Wedding Day Joy

A great moment in the family passed last week.  The first wedding of the next generation of the Brown family lineage took place down in Orlando, FL. My niece, Alyssa, was married to Ricardo at a lovely outdoor ceremony on a warm, bright February sunset.  The bride looked lovely and not at all flustered – she clearly owned the moment. The groom looked proud and confident as he waited at the altar.  

Alyssa grandparents are all passed. I could not watch her and the family without thinking about how excited my mom would have been and how my dad would have beamed.  This year mom would be 80 and dad would be 89.  So strange how so much life has happened in our family since their deaths. It is still hard to be without them – fifteen years on now.  I was honored to bring pictures of them with me for display at the reception. 

My brother did a great job as the Father of the Bride. He gave a good, impromptu toast to the bride and groom, and generally kept it together considering all of the potential-for-drama in the room.  It was very sweet seeing him dance with his daughter.  

The boys were not into the reception at all.  I really thought they would get out there and dance up a storm.  I really thought they would get into the spirit of the moment. Mostly, they kept their heads down and sat at the table, not once getting up to be silly. TJ did not look around at the twenty-somethings who wore low cut or high slit, glittery dresses – even when I called them out to him.  I was an embarrassed teenager too but next year his reaction might be a different story. 

At least Lisa and I got to dance.

The best part was that the boys dressed up in good clothes.  Good clothes that were measured, fitted, pressed, and worn well.   To my shock, it was Grant who really wore the outfit well. It may have been the shock of seeing him out of shorts and a t-shirt and dressed up but he looked so mature.  

The last wedding in the family was ours back in 2005. Lisa and reminisced about our special day and how that whole weekend unfolded.  They are still wonderful memories.