09-24-11

Well, the day that we had been planning for and dreaming of for so long finally came and went (like a blink of an eye really).

Saturday was Brian and Alli's big day and although I'm biased as her sister, it was one of the most beautiful and sentimental weddings that I've ever attended or been a part of. I know I'm repeating what Courtney already said, but it's true.

My only regret is not stopping to take more pictures.

Taking lots of pictures would have been pretty difficult though. There were a lot of children (nieces and nephews of the bride and groom) involved in this wedding so we had to keep our eyes on the little ones instead of behind cameras.



So, I had to steal a few photos from family and friends that attended the wedding. I stole a lot because there were so many great pictures. Ha!

I've never seen Alli more beautiful and radiant. She was one stressed out bride in the days leading up to the wedding. It seemed as though the moment she saw Brian she was completely at peace, and she almost glowed. She was breathtaking really.





Everything- from the dresses, to the gorgeous weather, to the AMAZING flowers, to the ceremony, to the toasts (way to go Court), to the dancing, made for a pretty perfect day. It was all so beautiful.

Here is our family (my sisters and parents with Alli and Brian)



Here is a few of my family (Caleb, Ellie, Ethan and me). We can't figure out why, but somehow the camera angle made Ellie's head look HUGE in these pictures. I swear, her head isn't really this big. ;-)





The two men that I can't live without (Caleb and Ethan)



A few of the wedding party







The 3 younger flower girls. Aren't they sweet?! There were 5 flower girls. All nieces.





And of course I had to add a few more of my little ones. :)






Courtney's toast was so sentimental, touching, and straight from the heart. There wasn't a dry eye in the room after she was done. And as if we hadn't already cried enough, my dad caught all of us off guard and stole the mic to read a few verses from Ecclesiastes 3. After reading those verses he said "We have mourned, but now is our time to rebuild, to laugh, and to dance." Talk about making your 4 daughters cry!

Then when it came time for Dad and Alli to dance the father-daughter dance. The tears really flowed. Dad and Alli had a song that became theirs during the years of Alli's eating disorder. Anytime Dad heard it on the radio he would crank it up and we would all cry just knowing how it was tearing him up inside to see his daughter so sick. This was the song and it was so fitting for a father-daughter dance. Yeah. We cried a lot during their dance too.





I simply can NOT wait to see the professional photos. If family and friends were able to catch photos like this, I think the professional pics are going to be nothing short of amazing.