Seagulls in the Mountains: Oregonian Wedding~ THE Day aRRiveS!

Shay put this together herself.

On Saturday, the day of the wedding, Rylee and I headed down to the rental house around noon. Thursday and Friday had been horrible weather. Saturday was beautiful all day. Sunday and Monday miserable again. A definite blessing, yes???

Shanelle and Lawrence rented what they thought was a 3 bedroom which turned out to be a 5 bedroom house just a block from the beach. This was a fantastic deal and gave everyone there tons of room to spread out.

This was the moment I got to meet Lawrence's parents, and two sets of aunts and uncles, his best man, and Shay's photographer friend from high school. Phil was there- fixing himself a meal. Ha! I ribbed him for having just woken up. He said that was his way of beautifying himself for the wedding.

I tried to catch up on blogging while trying not to seem like a social misfit. Keili, Shay's best friend from high school, and Stephanie, Shay's best friend from college, were up to their elbows in flowers. Some from a shop, some from my dad's house in Newport (thank you Ida!), some that the girls had gathered in the wild around the rental house. They made boutonnieres, bouquets, and saved some for the dinner.

Bathroom number one. The boys were downstairs.

Lawrence's mum surprised and shamed me by handing me a piece of England. In a bag. No, not dirt! She is a good gift giver: 2 adorable tins of mints, an even more adorable tin of the BEST chewy toffees ever, and a tea towel. Each one depicting famous scenes of London. I do love London! Thank you Linda! I'm sorry I had nothing to give back!

It was wonderful to sit there and listen to the sing-song intonations and accents of Lawrence's family and friends. I learned that the women of the family take a trip every year. Lawrence's dad, Tony, always uses that opportunity to remodel some part of the house. With no one around, he orders food in, and doesn't have to put his tools away at end of day. Linda and Tony were married 15 years before they had Lawrence. Then, Lawrence wanted a brother so they had another. Ha.

They all had great senses of humor and I think we all felt quite at ease with each other.

None of that for me, thanks!

Rylee did Shanelle's hair, makeup, and eyelashes. Yes, yes, I DID say eyelashes! Rylee has been studying hairstyles for quite a while for this day.

Her hair is really long!

Lawrence was not allowed to see the bride before the ceremony.

I told all my children that there is no way I can be the photographer at their weddings. Shooting weddings is hard work. Justin is not a portrait or wedding photographer; said he hates it, actually. He does travel/documentary type stuff. Way more fun than portraits!

I did jump in after the ceremony to arrange everyone for pictures. It's double hard to be the camera man and the stylist.

Larry, Mo, and Curly

Jake did a great job getting the boys ready. I'm sure he was very hands-on. Ha. They were so excited to wear bow-ties. Harris said he figured out his all on his own.

Come on Jan, face your fears!

This is my Sister-Missionary. Formerly known as Sister Clark, she taught me the Gospel 20 years ago. She surprised me 15 years ago by showing up to my wedding in Afton, then surprised us all by showing up to my daughter's wedding in Oregon! Turns out, her husband had proposed to her in Florence at the Heceta lighthouse.

She is more afraid of heights than I am and would not go near the wall at the edge of the cliff.

Jake kept fretting because he didn't know what his duties were. I said it's easy. Let her take your arm, walk her down the aisle, and give her to Lawrence! There was a trail through the green forest leading to a stone building. We all gathered there waiting for the one in white.