Dan & Van: Somebody's Getting Married

Last month we traveled to Minneapolis to celebrate my sister, Renee's, marriage to Mark (Marky G or Gigi as we affectionately call him). Since it was an outdoor wedding and had been raining for the past two weeks in Minnesota, Mark and Renee had been carefully watching the forecast. My favorite quote of the week was Mark saying, "Saturday's forecast, 10% chance of rain...100% chance of getting married!". Both were glowing and grinning all week - we were so happy for them!

Dan and I kept low expectations for the trip. We expected it to be pretty stressful and exhausting - traveling with a 7 week old, 2 year old, and 3 year old as well as all of us being in the bridal party, and we were staying at my parents house...A.K.A. - wedding details central! But, we were pleasantly surprised. We were definitely BUSY, but were able to enjoy some time together just the two of us (Thanks, Mom for excellent babysitting), the kids were great travelers, and Corinne started sleeping 8 hours at night while we were there (She's a champ!).

A full night's sleep does wonders for baby (and mommy)!

The wedding festivities were kicked off by going Pedal Pubbing with the bridal party. A Pedal Pub is a bicycle built to hold 16 people that you can rent and tour around the Twin Cities. Their slogan is, "It's SLOW fun!" It was a super fun way to get to know the rest of the wedding party.


Not our group, but gives an idea of what it is

Next was all the usual stuff, family arriving in town, manis/pedis, bridesmaids luncheon, etc. Fun times!


Corinne and Great Grandma Nettleton

Great Great Aunt Diane meets Corinne

Nettleton Girls at the Salon


Bridesmaids

There were a few issues of un-planned people coming down the aisle during this wedding extravaganza...The first occurred at the rehearsal, where Corinne accompanied Renee, Mom, and Dad to give away the bride!

Entertaining the kids during the rehearsal

A long-time friend of the couple performed the ceremony

The rehearsal dinner was at Mancini's Char House and was delicious and fun!

Carcas loading up on wings - after all as he likes to say, "You snooze, you lose!"

Brielle chose to eat a pat of butter rather than cake - we figured it was probably lower in fat and calories, so just went with it!

The other bridesmaids spent the night before the wedding at Renee's house, and although she offered for Corinne and me to stay as well, I wasn't about to bring sleepless-night-potential into the wedding day equation. We were able to bring breakfast over on Saturday morning and spend a little time with the bride!


Corinne was stylish in her jeggings!

The wedding was held in a pavillion on a lake at Como Park in St. Paul. Very beautiful setting. Josh was a ringbearer, and Brielle was a flower girl. I was a bridesmaid, and can't help but mention that the Carcas was a "brides-man" which he handled with impressive poise and confidence! I went down the aisle just before the kids were supposed to come down. Dan stayed at the back to send them down at the right time, and they were supposed to "walk to Mommy" where they would get a lollipop reward for "doing their job". Things pretty much went as they had in the rehearsal. Brielle pranced down the aisle on her tiptoes, along with Allison, Mark's 3 year old neice, who even remembered to sprinkle the flower petals. Josh got a little stage fright and wasn't budging, so Dan ended up walking him down the aisle while holding Corinne in the car seat! Instance #2 of extras coming down the aisle...but not a big deal.

The ceremony was sweet and extra special to have someone perform it who knew them both so well. Mark was neighbors with Brooke growing up, and she and Renee were cross country and youth group buddies in high school. I don't have any pictures from the ceremony and just a few from the reception, but hope I can post some of their professional pics at a later date.