Family

I have a big family. Three brothers, three sisters, a mom, dad and step-mom, and five nephews and nieces.  All of my family was able to come to the wedding except for our sister Rose and her daughter Autumn. We missed them!  We even took a picture of her missing "spot" in the sibling line up:

Here's the whole family, including spouses, signifigant others and children. From left to right they are:

Mito (Chadmichael's boyfriend), Meme (my Dad's mom), Grace (my Dad's wife), Chadmichael (brother), Dad, Phoebe Joy (Sariah's daughter), Phoebe Joann (sister), Truc (Rich's boyfriend), Rich (brother), Eric, Me, Mom, April (James' wife), James (brother), Corbin (James's son), Jake (Sariah's husband), Sariah (sister), Kimball and Warren (Sariah's sons).

Meme (Granda Shirley) is my last surviving grandparent. She flew out from Tucson and I'm so happy she was able to come.

Meme is my Dad's mom. This is my dad with Meme and his wife Grace. Grace is very cool. When my dad married Grace he got a tattoo and voted for Obama. Like I said, she's very cool :)

It's been a long time since I've seen my dad really break out in a big smile. Dad, it's time to work on that! Grace, will you help him?

Rich is the oldest of the siblings (though he hates to be reminded, ha ha!)

I asked Rich to walk me down the aisle because of how close we are. It meant so much to have him give me away to Eric. Eric and Rich have developed a close bond. It was great to have him hand me off to Eric.

My next oldest brother (did I say that right?) is James. This is him with his out-of-control with the cuteness son, Corbin. Corbin is almost two.

I love this picture for so many reasons, but the main one is the huge hug James is giving Eric as we walk down the aisle. It looks so spontaneous and full of affection.

I know that all parents love their children, but the sweetness and devotion that April and James show Corbin is heart warming. They really love that kid.

Chadmichael and Mito were the avant gard members of the family at the wedding. They took the ferry out from Long Beach with Phoebe because they live in LA:

Sariah and her family are discussed in this post. My next youngest sister Rose couldn't make it and this is my youngest sister, and the baby of the family, Phoebe. She made me the softest, most beautiful blanket as a wedding present. I'll keep and use that blanket on the boat forever!

This the woman who gave birth to all seven of us:

My mom was the second person I called to tell about our engagement (after Sariah). Over the years since I left home we have grown closer and closer. A lot of people say I favor my mom. I think they're usually talking about physical characteristics, but I see a lot of her personality in my own.

I like to sing made up songs and make made up words. I squeeze (gently) Eric's earlobes whenever I get near them and I have a penchant for whomping people I like on the behind, especially Eric's. My mom used to read books to us over the long, Alaskan summers. She would read entire series, like the Chronicles of Narnia and that book with the adventuring mouse (what was it's name again?)  Mom, you should read these books to the grandkids as they get older!

I love you mom. I love you family.

Kristine

Eight years ago I read Ishmael, by Daniel Quinn, and it changed my life. If you haven’t read it, read it. I started a club for anyone who had read the book and wanted to meet to discuss its concepts.

That is how I met Kristine.

She walked into my life at a book club meeting and she’s been a part of it ever since, as a friend, a coworker, a roommate (best roommate ever), as a confidant, and as my maid of honor.

Kristine is very laid back. She’s also very smart (she has a major in Physics!) On top of it all, she’s extremely empathetic, patient (she works with students one-on-one all day) and she’s incredibly loyal. Kristine was my ROCK throughout the wedding planning process and during the weekend of the wedding. Heck, she’s still helping me with wedding related items, like getting my dress persevered.

Kristine met Jack a little over a year ago.

They are great together. I had never seen Kristine smile this big before, but I guess Jack can do that to a girl J They just got a place together and I couldn’t be happier for them. Kristine, dinner parties at your place!!

My Sister Sariah

My sister Sariah and I weren't the best of friends growing up. She was two and a half years younger than me and she often straddled the line of hanging out with the "big kids", me and Chadmichael, and the "little girls", Rose and Phoebe. Anyone who has grown up in a large family knows that you quickly learn about diplomacy and politics when you have a lot of siblings. Some days you're allied with two of the seven, and just as quick, that alliance can disintegrate and re-form with another group of brothers and sisters. With me and Sariah, our alliances were always shifting. I left home when I was sixteen and when I left, Sariah and my two younger sisters were little girls that I didn't have much in common with at all. Luckily for me, that has changed.

Sariah and I started getting closer over the past six to seven years. When my youngest sister Phoebe moved out to live with me Sariah and I started talking more on the phone. Phoebe and Sariah had been very close and Sariah liked to check in on her, though I very shortly realized that really, Sariah was checking in on me, and I love her for that.

I didn't see my sisters for a few years after I moved away from home. The first time I finally did see them Sariah was like an entirely different person. She was all grown up. She was really into swing dancing. She had long, beautiful hair, and she had lots and lots of boys vying for her attention. She moved to Utah to go to college and shortly thereafter she was engaged and then married to Jake. I was living in France at the time of their wedding and was so bummed that I couldn't make it to see the event.

