The Wedding, part II- The Rehearsal

It was a stifling- hot Friday evening, and we made our way to the church for the wedding rehearsal.  As a bit of an ice breaker, the pastor had us all introduce ourselves and share stories of the first time we met the bride or groom.  Here's my recollection:

The big day had arrived when my brother decided to bring his new girlfriend over to meet the folks.  Anyone who knows my family well, knows that we are HUGE teasers, and I wasn't sure what her first impression of the family would be.  Quite frankly, I was nervous.  Much more nervous than my brother was.  I was sweating for the following reasons:

1.  I was a helpless 230 miles away from my parent's house, and unable to punch my dad in the arm if he said something inappropriate.

2. My brother seemed smitten with this gal, and if she thought we were too weird, it wouldn't be good for my brother's chances at dating her.

3. She was from the east coast and might not be too thrilled with our "Wild West" ways...our guns, the trophy animals mounted on the wall, our music, or our love of eating giant slabs of beef. 

4. I want to be Aunt some day.  My brother is INCREDIBLY picky about women.  If this prospect didn't work out, it could be another decade before he met anyone that met his high standards, which would then throw my dreams of being an Aunt back into the dark and hopeless corner of my mind where it would lay rotting for years to come.

So....I did what any good sister who was 230 miles away would do....I texted my dad on the sly to find out how things were going during the big meeting.  It went something like this:

Me:  Dad, how's it going? Don't screw it up.

NO ANSWER

Me: You didn't answer. that can't be a good sign.

Him: It's not going well.  They're getting into a theological argument.

Me:  Well crap.  I guess you have to expect a few losses in an operation of this size.

(I was heartbroken. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my dad was reading the texts to my brother and his girlfriend, and they were cracking up and making up stories to text me back with.  The whole thing was a big scam.)

That was my first encounter with the two of them as a couple.

Here are some pics of the rehearsal. Below are the bridesmaids...that's me in the light pink and brown dress.

Here are my two daughters who just happen to be the best flower girls around.  They were so excited for the big event that they could hardly sleep.  My four year old was even practicing the petal toss.  She had a delicate flick of the wrist that looked like a cross between the Pope wave and Miss America.

Here is my son...the ring bearer.  He did a football shuffle down the aisle the first time through the rehearsal.  We had words.  I made threats.  He decided to be serious for the rest of the night.  I was thankful.

Here are more pictures of the rehearsal.

Afterward, all 52 of us went to a Mexican Food restaurant to have dinner.  It was a ball!  My brother's speech made me cry, and the bride gave us the most beautiful strand of pearls to wear the next day.

Here's a picture of my brother and I.

Below is my dad's side of the family.

Here is my mom's side of the family.

Me and Mom.

We had a great night with our family, and there were so many cameras there that it looked like the Paparazzi was in the room.  My cheeks hurt from smiling. 

Stay tuned for tomorrow's post: "The Big Day"