April brought some beautiful weather, and we made sure to take full advantage of it!
April also brought a family wedding! Who doesn’t love a family wedding- especially with my family. We have a pretty large, and perhaps remarkably close family.
We’d be adding another cousin to the mix with this wedding, and we couldn’t have been more excited. Even better, it was a wedding weekend, with all of us staying onsite, at Full Moon Resort.
Full Moon resort has a number of cottages throughout their grounds, and the bride and groom worked with the resort to assign cottages to their friends and family. Think of it as a larger scale version of table assignments.
They did an amazing job.
We were all (Nonie & Pops, Uncle A, Uncle M, Auntie L, cousin G & cousin E) in one house, but we shared a driveway and parking lot with a handful of other houses, which were filled with our cousins and aunts and uncles.
The wonderful part of this set up, is that we were able to spend a lot of time- not only with the soon-to-be-married couple of honor, but also so much of our family that we don’t get to see nearly enough of.
We arrived in time to get settled quickly before meeting up with everyone at the Rehearsal Dinner & Bonfire. The resort had a number of different buildings, many of which were used over the course of the weekend. We enjoyed ourselves at the dinner, but couldn’t stay too long, since we had some tired kids who needed to get some sleep.
On Saturday morning, we returned to the main building, which housed a little cafe in the basement. We actually ended up being a little bit early (I’m not sure I’ve ever been early for breakfast!) It worked out well, since it gave us a chance to do a little exploring! Breakfast was served as a buffet, with a nice assortment of goodies. There was something for everyone.
Everyone scattered after breakfast, with each family having their own plans for the day. We had been wanted to get the kids back into their carriers, so we were determined to find a hiking trail.
What we didn’t account for was the fact that we really wouldn’t have any cell service. We thought we knew how to get to a trail, but ended up feeling like we were only finding ourselves lost, so we turned around and looked for some signs to follow. Sure enough, we eventually came across a trail, and we got everyone situated.
It didn’t last long.
The kids are way more interested in walking, now. I’m sure we could have been a little more strict, but the ultimate goal is to get the kids excited about hiking with us, so we saw this as a step in the right direction. Unfortunately, this change also meant that we didn’t get nearly as far, nearly as fast, as we would have.
Either way, the kids had a blast.
Before we knew it, it was time to get back for a (cross your fingers) nap, and to get ready for the ceremony.
The nap was borderline successful. Getting ready was a team effort, for sure.
But rest assured, we weren’t the last ones at the ceremony. We didn’t account for the walk from the parking lot to the ceremony (even though we had the same general distance walk from the parking area to the ceremony location at our wedding!) It really wasn’t as much a problem with the distance, but the kids were tired, and slow. Wait- they’re tired? Maybe they will be too tired to cause any scenes during the ceremony? Maybe?
Nope.
They were actually pretty good- but like any two 2 year olds, they found just about anything more interesting than the ceremony going on (which we were having a really hard time hearing, anyway.)
Luckily, nature, and other toddlers came to the rescue. The beauty of the outdoor wedding.
The ceremony was so beautiful, even the sky was tearing up. Just as the ceremony was ending, the rain drops started to fall. They weren’t too hard at first, but it wasn’t long before it was definitely raining, and we were trying to make our way through the wet grass back to the reception.
The cocktail hour was nice, but we were all ready to get the party started!
Unfortunately, here’s where things started to go downhill.
The kids were hungry, and still tired, which isn’t usually a great combination. When the bride had asked us if we would like high chairs, we jumped at the chance. The duo does so much better in high chairs. When we got to the table, there was one high chair, and one empty spot. Not even a replacement chair. Nothing.
I figured the other high chair had to be on it’s way, or they would have put a chair there, right?
Nope. Once I noticed other tables being served, I called one of the servers over to inquire.
He said it was being ‘put together’ outside. Hm.
We waited patiently, and waited patiently. Still no high chair. I grabbed another server who said it would be right out. When 5 or 10 more minutes passed, I finally asked them to give us an actual chair, so my kid would at least have somewhere to sit.
Don’t worry, the kids didn’t mind too much. TT Dad brought them a couple of donuts from the dessert table!
Strike two was the dinner. They only ever brought us one dinner for the kids. Luckily, it was enough food for the two of them to share, but we had asked for two meals. I don’t really care, except that I’m sure the bride and groom paid for that missing meal.
Don’t worry, we didn’t let that stuff ruin our evening.
After dinner, we grabbed the kids and headed back to the house. We put them down, and passed the torch. Auntie L, Uncle M, TT Dad and I had all decided to share a sitter. This was someone that Auntie L had worked with, and trusted, so we felt comfortable. TT Dad and I scooted back to the reception, just in time to miss all the speeches. We were bummed, but also happy we got to go back at all!
The rest of the night was spent dancing, and gabbing with family… What a wonderful night filled with love and laughter.
Sunday was Easter, so Auntie L had planned a little egg hunt for the younger crew, and a ‘nip hunt’ for the older bunch. What a hit. Everyone had so much fun, and it was hilarious to watch the adults running just as fast (if not faster) than the kids!
Sadly, that was our cue, and it was time to get back on the road, and head home.
What a beautiful weekend, celebrating beautiful people, and uniting two beautiful families.