January 3rd was the day…our beautiful niece Elise married the man she loved.  You know from another post that we call him Sam, Skeeter, Slinky, Spunky…basically any “S” name Bryan can think of at the moment…cause he is bad with names…but we like him or we wouldn’t call him anything at all…lol.

Elise was a stunning bride in a long gown of lovely lace that was custom-made by a long time family friend.  Stephen was a handsome groom in his charcoal grey suit and black tie.  You could see the love in his eyes when he saw her Dad walk her down the aisle of the church.  The ceremony showed their love, some laughter and was very moving.  A nice touch was the audience witnessing them having communion together, for the first time, as a newly married couple.  I half expected them to sing at some point, as they both have great voices and can play the guitar, but they didn’t.  It was probably too much pressure and I don’t blame them for that… decorating the church and reception hall, rehearsing it all, making sure the flowers, cakes, people and clothes are there and hoping everything goes smoothly is pressure enough.

The reception hall was nicely decorated with a netting canopy of white lights sparkling overhead.  It was rustic chic with doilies, flowers, books, candles and pictures on the covered tables.  They had a fun dessert bar, punch, hot chocolate and of course a pretty and tasty wedding cake and a chocolate tux grooms cake.  There was a small dance floor that everyone enjoyed…and the Father/Daughter dance was so sweet.  I did really well until Elise’s Grandmother, her Mother’s Mom that they call Granny, and I sat for a moment after it was all over.  We had been cleaning up the reception hall and I sat to chat with her a minute.  She held my hand and said “I have thought about you all day and how hard this would be for you to watch…knowing you wouldn’t have this special time” and tears started to roll down her lovely face.  I cried then…to have her think about me was so unexpected and humbling…she is such a sweetheart.  I told her it was a little hard but I had done better than I thought I would…and how I loved Elise and Stephen and wanted them to have a beautiful and perfect wedding day.  I also said I know Lauren would have loved to have been here to have helped Elise plan her wedding.  She patted my hands….we dried our tears and we moved on.  (*I also know in my heart… Lauren would have loved Stephen as we all do…and would have wanted to be there for her “little cousin” Elise and watch their love story unfold.)

I wish for them a lifetime of love, happiness and laughter…

and a few babies…when they are ready for them.

Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Andrew Matheny