On June 16, we had the privilege to celebrate the wedding of Curtis's sister, Megan, to Jonas Broccard in Atlanta, GA! Aren't they such a gorgeous couple?!?
There is so much I could say about this special event, but I will give you the highlights and it's definitely not going to give it justice.
First up...the rehearsal dinner - Drew couldn't wait to meet more of his family! (He's smiling because his sisters were dabbing his face with cotton balls. It was adorable!)
It was so fun to see Curtis's side of the family for the first time since his mom passed. They all got to meet Drew this time (from top to bottom, left to right: Heather, Megan, Uncle David, Aunt Tina, Jonathan, Micaela):
Drew usually struggles after 7pm when he's out, but God answered our prayers and he did better than expected! We're beginning to wonder if Drew is an extrovert because he seemed to do well around lots of people staying up late on both Friday and Saturday night!
Then, we had a Bridal Brunch that Heather threw for Megan on the morning of her wedding. It was a really special time with all of the women in Megan's life. The girls and I had a great time! Drew was the only guy there!
Then, we got to go up to the bride's hotel room while everyone was getting ready. It was also the first time the girls got to see their beautiful flower girl dresses. Kate's dress was made 27-28 years ago by my mother-in-law, Karen. Her best friend, Cynthia, made Anna's dress to match it. This was something that Karen and Cynthia planned before she passed. We snapped some precious shots with Megan:
We had the afternoon to rest before the wedding began at 7pm. I helped the girls get ready with their flower crowns:
Drew was looking sharp in his bowtie:
Some unexpected torrential rains came down, which made taking pictures before the wedding much more challenging. To make matters even harder, Kate decided she wouldn't smile or even raise her head when Megan took pictures with the flower girls. I think we will cherish this moment and look back and laugh, but it sure was frustrating at the time!
Side note: Anna was all smiles throughout the picture-taking, but I guess I took this when she stopped for a second.
Here is Cynthia, Karen's best friend, who I mentioned above. She was so helpful to me as we were preparing for the wedding. :)
I had the privilege of being an honorary bridesmaid. Megan gave me the task of welcoming their guests before the wedding. Here I am with Drew as we greet:
Even though Karen was unable to make it to the wedding, her fingerprints were everywhere. It was a joyful occasion though there were tearful moments. Curtis and Heather walked down the aisle together and Heather placed a bouquet of flowers where Karen would have sat.
It was such a sweet way for Megan to honor her mother.
Anna and Kate did an awesome job as flower girls!
Kate decided she was going to make sure she wasn't going to miss the ceremony! Curt was able to walk Megan down the aisle...
...before joining Curtis to co-officiate the wedding together. It was pretty special!
Meanwhile, Kate continued to go back and forth between standing next to Anna and sitting down with me. The good news is, she finally decided she was ready to smile! And she's even lifting her dress a little bit, haha!
Here's some nice pictures after the ceremony was finished:
And the newlyweds had their first dance!
And Megan danced with her dad!
I didn't get a picture of this, but Curtis and I did a toast for Megan and Jonas! I had prepared what I was going to say beforehand, but I didn't practice the introduction and I said something like "I'm the brother of the bride's wife" and everyone looked at me like I had 3 heads! LOL. So, my advice if you plan to make a toast -- plan your intro so you don't do what I did!
Before I end this, I wanted to show the proud Papa with his newest grandchild. I think he was thrilled to have almost all of his family (and extended family) in one place!
Surprisingly, all 3 of our kids were able to last until 10:30pm before we headed back to the hotel before the long drive back. We were so thrilled to stay that long! It was a beautiful wedding and we loved that our family got to have some very special parts in it!
