the wedding

even though hayden got to bed after 11:30 on friday evening, he was up at 7am as usual. i had to get up and moving quickly as well since we had a big day ahead of us.
dave had to head out to the reception site at 8:30am to make sure everything was set for music as he was the dj for the evening.
i had to get up and make sure i had everything that i would need for the entire day on top of everything that both of the boys would need as well.
when dave got home around 11am i was getting ready to head out. i went and picked mom up and we loaded up her dress as well as jessica's dress and then headed to vanity salon in plymouth where we would be spending the day getting ready for the wedding which was to start at 4pm.
tina was already there and unfortunately was not feeling any better than she was at the rehearsal dinner.
justin's mom was also there just finishing up when we got there, which was a good thing since she thought the 4 o'clock wedding was actually a 5 o'clock wedding!
mom was first up to get her hair done. while she was getting it done, jenn arrived at the salon soon followed by jessica and teresa. dad brought jess but headed over to kellogg park to start setting up for the wedding.
jessica seemed to be quite calm despite saying she was somewhat nervous. when i was helping her put on her dress she mentioned she didn't think she'd be like this. i asked if she was nervous and she said "yeah...look at me, i'm shaking!"
fighting through her sickness, tina did jessica's hair and did a beautiful job with it.
we all continued to get ready and don brought rainah by around 2pm with dave following with the boys around 2:30. tec, the photographer came by the salon a little after 2 and started taking pictures of the dress, rings, etc.
i had sent a text to justin telling him i needed to see him. he had just gotten over to the park so i told him i'd walk up there real quickly. jessica gave me a card that she wanted me to give him and i had a card and a handkerchief that i had made for him saying "justin & jessica august 30, 2008 I corinthians 13:4" that i wanted to give to him.
i headed back over to the salon to start getting the boys ready as well as myself and jessica. from there things started to fly by.
jessica looked beautiful and the dress was so totally her. i also gave her a matching handkerchief which she stuck down her dress cuz she's classy like that.
once everyone was ready we headed out to help jessica in the car and then the bridesmaids all walked over to the park. dave had already taken the boys down there so they were there waiting.
there was a screen that we all stood behind and when ben harper "by my side" started playing we all stood around saying "this is the song, right? are we supposed to go now?" so there was a bit of confusion, but from what i hear nobody else noticed anything. everyone was there and made it on time....we may have started walking down a few minutes after 4 but not late enough to freak mom out!
the day before the wedding i had called my best friend, melanie and asked her if she would mind taking pictures of the ceremony since none of the family would be able to. i told her she was the official family photographer and she had permission to go anywhere she needed to in order to get good pictures. she did an AMAZING job and the whole family is so happy and thankful that she documented everything we would have! thank you melanie!!!!
we all headed down the aisle without any incidents. then don put rainah down to walk down which apparently was not something she had any interest in doing. she is having a real problem with shoes lately (she doesn't want to wear them) so jenn decided to let her go barefoot. some people thought that maybe the bricks were too hot for her feet which was why she wouldn't walk, but there is no telling. after some calling to her, she did eventually make it down the aisle and then was carried away by don, i believe, where she proceeded to scream in the park through most of the ceremony. it wasn't distracting though since it was in the middle of a park and there was so much other noise going on anyway. but jenn looked over at one point and whispered "is that RAINAH?!"
i think hayden came next (it all seems like a blur to me already) and he did a GREAT job. as teresa said, he took his job very seriously. he walked perfectly down the aisle and then stood next to me....for a little bit at least.
next came talan. i gave dave strict instructions to hold him and when it was time for him to walk down the aisle, he needed to point out justin up front, put him down and tell him "go get justin." because let's be honest, even though i was up there it was justin who he really wanted to see.
as soon as dave put him down, talan started running down the aisle. he got close to the front but then got confused and stopped at where the musicians were. i think he was looking around for justin. some people think that for a minute he thought the kid playing keyboard was justin. when they finally pointed justin out to him, he took off running again right to justin's arms. i took him from justin and then dave came quickly over to take him from me.
