My Little Sister's Wedding

Do you know that even to sit here and write this makes me weepy? I am weeping for joy because my little sister is married. She's with her husband as I write...at some sunny, warm destination. Just the two of them. This makes me happy.

My sister planned an outside wedding. The heavens decided to weep for joy as well. Despite the rain, it was beautiful. My sister has this incredible gift for detail. Thoughtful detail. And her wedding day was full of these thoughtful details. Here are just a few...

My mother grew zinnias for the centerpieces. Here we are, the day before, arranging them.






There are a couple things I want you to notice in the next photo. First of all, isn't my little sister gorgeous? She's sitting with her husband listening to my other little sister and I give a toast. I'm the shorter of the two. The one with the muddy bare feet. I didn't care. Not one bit. Those big orange puff balls were something my sister made with the help of others. Made from tissue paper, they hung all throughout the tent.






Above is one of the centerpieces and below is my bouquet. Note the Ball canning jar it's in:-).

My sisters and Mom tied ribbons and tags on all the jars of jam I made. Each person's name was on their tag. The jars were place card and favor.


For each child that attended, my sister made an activity bag that had their name on it. Inside each one was a coloring pad she designed with wedding-themed pictures and activities, crayons, jelly beans and glow sticks. Here is Sadie enjoying the coloring book while sporting her glow sticks. She was the flower girl. Sam read a verse.

There were so many other details I didn't capture. My sister's husband has a four-year-old daughter. They included her in the ceremony by reading special vows to her and presenting her with a ring as well. They also used different colored sand to represent the three of them and poured the sand into a large glass decanter, representing each of their uniqueness as well as the joining of their new family.

In the center of each table was a homemade book and on the front of the book was the table number- in fabric. These books had a pen with them so we could write messages to the bride and groom. Woven through the tines of each person's fork was a business card, beautifully designed, which held instructions on how to upload wedding photos onto their website for sharing. The wedding programs were designed in the shape of a hand-held, old fashioned fan to keep each guest cool and free from pesky gnats. The weeping heavens took care of that.

Sister, you are amazing.

Your wedding was amazing.

I am so lucky to have you for a sister. I love you.