We are family

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It’s done! It’s over! The long-awaited family wedding was on Saturday. (For readers who laboriously read through my “what should I wear” posts, I bought a new dress — no, I didn’t wear my funeral dress, but I did wear my old trusty shoes.)

The wedding was at an urban venue so I didn’t know what to expect. My family was there (again, I didn’t know what to expect).

As I looked around the room I realized how diverse the family is. It was everywhere and in everything. As I struggled with what I should wear (new dress or funeral dress) others did not. There was every level from jeans, cowboy hats and boots, to long evening gowns and nobody cared. Everyone looked fabulous. Everyone belonged.

The wedding party was all in navy blue. It looked beautiful and very spring. The dress styles were all different but the same color including the mother of the bride (who looked stunning!).

People were of different races, nationalities and everything else. It was a striking change from the family of my youth where everyone was homogenized. Back then the differences were the variations of hair color (some encouraged by Clairol) and height. (We had some short people in our family. Not me of course. I represent the old national average!) Being Lutheran stuck out in my proper Catholic family like a sore thumb!

It was a great opportunity to see the other side of the bride’s family who we know but rarely see. Even though some heads were grayer and gaits slower, the old sparkle that we knew from days gone by, was still there.

The biggest difference was in the kids. They aren’t kids anymore. They used to be teenagers but now are pushing 50. They are talking about retirement. How does that happen?

People say you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your family. If I had to pick a family, I would pick the one I have — kind, fun-loving and mostly great line-dancers. (No I didn’t let the beloved husband line-dance. He would have cleared the floor with his swings in the wrong direction!)

May this be the start of a long happy marriage.

Editor’s Note: Sadly I did not take pictures. The few I have are from other photographers and I didn’t feel it proper to post.

 

 

 

51 thoughts on “We are family”

  2. Glad to hear you didn’t opt for the funeral dress. Glad you had a great time. Seems as we get older we only see extended family at weddings or funerals. Weddings are much more fun..:)

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  3. What a joyful occasion! I really relate to the feeling that comes over me, as well, when I look at my larger family and the generations that have followed from the time I was married. We, too, are a very diverse group of people, and each “sub” family brings me joy. We are traveling to Oregon for a large family wedding in July, and it will be a time to reconnect. Your happy words provide me a jump start on anticipation!

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  5. If everyone were the same basic shape, identical dress might make sense. But since that seldom is the case, same color, different styles is the way to go. It sounds like you have a great family. I’m glad you enjoyed the gathering.

    My greedy eyes are sad. They were looking forward to seeing the wedding party and your dress. Oh, well. I’ll just have to turn on my imagination.

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  7. Lovely post! Reminded me of my nephew’s wedding 2 years ago. We had such a fabulous time, nothing like family!
    Loved reading about how yours is so diverse but the love runs deep!
    I have one niece getting married June and a nephew in August. A summer of fun! And I need to go shopping 🙂

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  8. Yay! You have a lot of celebrating to do. Not only did the wedding go well, your dress was perfect (glad you didn’t wear the funeral dress) 🙂 and you appreciate your family and its diversity and laughter and love. WOW. xo

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  13. What a lovely post, Kate. You are right about family — it’s everything — and your family sounds amazing!
    BTW – I am still sad about the no photo thing. Now I want to see the whole group!

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    • A long time ago I had a friend who I thought had the perfect family. No conflicts. Everyone was even blonde! As I got to know them all better, it was awful. There was a lot of passive-aggressive crap in the background. There is no “perfect” family. What matters is that we come together and we care about each other.

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  22. all the best to the happy couple ;o) I always wonder when I see member of my clan after some years… I nearly got a heart attack as I saw the daughter of my cousin behind a wheel… she was a baby… yesterday or last week or so :o)

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  23. Navy blue? Interesting. I can imagine how pretty that color would look on everyone. Back when my friends and I got married the colors were all so contrived– seafoam green, dusty rose, pale peach. Navy is much nicer.

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    • It was navy with sequins and silver shoes. It was the shade of nave that was so beautiful. It wasn’t too dark nor too light. You didn’t have to work to figure out if it was black or navy like you do with my blazer! 🙂 Maybe it wasn’t truly navy but dark blue. Whatever, it worked. And yes, I remember the “sorbet” bridesmaids colors of my youth.

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