All Dressed Up With Someplace To Go

I didn't have much time for blogging over the weekend because we had such a busy one! The most exciting event of the weekend was my cousin Bri's wedding on Saturday in Kansas City. She and her new husband Daniel met in New York (where they both live) a few years ago through a mutual friend, although Daniel is originally from Austin. We knew it was going to be a cool wedding weekend, just based on the cool website they'd put together to inform their family and friends of the festivities!

They were married in a beautiful ceremony at Central United Methodist, with many of Bri's family and friends in attendance, but probably even more of Daniel's family there who'd traveled from Texas! One of the neatest things about the ceremony was that they incorporated several Latino wedding traditions in honor of Daniel's Latino heritage. Las arras is a tradition that originates in Spain, where thirteen gold coins are given from the groom to the bride to symbolize the trust and confidence they place in one another. In the ceremony of the lazo, a married couple to whom the bride and groom look as examples lasso them with a large loop of satin rope, to symbolize the unity of the new couple and the strength of the bond between them. These traditions were certainly very special, but I found the most endearing moment to be the vows, which the minister read in English, but that Bri and Daniel repeated back in Spanish. It was so neat! Bri actually learned Spanish several years ago when she took an intensive course in Central America after finishing med school, so that she would be better able to communicate with the patients she would have during her residency. Little did she know that knowing Spanish would come in handy in her love life as well!

After the wedding, the party moved to Union Station, where a wonderful dinner was served at the Union Cafe in the Grand Hall. A five piece ensemble playing Latin music serenaded us during the meal, and then another large band played great music to dance to for the rest of the evening. It was a wonderful celebration, and even more wonderful because we were able to see so many of my relatives at the same time! My Aunt Kally was cutting a rug on the dance floor and was the second most entertaining dancer of the night. The first place dancing award had to go to my cousin David's 4-year-old boy Zachary, who was "gettin' down" while standing on a bar with his dad's help. I wish I had a picture, but unfortunately I didn't remember my camera. He was absolutely adorable!

While the dancing was certainly entertaining, props go to my dad for having the funniest quote of the night. When a particular relative showing some excessive cleavage asked if anyone had a safety pin that Bri could use for her dress, as she walked off, Dad piped in with "She could use a safety pin!" I'm sure me retelling the story doesn't sound nearly as funny, but believe me, we could not stop laughing! I had to make sure I recorded the story somewhere because I think it was one of the funniest things my dad ever said!

Although we did forget to take the camera with us to the wedding, upon our arrival home at midnight, we were able to capture a rare moment of Chad and I all cleaned up!