Destination Wedding (Part Two): Who's Who

I thought you might like to know the cast of characters in the destination wedding in Northern Ireland, my recent post.  

Main characters:  The bride Rebecca (my first cousin, twice removed) and the groom Thomas.

Thomas and Rebecca (Photo by Chad Frey.)

Father of the bride:  Kenneth, the Colonel

Father of the bride, Ken.

Mother of the bride:  Robin
Maternal grandmother of the bride:  Joan

Robin the mother of the bride.  Joan the maternal grandmother of the bride.

Maternal grandmother of the bride:  Joan

Joan, the maternal grandmother of the bride. (*Joan had a destination wedding too.  Future blog will cover that.)

Father of the groom:  David

David, the groom's father.

Mother of the groom:  Ann

Ann, the groom's mother.

Maid of honor:  Kate

Kate, the maid of honor. (Photo by James Laker.)

Bridesmaids:  Elizabeth and Emily

Ken with his three daughters.  Bridesmaids Elizabeth on left and Emily on right.

Best Man:  Aidan

Aidan the best man with Thomas. (Photo by James Laker.)

Groomsmen:  Stewart and Eddie

Groomsmen Eddie on left, Stewart (Thomas' brother) in the middle, Aidan, the best man on the right.( Photo by Helen Hillis)

Family of groom:

Thomas with his parents and sibs.  Sister Val on left and Helen on right and brother Stewart.(Photo by Helen Hillis)

Nephew and nieces of Thomas:

The nephew and nieces of Thomas enjoyed the wedding too.

This wedding brought together two wonderful families.  Blessings on the bride and groom for a long and happy life together. It was a fun wedding.
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A May Wedding

The bride, the groom, and the groom's mother.

This has been a great spring for weddings among my friends and family.  There was an April wedding, this May wedding, and there will be a June wedding.  At this stage of my life, I am attending weddings of my grandchildren's generation.  And it is quite a bit of fun. 

My friend Boguska's son Kamil married Sarah on Saturday night at The Sutherland in Wake Forest.    What a lovely venue for a wedding. 

The Sutherland in Wake Forest (Photo from their website.)

Seating of guests. 

Ceremony.

The wedding was outdoors and the ceremony was performed against a lovely green background.

Drinks and hors d'oeuvres were served on the patio before dinner in the pavilion. 

The patio.

After the bride and groom's first dance, the bride danced with her father and Kamil danced with his mother. 

Boguska dancing with Kamil.

Boguska was beautiful, and she and her husband enjoyed the festivities. 

Leslaw and Boguska parents of the groom.

Boguska with the bride and groom. 

The after dinner music was a mixture of American and Polish, and there was a lot of dancing. 
One guest removed her high-heeled silver shoes and switched to something a little more comfortable as the dancing began. 

High heel shoes taken off before dancing.

These are more comfortable.

Boguska and Leslaw were lively dancers to a Polish tune.  I didn't realize Boguska was so talented.

It was a fun wedding, and I wish Kamil and Sarah the very best of happiness.   

Casey and Adam's Wedding October 11, 2014

Last weekend we were in Cleveland County for the wedding of my grandnephew Adam and his bride Casey.  It was a lovely wedding.  The venue was a beautiful meadow strewn with hay bales, and although it rained about an hour before the wedding, it turned out to be a beautiful evening.  Actually just after it rained, a rainbow appeared in the eastern sky behind the site of the bridal arch.  I think that must be a special sign for a special wedding.

Directions to the meadow.

The chairs are ready.  

The rainbow after the rain and just before the wedding.  A good sign I would say.

Dan and I waited around under the tent before the wedding and moved out to the chairs in the meadow just before the ceremony.

Dan talking with my niece Kelly, the mother of the groom, before the wedding. 

Adam's little nephews joined the wedding party just before the bride with Cason pulling his little brother Brayton in a little red wagon.

The bride was given in marriage by her mother, Donna.

The groomsmen, the bride's attendants, as well as the bride and groom wore cowboy boots.

The groomsmen.

Two brides maids (sister of the groom on the left and sister of bride of the right).

The bride and groom exchanged vows in front of a vine adorned arbor.

The happy Mr. and Mrs. 

The reception was wonderful.  Lots of good food, fellowship, and music.

The wedding cake. 

