One afternoon I was driving in my car and I received a phone call from my good friend Matt. He was wanting to know if I thought it would be a good idea if he asked Kathryn out on a date. I thought they would make a great couple, so I said “sure”. I didn’t tell him that in any conversation Kathryn and I had ever had about him where I suggested him as “crush” potential, Kathryn would wrinkle her nose and say, “Matt? No.” And so he called later that night and asked. And then she called me and freaked out. It was awesome.
They went on a few dates. She had a hard time getting over the whole “he’s my friend and now he wants to be my boyfriend and that’s just weird” thing. And so she, very nicely, said “let’s just be friends”. And then, my friend who takes 3 months to choose paint for her living room walls, thought about it. And thought about Matt. And thought about Matt some more.
And then she called him to ask if she could change her mind.
That was February 2009….2 years ago.
On January 15, 2011 she became his wife.
Here’s the wedding from my point of view:
To prepare for the wedding I started crying in the aisle at Publix, the day before, when I was choosing their wedding card. Saturday morning Brad and I woke up extra early so we could be there to help out. My mom met us on the way so that she could watch Zoe. We figured that the easiest solution would be for her to watch Zoe at the location and then I could just come to her to feed Zoe every few hours. It was a perfect plan. Brad and I showed up, caught a few glimpses of the bride and groom as they were taking their couple photos, found a good seat and then took our places at the station we were assigned. Greeting people at the door.
At 10:30 we found our seats and the wedding procession began.
Isn’t she just the CUTEST flower girl?
Then the bride came….and oh my goodness, isn’t she beautiful?
The ceremony went off without a hitch. I laughed as she said she couldn’t promise him a clean house (I said something pretty similar) and I definitely cried as she promised to stay by his side through the ups and downs. I didn’t even cry during my own vows. They said their “I do’s”, exchanged rings, and then it was done. They were a Mr. and Mrs.
Matthew, you may kiss your bride!
I used the cocktail time to call my mom and see how Zoe was doing. All I heard on the other end of the line was Zoe and she was SCREAMING. On occasion she experiences some pretty heavy separation anxiety….and that Saturday morning was one of those occasions. My mom wasn’t talking and so I just started RUNNING in the direction that I thought she might be in. She eventually choked out “I’m in the car”. At that point I was sprinting towards her. I imagine I looked like a crazy person….but I just didn’t care. I reached the car and grabbed Zoe in my arms as quickly as possible. And that’s when my mom started crying. My poor mother. She loves that girl more than just about anything. We decided that Zoe would come with us for the rest of the wedding and my mom went home to recover (after I brought her a Cami Cake!).
The reception was a BLAST! The omelets were delicious, the mimosas were fantastic, the music was classy. I danced with Brad and a sleeping Zoe to some Harry Connick Jr., and he twirled us around the dance floor to Michael Buble. It was different than any wedding I’ve ever been to, and if you were to hear the details you would probably think “Huh? That worked??”…but it did! It was one of my favorite weddings. Ever.
Here’s a few more pictures
Zoe with the Groom
The Bride and Groom
And then just like that it was over and they were off!
Matt and Kathryn,
I have typed and deleted this portion for 5 minutes now because I don’t know how to adequately say what I’m thinking. I guess it’s simple really. You’ve just embarked on the journey of a lifetime and I have to say, it’s quite an adventure! There’s nothing quite like it and it’s beyond exciting! Marriage is work. Sometimes hard work and sometimes incredibly easy. I pray you guys will be blessed with the ability to be quick to forgive and quick to forget. That you will hold nothing back from each other. And that you will give, endlessly and tirelessly, of yourself to the other. That you will remain “in love”. That 50 years from now you still think the other person is the sexiest thing that ever did walk the planet. And I pray that you are always able to laugh with each other. I love you guys. Here’s to the rest of your life!
(ps. If you want to see some really great pictures of the day from a really great photographer, well then, here you go)
