The Kids at the Wedding

Elizabeth's wedding to Ryan was yesterday, and it was wonderful. She is marrying a great guy, and their wedding went off without a hitch (unless you count Caitlin during the picture session!). We are all a little drained from it. However, I've been asked to blog about this by a few friends, and to post some pictures. I'll get more up when I get home, but here are a few highlights:

Brandon
Brandon was the ring bearer. He's five, so I knew he could do it. And oh my gosh, he looked so darling in his little tux! His uncle Keith, my youngest brother, was also part of the wedding party, so he stood by Keith during the ceremony. When asked by Keith during the rehearsal what he thought of the whole thing, his response was "booorrringgg!" At least he kept that to himself during the ceremony! He walked up the aisle quite nicely, and took his place next to his uncle. After the ceremony, before Keith took the arm of the bridesmaid he was paired up with, he took Brandon's hand, and then the three of them walked out of the chapel together. Brandon had the option of coming and sitting with us, since he'd spent most of the rehearsal the night before crouched over. But when the time came, he stood proud, and only minimally played with the ring-bearer pillow.


Goofing off with uncle Keith prior to the ceremony

After the ceremony


Hi... my name's Brandon. What's yours?
Caitlin
Caitlin was another story! She's only two-and-a-half, and we were all aware of this. But this two-and-a-half-ness showed itself in oh so many ways! First there was the rolling on the pews. Then the running in the aisles. Brian and I had agreed on our Caitlin management divisions, so he went down and sat in the front row early on, while I stayed behind with the kids and the bridal party, until everyone walked down the aisle. We wanted him to be up front just in case the kids didn't think they could stand up on the platform during the ceremony. Although the kids were the last of the bridal party, except the bride, to walk down the aisle, I did manage to get to the front row just in time to see Elizabeth walk down the aisle with our Dad! Caitlin didn't manage to throw any flowers, but she did walk down the aisle and take her spot with the bridal party. The other flower girl, Noelle, is not quite two. She walked down the aisle with her cousins, and then went and sat with her mom. As soon as Caitlin saw this, she was unsure what to do, so she came and sat down with us. My mom thinks she might have stayed up there longer if she hadn't seen Noelle sit down. I'm doubtful that she would have lasted the whole ceremony, but she may have stayed longer. Either way, she did much better than I thought she would, and she managed to not make a single silly face (her new thing) during the ceremony.

She was not nearly as behaved during the pictures afterwards. Luckily the photographer had a lot of patience, and managed to get a few good shots before dismissing her. Caitlin decided to entertain the audience with her zombie faces, and some great views of her diapers! I found her antics annoying, but everyone else didn't seem to mind as much. I guess that comes from being the mother, and knowing that she can behave herself, and is chosing not to!

The kids together in the foyer

With aunt Elizabeth prior to the ceremony

Taking her spot with the bridesmaids

Overall, the kids did pretty well during the ceremony. They ran around like crazy during the reception, but weren't bothering anyone. Most of the reception was outside, anyway. Brandon was a little too fascinted by the cake, but other adults were nearby to keep watch over it. I'm very proud of my little ones, who don't understand weddings at all, but yet were able to do the small things that were hoped of them. It was sweet enough that my sister wanted them to be in the wedding.