Cousins

I need to work on my "how low can you go" face...regardless, I *heart* these photos! :)

...5 years later

Melissa & John's Wedding: The Reception

After the beautiful ceremony wrapped up, it was time to celebrate! The festivities kicked off with a cocktail reception in the garden. The drinks were flowing and the passed hors doeuvres were amazing! The bacon wrapped shrimp with hidden jalepano was my favorite, though the chicken and pineapple satay with sweet dipping sauce was a close second!

We then headed inside for the reception and were greeted by an amazing display of photos of John and Melissa and wedding photos from their families, adorable table cards, a cupcake cake and a beautifully decorated reception hall. We took our seats at tables named after the various places that the bride and groom had lived. Then it was time for the wedding party to be announced and of course for the introduction of "Mr. & Mrs. Voll!" After enjoying the dances, we got to join the Matron of Honor and Best Man in toasting the newlyweds. I don't think there was a dry eye in the house!

After dinner, the Greeley family hit the dance floor and never left until the last song was played! It was a great party to celebrate an even greater couple!

Melissa & John's Wedding: The Ceremony

After spending the day laying on the beach, playing volleyball, taking a dip in the pool and enjoying some pina coladas, it was time to scrub off the sunscreen, and head to the wedding (that was of course why we were all there!)

The ceremony was right on the beach at 4:30 and the sun was shining but there was a great breeze to keep us all (relatively) cool. It was great to see everyone slip off their shoes for the perfect barefoot beach wedding!

The bridal party looked great in beautiful green dresses and the groomsmen were dapper in their tan suits and matching green ties. Suzanne, the mother-of-the-bride, was stunning and Uncle Tim, the father-of-the-bride, managed to hold himself together while walking a gorgeous bride down the sandy aisle.

The ceremony was perfect, with great words of wisdom from the officiant, a much anticipated performance by Tim, singing Stevie Wonder's "You and I," and of course the perfect kiss to seal the marriage of Melissa and John.

Congratulations Mel and John, here's to a lifetime of love, laughter, dancing, and sand between your toes!

Melissa & John's Wedding: The pre-party

Thursday morning my mom, dad, sister and I hopped on a plane and headed south to celebrate my cousin Melissa's wedding in St. Pete Beach, Fl. Not a bad place to have to be in March!

Melissa is the fourth of 17 cousins to get married and as anyone who attended my wedding or my sister's wedding knows, the Greeley family knows how to celebrate a marriage! With our dancing shoes (or in this case, flip flops) packed, about 90% of the family traveled from as far north as Maine to as far west as Oregon to bid farewell to Melissa Greeley and to say a big "hello" to Melissa Voll.

Andy and Lee stayed back with the kiddos and were all missed by everyone!

Thursday was spent poolside and on the beach waiting to check into our rooms. Fortunately we were able to use the lobby restrooms to change into our swimsuits so we wasted no time in getting our first sun of 2011! It was so great just enjoying a few cocktails by the pool and seeing family members left and right, most of whom we hadn't seen in two years.

We then went out for an amazing dinner (I've never seen a prettier presentation) before heading back to the beach bar for their pre-wedding dance party!

John, the groom, has buddies who used to be in a band, and they all came back together after five years of not performing together to put on an amazing dance party for all of us.

It was a great start to a fantastic wedding weekend in the sun!

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Lake of the Woods

This weekend we headed down to Greg and Erica's lake house (well, Greg's parent's lake house) at Lake of the Woods. It was the perfect meeting place for us to get together with our other great friends, Chris and Aimee.



Now that we all have kids (yikes!) it was fun to get the kiddos together (first time for Ryan and Blake to meet) and watch them interact. When Adam wasn't trying to sweep the deck, he and Ryan had fun playing together and Adam was so attentive to "the baby." Turning her music on for her on her chair, bringing things to her, and when she wasn't around, he would shrug his shoulders and say "gone?" Adorable. Ryan needs to step up his game if he wants a shot! ;)







As for the adults, we had fun chit chatting, enjoying some cold beverages, racing miniature boats and eating...I think we ate the whole time...but it was too good to stop! There were homemade sweet and sour meatballs, grilled bacon wrapped BBQ shrimp, and amazing ribs that cooked in an apple juice bath...yeah, it was taste! (and required an extra run on Sunday!)









The weather was great and there is nothing like waking up to clear views of the lake to start your morning off right. Adam and I woke up extra early to enjoy the views and to get "homemade" cinnamon rolls baking (those cans are really hard to open sometimes! ha!) Once everyone was up we enjoyed a nice morning of coffee and more eating and playing.







Thanks so much to Greg, Erica and Blake for hosting us! We can't wait to go back soon! (hint hint!) ;)