Family Vacation - Day 3 Wedding day

 Andy and Lia chose to have only immediate family at their backyard wedding ceremony. This is the view looking down from their back deck onto their patio. They hung white paper lanterns for decoration and otherwise the space was left unadorned. The entire patio area is surrounded by lovely perennials and small trees and made for a beautiful setting for a wedding. The building you see in this photo is their garage.

 On wedding day morning, Lia's parents came to the house with armloads of flowers, all of them completely amazing. The unique combination of flowers and how they all complimented each other was fantastic. I just kept going back to them over and over to try and soak in their beauty.

 There were wedding items sprinkled throughout the dining room, all ready and waiting to be taken to the reception later in the day.

 Although the boys wouldn't admit it, I think they thought it was really cool to be able to wander around the house and find Andy getting dressed, then bumping into Lia in her beautiful dress and getting to be a part of all the other commotion as family arrived and prepared for the wedding.

 Lia's nephew George was a hit with Levi.

 The photographers took Andy to the backyard and kicked the rest of us out. He waited down there for Lia to come out so they could have their own quiet moment together before the ceremony. Those of us stuck in the house couldn't resist trying to sneak a peak at them while we waited.

 I snapped these two photos just moments before everyone was gathered for the ceremony to begin.

 The boys stayed up on the deck to watch the wedding from above.

 For the ceremony we stood in a semi-circle and Ben's dad Tim lead us. Family members had been asked to prepare a blessing, poem, read scripture, etc. for the couple. We took turns sharing our blessings and prayers for the couple. It was extremely meaningful, tears were shed and it was truly beautiful. Andy and Lia exchanged vows and rings and Tim declared them married. It was simple and authentic and full of beauty and love.
Afterwards, we all enjoyed a delicious lunch that Sue had prepared. Afterwards, all the ladies put their aprons on (made by Sue and Sara) and cleaned up the kitchen.

 Later in the afternoon we traveled to the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum, the reception site, for family photos. We walked around the museum a bit before it was time for photos. Check out that design! It's all done with insects and there was an entire wall of it!  I was really, really intrigued by it.

 Oh, and one of the most amazing parts of my day was getting to wear this flower bracelet as my corsage. It was beautiful, smelled amazing all day long and made me feel like a princess. Seriously, it ranks high on the list for highlights of the day.

 After photos, we had a while until the rest of the guests arrived so we explored the museum. They have a big room called a Butterfly Haven and it was truly remarkable.

There was also a big water play area that the boys LOVED and kept them quite busy for a good chunk of the evening.

 Cocktail hour arrived and so did a whole bunch of friends and family.

 The boys continued to have fun exploring the museum...

 and then it was time to move up to the second floor outdoor space for dinner.

 From the third level walkway you could look out over the museum's garden area, and beyond to downtown and out to the lake.

Andy's friends were gracious enough to give Levi the perfect reactions to his "magic" tricks. The magic was simply whipping his white napkin around - the rest was up to the imagination.

 The adults were served salad first, then our main course. The boys saw the salads and looked disappointed but then their kids meals came out and they were all smiles.

 The sun set and the lights twinkled up above and then we were invited inside to enjoy pie (not cake) and dancing.

 The beautiful quilt Sue made for Andy and Lia hung behind the pie table.

 Key lime for the newlyweds!

 Andy and Lia started the dancing off with the first dance. They are so sweet together.

 And then all sorts of dancing happened! Uncle Scot tried to teach Levi some dance moves. Great Grandpa and Grandma made their way onto the dance floor and the boys LOVED every minute of it.

 And finally, it was after 10 and it was time for us to head out. The boys were mad at us, but were clearly very, very tired. It was a beautiful day. Full of family, memorable moments, laughs, tears and love. Congrats Andy and Lia!