The wedding was beautiful.. My sister looked beautiful.. Too bad I “forgot my camera” at my parents house when I went to the wedding. Later, I realized, it was with me, just at the bottom of the bag!!! Note to self, buy camera bag. That shall be going on my wishlist!

As for the dilemma with my top, I have to give major thanks to Lara’s (the bride) hair/ makeup lady, Ryan. Ryan was a life saver. She went to the bridal shop, found a different top that had the back raised enough to hopefully allow a bra. Unfortunately, it was strapless, but  by that time, I did not care and was desperate. She got the  first pink one in the set of top photos:

It worked In addition to getting me the top.. she got me 3 bras- and wow.. I never knew such contraptions existed! She brought it to me, in a perfect size, and geesh, there were more parts to this thing than to my kids’ lego sets! It had extenders, clear straps, adjustable straps, ways to make it criss cross, over the shoulder, use as a strapless.. the whole works!!  She did warn me, once it is on, it will be staying on.. and wow was she right.. had to have my mom help getting it off, crazy, but wow… talk about a lift.. Ryan was a magician. I kid you not…

When the dress was sort of slightly showing the bra, out Ryan pulled some double sided tape, that sticks to the bra, then sticks to the dress… I sort of whimpered about one side being a bit bigger than the other.. and what did she pull out of her magic bag? Some sort of plastic baggy blown up thing that you can sit in your bra to have some sort of balance. Can I say wow? I dared peeking in her bag to see what other goodies she had, but most likely they would end up being beyond my grasp..

anyway before I go into any more detail for those readers that may be squeamish.. THANK You RYAN for coming to my rescue!!

Here are a few snapshots though that I got of the rehearsal and the morning getting ready

Here is my grandma (the one who taught me sc and dc) with my daughter:

And here she is with my son (yes, he is quite tall, surpassed me at age 10! And lookie! His hair has grown back!)

Here is the phenomenal priest. He is from Kilimanjaro in Africa. He was amazing.. For a moment, I wasn’t sure where I was.. His words were so wise, and so uplifting. At the reception, he amazed me further. He sung an African song, and I cannot remember the name of it, but I was taken away. The moment he began singing, everyone at the reception began clapping to the music as each one was carried away… I wish the song lasted longer as I was captivated.

Later at the reception, he sat down and chatted with me for a bit, and I told him how in awe I was at his song, and how interested I am in learning about other cultures. He told me if I ever come to Africa, he would be my guide. So now, I need to email him (I got his email and address in Africa) and find out what that song was and learn more about it.

It is kind of neat, learning about other cultures and practices. I remember when I was a kid, maybe 6 or 7, and I would beg my parents every time we went to Wisconsin Dells to take me to the Indian Ceremonial.. I just could not get enough of it.

I do know they had a videographer.. So I will need to get permission from the taping people to see if I could post him singing that song on my blog Keep checking back, because I assure you, that is something you do NOT want to miss!

Tada.. here is the bride, getting ready that morning- and that is Ryan, doing her hair.

And here is the little flower girl and ring bearer at the rehearsal They were playing some ‘jammin tunes!

And lastly, here is another shocker (something is always new when I go to Chitown)… They now have TVs at the gas pumps! Err, yes, if you did not know that.. you can now watch TV, hah! I was blown away.. my mom was laughing her head off at me, but I tell ya, I just could not believe it.. So I guess it is their way to get your mind off of how much $$$ is going into the tank… Here is my mom by the TV (?!? TVs at the gas pumps!)

I will keep you all posted on that song from the priest.. and more publication stuff to tell you about that is coming out and that has already come out!