show the dancers gathered in the lobby adn our girls got a few pictures. Violet declared Arabian her favorite (isn't it always) and I was very impressed by the professionalism of the cast, especially given that these are not professionals. Overall I think Violet enjoyed it. I certainly did! I hope we'll be back!

Mazel Tov!

Mozel tov, Brooke!

My lovely niece Brooke had her bat mitzvah this past weekend in Williamsburg, Virginia, and we were there to help celebrate! I missed my nephew Will's bar mitzvah because Annie was just three weeks old, so I was excited to experience this one, my first.

Initial impressions: bat mitzvahs are just like weddings, minus the groom. We received a fancy invitation six weeks ago. We had to RSVP with our dinner preferences (steak, chicken or fish). On the big day, the family was asked to be dressed and ready for professional pictures ahead of the event. The ballroom was rented and decorated according to the chosen theme (pink and princess). After the ceremony, there was a cocktail hour (open bar for the adults, pink punch bar for the kids) and tray-passed hors d'oeuvres.

The seated dinner featured a kids buffet of hamburgers and hot dogs in addition to the adult plates. The DJ brought glow sticks and sunglasses for everyone. A father-daughter dance took place. Seeing as the show centered around a 13-year-old and her friends, the dance floor was hopping! There was even the official cutting of the (birthday) cake moment.

Seriously, it was fancier than my own wedding.

Pretty in pink!

The ceremony itself was quite moving. Brooke led what is essentially the religious service, complete with reading the Hebrew Torah. Special family members stood up with her at various times to offer blessings, she gave a little speech explaining what she had learned through the process of studying the scripture and how she could apply it to her own life. She thanked her grandfather for helping her practice the Hebrew reading and her parents gave sweet little tributes to her.

The girls were exhausted from our time at the waterpark, and Annie was itching like crazy from the chlorine, even after the benadryl we gave her. She slept on my lap for most of the service and I think even Violet dozed off. Which was good, because it meant they were ready to par-tay!

The reception was so fun. Everyone hit the dance floor, wolf ears and all! Even Matt, who I'm pretty sure didn't even dance at our wedding, had no problem taking the girls out for a spin. Overall, the entire event exceeded my expectations. Not that I wasn't expecting the bat mitzvah to be great, but I figured my girls would be difficult, I'd spend half the event in our hotel room trying to get one of them to fall asleep, etc. But I got to enjoy it just as much as anyone else, so win!

Sippin' some punch from the kids' bar.

Apparently these two little girls can inspire Matt to hit the floor!

That's right, people. Table 1!

Don't mind Greg. He's just hungry like a wolf.

Party's getting started!

We Loughmans know how to get down!

Their first slumber party!

Dance Party!

Little Ballerina

Have you ever been to a dance show, or recital, or watched that movie where there are a bunch of kids on stage... Everyone looks adorable. They're all following the teacher, trying their best to stay in unison.

And then there's that one kid who is just obviously off. As in 'one of these things is not like the other'. She's turned around backwards, staring off at something. She goes up while everyone else goes down, sticking out like a sore thumb.

Yep, that's my girl! I was torn between being totally humiliated and cracking up with laughter during her end-of-year dance recital. Now to be fair, she is one of the youngest in the class. And it was her first performance. But it was so bad that afterwards I asked the teacher if she's always this distracted, because I'm not paying for any more dance classes if she's not going to pay attention. Fortunately the teacher convinced me that it was just performance jitters, that normally Violet does a great job. Still, I'm thinking a career as a ballerina might be out.

Maybe we'll try soccer.

Not what she was supposed to be doing, but at least she looked good doing it!