The Wedding

We woke up Friday, December 5th to....rain.  Did this surprise me?  No.  What did I do instead of panic?  Call upon my prayer warrior friends to ask for intercession on our behalf to move the rain clouds elsewhere so we wouldn't have rain during the event.  It never occurred to me to also have them ask that the rain leave earlier so they could set up!  Nonetheless, the last of the big rains stopped at 4:30pm.  The wedding was scheduled for 5:30.  What to do?  The wedding planner did an outstanding job getting it finished for a 6:00 wedding, but then, the Bride and her girls were stuck in 5:00 traffic and the start time was pushed back to 6:30.  I have really tried these last few years to look at the silver lining in the cloud.  There were plenty....fellowship and photos!

First off, Clif and I decided to have a picture taken before we left the house.  The rains had not yet subsided, and my vanity set in.  Can we at least get a picture of us before we get wet?



Lisa and Ivan's house was transformed into a winter wonderland.  It was very inviting.



Only knowing what the backyard looked like at the rehearsal Thursday night, we didn't know quite what to expect when we entered the backyard.  Our breath was taken away by the transforming beauty happening before our eyes.




















Guess who's going to be wearing the pants in this family?





Once all our family members arrived, except for Amber :( , we took a some family photos.





From left to right: Krista, Jimmy, Diane, Matthew, Kalley, Chris, Mallory Nereida, Jim, Clif, Me, Chloe, Grandpa Harty, Sandra, Mary, Pete, Barbara, and Valerie.

We had our social gathering getting caught up on everyone's happenings.



It was cool to see the transformation with the lights as the sun set.











Some raindrops decided to kiss us.  It reminded me of a song we sing at church.  Rain down, rain down, rain down Your Love on your people!  It was the only way to keep me sane!







Are the clouds finally going to go away???  And, in time for the wedding???



Yes!  Amber and her girls have now arrived, and it's time to get the show on the road!

The officiate for the wedding is a fellow trooper, Michael, who also happens to be an ordained minister.  He was one of Stephen's field training officers when he became a trooper!



Amber's mom, Lisa, being escorted by her son-in-law Calvin.


I'm being escorted by Stephen.



The groomsmen and Stephen came in to the Bonanza Theme.  Interesting.



The Bridesmaids and Amber came in to The Highland Cathedral from Amy Grant's Christmas CD.
Amber being escorted by her step father, Ivan, and her father, Marty.



The ceremony was beautiful.  Trooper Michael did a phenomenal job.  I loved how he compared the covenant of a marriage to the brotherhood of law enforcement.  You've got to be there for each other's well being, etc.  Then when he did the reading from 1 Corinthians about love is patient... he had Stephen and Amber replace in their minds their names for the word Love.  What an impact that made!





We looked up and saw the clouds were dissipating leaving nothing but light from the full moon.



The reception was a great celebration.  The DJ was a fellow trooper as well.  He too did a phenomenal job.  We had all the traditional dances take place.



Now this was a surprise!  Those that know Clif, know he doesn't get out on the dance floor!!!  I asked him how it was that Valerie had the honors.  He said, "she asked."  Well, later in the evening I was surprised when he came up and asked me to dance!  That made my heart soar. :)





Not only did we have the slow dances, but the fun ones too.  Chloe had fun dancing.  Clif said, "you can tell Chloe has Miller in her because she doesn't want to get off the dance floor!"





The festivities continued in many different ways.  Great picture of Grandpa Harty with Matthew and Kalley who are engaged.  Another wedding coming in the Fall of 2015!





Chloe also loved the lights.





Amber and Stephen with her parents, Ivan and Lisa.


Stephen and Amber finally grab a bite to eat.  They had a catered BBQ buffet.  It was delicious.



Time for the garter and bouquet.



She's already wearing the "pants in the family."





Somehow, missed getting pictures of the cake cutting.  They were good.  No slopping in each others face. :)  I am so glad Amber hired a professional photographer because we were able to socialize more and enjoy the events knowing we will be able to purchase the traditional photos of our families that were taken.

Lastly, we sent well wishes using bubbles.



For a rainy start to the day, the evening turned out to be magical.  And as both Krista and Michael had said, "after the rain, comes the rainbow", and the rainbow definitely shined that night!

Congratulations Stephen and Amber!  We love you!  :)

Also, thanks to those of you who grabbed our cameras and captured the memories.  It was fun to go through all the pictures and say, "I didn't know that went on!"  It was like unwrapping a gift! 

THANKS!!! :)