The couple enjoys their first dance.

First dance. 

The groom's family. 

I knew when I met you an adventure was going to happen. ~ Winnie the Pooh

Our wedding announcement.

When I was a graduate student at Duke in the summer of 1964, I heard about one of their professors, Dan Livingstone, who had survived a crocodile attack while working on a lake in Africa.  Later in the early 1970s as a graduate student at NC State, I had read papers by this Dr. Livingstone.  However, it was not until 1973 that I finally met this renowned biologist.

Dan the day after the crocodile attack.  (Photo courtesy of Joe Richardson).

 I was on a plane departing RDU for an International Biological Congress in Boulder.  This was before assigned seats, and this charming man sat down beside me.  After we were airborne, I took out my program for the meeting and was leafing through it.  This man next to me looked over and said, "Oh, I am going to be one of the speakers at this meeting.  I'm Dan Livingstone from Duke."  And I said, "Oh you are the guy who escaped the crocodile!."  That is how we met.

In 1989, we were married.  We had planned to get married in Halifax, Nova Scotia.  We thought we could just go down to City Hall and get a marriage license and be married by a Justice of the Peace.  But no, it was June and they were completely booked.  Furthermore the Public Gardens our second choice for a ceremony were also booked.   There was some kind of meeting for ministers in the area and the only minister we could find who was available to perform the ceremony was the Associate Minister of the Unitarian Church who happened to be expecting her first child any day (otherwise she would have been off at this meeting).  Yes, we were married by a pregnant minister.

The ceremony was held in the beautiful garden of one of Dan's friends, Roger Doyle, in Halifax, with just a few family and friends in attendance.   The garden was abloom with lilacs at the time.

The ceremony.

As something old, I wore a white shawl that my mother had made over my navy and white dress.  It is a bit cool in Halifax in June.  I wasn't one to wear hats at the time, but I had found a pretty white hat, and I adorned it with a navy ribbon around the band.  

"You may kiss the bride."

The happy couple---married.

After the noon ceremony, we all went down to the Athens Restaurant on Quinpool Road in Halifax for a luncheon.  Great food and a wedding cake.

Cutting the cake. 

Yes, it has really been an adventure these last twenty-five years.  We're still a  happy couple who love each other very much.

Happy Anniversary to Bea and Wayne

Commerative wedding plate made by Westmoore Pottery as our gift to Bea and Wayne.

Bea and Wayne Kearney are celebrating their 9th wedding anniversary today.  Happy Anniversary you two. Bea has been our long-time friend and housekeeper for many years. I first met Bea when she kept the offices (including my office),  classrooms, and laboratories in the Franklin Science Building at Louisburg College in ship-shape condition.  And for many years we have depended on her to keep our house in order.  I don't know what I would do without our weekly visits from Bea.

In 2003 Bea married Wayne in a beautiful ceremony in Louisburg.  Dan and I are as fond of Wayne as we are of Bea.  They are a great couple.  Here are some photos from their wedding.

Beautiful Bea.

 I've always told Bea that she looks like Queen Nefertiti.  Look at those beautiful high cheek bones.

Wayne and Bea, the happy couple.

The Wedding Party.

Arriving at Reception.

Mr. and Mrs. Kearney at the head table at the reception.

Happy Anniversary to you and may you have many more happy years together.

Cousin Joan's Birthday (and Wedding)

Cousin Joan (Still from home movie.)

 Today is my cousin Joan Richbourg Greggs' birthday.  Happy Birthday Joan!  Joan has always been a close cousin, and when we were kids (she's just a few years older than I) I always looked forward to her visits to North Carolina in the summers.  She grew up in Maryland (still lives there), but would come to visit our grandmother in Cleveland County every summer. We always had so much fun.

 In 1951 when I learned that she was engaged and would marry I was sad, because I knew she wouldn't be coming down in the summers very often anymore. She decided to get married in North Carolina in our grandmother's lawn in August of that year, and she asked me to be her maid of honor. It was a pretty wedding.  I've captured some stills from a home movie that our uncle made at the wedding.

Wedding procession in grandmother's yard.

Married.

Bride and groom, Joan and George.

Joan, maid of honor (me) and flower girl (Cheryl, another cousin).

Joan still lives in Maryland, and we see each other two or three times a year.  We still have fun when we get together.