First off, we would like to say congratulations to Jackie and Russel on getting married and we wish them happiness and love for the rest of their lives together.

That said, I must admit this was one wedding I will never forget. Everything started out fine yesterday, the day of the rehearsal, and even this morning started out well. We got up and had breakfast at the hotel, nothing huge, just the free continental breakfast, bagels and cereal, things like that. Then we all got dressed, Kylie looked so pretty in her dress that Mimi made, and we headed off to the cabin to prepare for a 12pm wedding.

When we got there around 11am we found out that the photographer had not yet arrived. Not to worry though as she was on her way and had only gotten slightly lost. The minister arrived a few minutes later and they took the opportunity to handle the necessary paperwork, and then things started to go down hill. By 11:30 we still had no word from the photographer, and the minister was pushing to start the ceremony…30 minutes early. This pattern went on, every 10 minutes or so he would suggest we start the ceremony and we would have to tell him it wasn’t scheduled until noon and we were waiting for the photographer. By 12:30 we had not yet seen the photographer and no one could get a hold of her, in addition the minister had gotten on everyone’s nerves. As it turns out he had scheduled another wedding at a location almost 2 hours away and he was supposed to be there at 1:30. Not to bright considering this ceremony was supposed to start at noon and be at least 30 minutes.

By 12:40 the minister had confronted the bride and made her cry! Not a bright idea under any circumstances. Thankfully the groom was not made aware of this as that could have spark a huge fire. The father of the bride ended up telling the minister to leave “presently” and I escorted him off the property, with a few kind suggestions.

By 2pm the minister was gone and we still had no word from the photographer. Everyone was calmed and relaxed again, which didn’t take long after the minister left as he stressed everyone out and caused a lot of problems. So the decision was made that the ceremony would be read by Russel’s cousin Tim and Tiffany and I would handle the photography. Luckily Paul and I both have very good digital cameras so between me using mine and Tiffany using Paul’s we had taken well over 1000 pictures.

In the end the wedding was even better than it was going to be originally as it was all handled by friends and family. From the ceremony to the pictures and even the food, people who knew and loved the couple all pitched in and took care of everything. I have to say it was one of the most beautiful, and happiest ceremonies I have ever been too.

Once again, congratulations to Jackie and Russel!