Mindy's Wedding

On June 4, 2010 my cousin Mindy married the love of her life, Derrick. It was a very elegant, intimate affair of close family and friends in the Hollywood Schoolhouse in Woodinville, WA. The day was, well, really, really rainy. :-) Of course, some wedding traditions say a rainy wedding is a sign of good luck for your future marriage so the happy couple must be very lucky!

One of the best parts of Mindy getting married was getting the family together again. I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but it's been great having the family get together so frequently this year. Three times in three months! Of course, we've decided to continue to streak with graduation ceremonies, camping trips, and general get-togethers. Woo hoo! Now, back to the wedding.

Cousin Al, Cousin Mary P, Uncle Bobby, and Aunt Nancy in their finest.


Mom, Grandma, and Myself looking stylish.

The Hollywood Schoolhouse was a schoolhouse in a former life, then an antique shop, and now it's a conference/wedding venue. Boy, was it pretty with curved staircases, lots of windows, and white everywhere. It was the perfect background for the elegant, white and pewter wedding and with only 100 seats it offered a very intimate setting. We walked through the first open room where the reception tables were setup into the second room where the ceremony would be. Greeting us were white pillars, lots of white flowers and greenry, and sunshine peeking through the windows and rain. When the ceremony started it was sweet seeing my cousin Kent escort his wife Shirley and Grandma down the aisle. It was a happy moment as well when my Uncle Roger walked Mindy down the aisle. Her dress floated around her making her look like the princess she was aiming for.

Mindy and Derrick saying their vows.

Now, every wedding has 'the moment'. The one thing where something humorous happens to entertain the guests. Mindy and Derrick's moment happened during the vows. The couple had written their own vows and really wanted to mention emotions and actions that were important to the both of them. Well, one thing that was innocently written but humorously taken was Derrick's vow to 'always play with' Mindy. :-) I'm sure they meant this as having humor, laughter, and fun in their life with their four-wheelers and such but the guests took a different route and ended up laughing. All in fun of course!

Mindy and Derrick taking their first bite of wedding cake.

Their first dance.

Once the vows were said a lovely dinner reception was held. My favorite part the yummy spinach and gorgonzola salad and baron of beef. It wasn't until I sat down to eat that I realized that it was 8pm and I hadn't eaten since noon. Golly I was hungry! After dinner we too got to taste the cake and I have nothing but rave reviews. So many times you attend a wedding and the cake is so dry. Both the chocolate and lemon cakes were just yummy. Thankfully there were many people at my table sharing pieces of cake so I could get away with having bites of both without having to eat two whole pieces.

After dinner, cake, toasts, and the first couples and father/daughter dances it was time to party! I must admit I was happy to see that the dance lessons that Nate and I had taken for our wedding were still useful as Nate and I enjoyed using these previously learned steps to waltz the night away. Or I enjoyed this time and Nate was gracious enough to dance with me. Your choice! Mom and I also got a dance in when both Dad and Nate pleaded a beer run. :-)

Mom and I waltzing!

The whole family got into the fun of dancing with YMCA being a favorite. It's fun to waltz but it's also fun to just get a big crowd together and boogie!

Performing YMCA

Conga line!

At the end of the evening we hugged and said our good-byes with Mindy and Derrick then headed back to my Auntie Sue's house for the after party. There the Aunts, Uncles, and Cousins opened up bottles of wine and Jack and toasted the couple again. Finally, it was time to call it a night and head to bed. Overall, I had a lovely time at the wedding and was thrilled to see the couple profess their love to each other. I can't wait to see what life brings them in the coming years.