Not long after her wedding Sariah was pregnant with her first child and I promised her I would be there for the birth. This was after all, the first one of my siblings to give birth! This was big! This was the first of a new generation. This baby would be the oldest cousin once we all started having children. I had to meet this little one, and Sariah wanted all of her sisters there.

When Phoebe and I got the call that she was in labor we hopped in the Mini and drove non-stop to Utah. That was a long drive. My favorite part was going through a winding canyon in the rain listening to the latest Coldplay album, just enjoying the moment with my sister Phoebe. When we got there Sariah was still in labor. The evening before we had to leave Sariah gave birth to her daughter, Phoebe Joy, named after our sister. Phoebe Joy was born on August 16, which is my grandmother Charlotte's birthday. None of us got to meet Grandma Charlotte. She passed away when my mom was 12 or 13. It was an incredible moment to be in the same room as all of my sisters, my mom and the overwhelming presence of my grandmother Charlotte as little Phoebe Joy was brought into the world. If you've never witnessed a birth before, I highly recommend it. I think it could give even the staunchest atheist a run for their money. I actually felt the entrance of a new spirit into the room as she was born. It was incredibly intense.

Sariah was my biggest cheerleader and confidant at the beginning of my relationship with Eric. She listened over the phone to our triumphs and our tragedies. She gave me advice on being in a long-term relationship. She encouraged me. She listened to me. She got to know the man I love via our phone calls. Sariah was the first person I called the night Eric asked me to marry him. She had been waiting the longest for the news, and she was the most thrilled about it.

It was Sariah that shepherded me through the long and arduous process of planning a wedding. She would clip out ideas with her daughter Phoebe Joy and send me them with little letters full of possibilities, color schemes and cake displays. I went to visit Sariah in March of last year and she took me wedding dress shopping, planned the design of my wedding cake and got me to call the hotel in Catalina to firm up the date. Every time I’d feel overwhelmed by the wedding she’d smile a huge smile, pat my shoulder and say, “It’s going to be wonderful! You’re going to look beautiful! Let’s look at invitation designs!” She was my own personal wedding planner.

Sariah made my wedding cake. That’s right. She baked the whole thing, iced it, and assembled all three tiers into boxes that were carried over by friends and family on the ferry to the island. The day of the wedding she put on the finishing touches and worked with my brothers Chadmichael and Rich to make a wedding cake that I couldn’t have dreamed up if I had tried. My siblings are so incredibly talented.

She made Phoebe Joy’s dress. Isn’t it beautiful? She also made Phoebe Joy, isn’t she beautiful? And so precocious! I couldn’t have asked for a more precious little flower girl. She practiced dropping the petals for weeks in advance.

 

That little girl is going to be a heartbreaker when she grows up.

Her little brother Kimball was my ring bearer. Kimball is a ball of energy, which is why I’m shocked that the photographer was able to get these photos of him.    

Truly amazing. As proof of his boundless energy I present to you exhibit “A”. This is in the bridal shop on the day I was picking up my dress. Kimball is the boy who is about two feet off the air.

Here we have exhibit “B”. Kimball is the boy who is again two feet in the air, leaping for joy at the discovery of his brother’s Easter basket. (You can imagine how high he jumped when he found his own.)

Little Warren was an honorary member of the wedding party. He’s the sweetest of the bunch. I cannot resist him when he sucks his thumb:

Or when he acts shy:

Or when he annoys his sister J

Let us not forget Jake. He’s Sariah’s husband, and one awesome brother-in-law.

Look, he actually picks Sariah up and sweeps her off her feet!

Jake can sing, is heavily involved in volunteer work with the scouts and plays with his kids for hours at a time. He loves his kooky family, and I love them.

Sariah, thanks for making my wedding day a dream come true. I’m blessed to have a sister like you.

Catalina is a Perfect Place to get Married

We had our first major sailing trip to Catalina. It was the first time I had an inclination that our relationship might actually be going somewhere. It feels like our own special island, and I encourage you to go and visit if you haven't been there yet.

The weather is almost always perfect, and even when it rains, it's beautiful. We lucked out and had the best weather of all of November for our wedding weekend. In the picture below there were snorkelers and swimmers all around us enjoying the crystal clear water of Avalon Harbor.

Catalina is a casual island. You get around in Golf Carts and flip flops and Crocs are the norm. I wore my trusty Crocs for the wedding. They're peaking out in the photo below. This is us en route to our "photo shoot". How glamorous.

 I think this American Gothic knock-off may be my favorite one of all the pictures yet, you tell me:

 But this one is sort of Great Gatsbyesque, and fits well with the Casino:

But, we finish off modern, not bad for a pretty laid-back, casual couple from San Diego:

You can view all of the photos at Shana Cassidy's site: The Wedding Frame, password morrisette

We will get digital copies of the high-res images soon, if you'd like digital copies.  More posts highlighting the friends and family who came to the event soon.

Swoon-worthy

During the wedding ceremony Eric looked at me so intensly that I thought I actually might swoon. I'm sure the corset I had on didn't help, but man, when Eric really looks at you, it's intense and unwavering. Here, you try it:

See what I mean? He does it again here:

 You can't see his eyes here, but he was holding my hands as intently as we was peering into my gaze

When he looks at me like that, I get like this:

And this