We were so happy to be the home base for my baby sister's wedding on October 15th. It was exciting to have all my Johnson-Williams family in Austin together at the same time for the first time since I moved to Austin many moons ago. The festivities began on Thursday. Kendall, Patrick and my Mom arrived in Austin around noon. They stopped at Ulta so Kendall could meet with her hair lady to consult about her wedding day hair. They arrived at our house just in time to watch the boys so Nicholas and I could go to a parent teacher conference at Big Bro's school.
The boys were happy to spend time with all the family! We made breakfast for dinner on Thursday night. Aunt Sharon and Aunt Judy arrived around 7pm. Logan, Chris and Cousin A arrived around 10:30pm. We had 7 people sleep at our house Thursday night. After dinner, Aunt Sharon and Kendall accompanied me to the grocery store to shop for the rehearsal dinner.
Friday morning started early. Big Bro went to school. Everyone else pitched in to get our house ready to host the rehearsal dinner. We rearranged tables, borrowed chairs from our neighbors and did some cleaning.
Even Lil' Bro pitched in to help make the food! He was a great helper making bat cookies.
I'm pretty sure that Aunt Sharon did dishes all day long on Friday! Jackie, Jeffrey, Cousin T and Shasta arrived after lunch.
The bridal party headed to the church around 6:30 for the rehearsal. The rehearsal lasted about an hour. Meanwhile, Nicholas and a crew of helpers stayed at our house to do the final prep and setup for the rehearsal dinner.
Saturday was wedding day! Big Bro was excited to wake up and watch Saturday morning TV with Aunt Sharon. I made some breakfast for the crew before the busy day began. Nicholas left around 9am to head to church to unlock the building and help start decorating. Kendall and Christy were the first to arrive. Kendall was happy to be able to spend a little time in the morning getting the decorating going. Meanwhile, I ran to JCPenny to find something for Big Bro to wear to the wedding, get a tie for Nicholas and shoes for both big boys. I was just in time to stop at Ulta to see Mom finish getting her hair done. I took some pictures of Mom getting her hair done, Shasta getting her makeup and hair done and Tara getting her makeup done. It was awesome that Aunt Sharon and Aunt Judy were at the house and willing to entertain the Dertien boys so I could run errands solo! I ran back home to regroup and shower. Nicholas was still at the church helping decorate and get things ready for the reception. I picked up Baby Bro, and Logan and I went back to Ulta to check on Kendall. I took more pictures of her getting her hair and makeup done. We did some more errand running. Logan picked Kendall up and took her to church.
I ran back home to get ready. I was quite a sight, nursing Baby Bro while curling my hair. It wasn't the ideal situation, but sometime you just have to do what you got to do. Meanwhile Aunt Sharon and Aunt Judy had fed the big boys lunch (thankfully)! Nicholas had come home for a quick shower so we could all go to church together. We were supposed to be at church at 3pm, but didn't make it until 3:25, but we had everything we needed with us!
I had the pleasure of helping Kendall get all laced up in her dress. It was a very special moment. I was quickly wisked back to my wedding day when my maid of honor did the same for me! The ceremony was supposed to start at 5:30pm, so there was lots of hustle and bustle up to that point. All the kids enjoyed playing in the nursery. Everyone got ready. The bridesmaids and groomsmen took pictures with the bride and groom separately. Kendall and Patrick opened their wedding presents to each other. We snapped lots of pictures. There was a little bit of stress about the timing and making sure everyone was doing what they were supposed to be doing, BUT then it was time to begin!
The ceremony was lovely, and the church was beautiful. Kendall and Patrick were adorable. And then they were Mr. and Mrs. Cavanagh! After the ceremony we took family and bridal party pictures. It took a little longer than expected because I had to unlace Kendall's dress and lace it back up tighter. Then the reception began. We had dinner and then did all the reception things: first dances, toasts, cake cutting and group dancing. It was lovely. The Dertien boys loved the cake.
After the reception ended, the bridal party and remaining family pitched in to help get things cleaned up. Many hands make light work, and we were finished in no time! Nicholas and I had to lock up the church, and we were in the car by 10:30. Thankfully Nicholas' parents had taken Big Bro and Lil' Bro home from the reception so they could go to bed. They were tired boys after such a busy weekend! We enjoyed a little adult conversation with Aunt Sharon and Aunt Judy before heading to bed way too late.
Everyone headed back home on Sunday. Aunt Sharon, Aunt Judy, Logan, Cousin A, and Chris had stayed at our house. After breakfast, they all helped us get our house halfway back in order and played with our boys. We all enjoyed lunch together before everyone headed home. What a weekend!
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