and then jessica and dad came down. she looked amazing and apparently one of the singers lost it as soon as she saw jessica in her dress. i guess jenn was also crying through the whole thing right behind me, but i was watching hayden slowly make his way to the fountain behind us.
the wedding was beautiful and i honestly don't think there was anything that went wrong.
hayden turned out to be quite the entertainment for the wedding as every time i looked behind me he was getting closer and closer to the water. at first he just sat nicely on the fountain, but as the wedding went on i had to go over and tell him to get down since he had just stuck his hand in the water. apparently he just HAD to fish a leaf out of the water. every thought he was going in for sure. he ended up going with dave for a bit before coming back over to me so he could walk back down the aisle when the wedding was through.
after the wedding tec took some family pictures and then headed off through downtown plymouth with jessica and justin to get some cool shots of them. we can't wait to get those pictures back!
the rest of us all headed back to the salon to pack up our stuff and head over to the reception.
i would say that the heroes of the day were dave, superdad/dj, and melanie, official family photographer/popcorn maker/babysitter. what started out as melanie and chadd simply being invited to the wedding turned into a whole list of duties for her. on top of taking the pictures she and chadd also headed to over to the reception site a little early to start making some popcorn so it would be ready when everyone else got there. they also were placed at the family table so that melanie could help dave watch the boys if he had to tend to the dj responsibilities. she brought a big bag of toys and craft supplies and somehow she had hayden sitting at the table the whole evening. he even made a picture frame for jessica and justin and he never really cares about crafts! his most favorite toy was the jack-in-the-box where at one point he looked at chadd and melanie and said "watch this!" melanie figured she would have to act surprised when the cow popped out but as it popped out, candy also came flying out everywhere. when the candy trick got old, he then would put things on top to catapult them across the room.
after 4 cars following mom and dad to the reception and a few wrong turns, we got there with no major problems. the room looked beautiful. quite a difference from the way it looked even just the morning before.
i was standing there talking with some friends when i looked up on the dance floor and saw the cake. at first i didn't know what it was. and apparently some people thought it was a really elaborate gift. it was beautiful. it was the same design that was on their invitation that they created and it looked exactly like it. if you ever need a cake done, call me and i'll give you the name and number!
the reception was also a great time with no real problems. it was truly amazing how smoothly the whole wedding and reception turned out.
we ate, gave our speeches/toasts which took me WAY longer to write than any blog i've ever written, cut the cake and moved on to the dancing. dave did a great job, as usual, as the dj and people were dancing the ENTIRE evening.
talan ended up stealing the show on the dance floor, however. he literally danced until the very end. hayden danced a lot too, mostly trying to breakdance and spin around but even he couldn't keep up with talan. he would take breaks and sit with melanie and play and then by the end he went over and sat next to papa, put his earphones on and played his video game. it was unbelievable how well behaved he was through the entire evening. THANK YOU MELANIE!!!!!!!
jessica and justin left probably around 11:30 and then we all headed back in to pack the cars up and head home. i dropped some stuff off at mom and dad's and then got home close to 2am.
we had a GREAT time at the wedding and i think that justin and jessica did as well. they both looked amazing and i'm sure they are glad it's all done and that they are finally married.
thanks for letting us all be such a big part of your day, jessica and justin. we love you guys so much. welcome to the family, justin!!! see you when you come home!

mom getting beautified:
tina and jacinda:
jenn taking her turn in the chair:
tina doing jessica's hair...she was not feeling so hot:



rainah admiring herself:

the dress:







it was a struggle to get this picture:

the pastor, wayne, and justin patiently waiting:
hayden ready to walk down the aisle:
rainah wanted none of it:

she eventually made it down:
"justin is right up there":
talan got lost on his way to find justin:
beautiful:




the wedding party:
what we had a long talk about NOT doing:

kristy and nancy singing the "sweet jam":
jessica and justin:

jenn. she did this at my wedding too:
tina:
teresa:
jeremy:
glen:
mo:
phee. you're my favorite:
dawn:

what don got to do during the wedding:

this was the point that he had to dive in and get the leaf:
more of what don did for most of the wedding:


the dudes:
the picture says it all:
of course i had to throw in a picture of tec the photographer:




eww gross:
justin and jessicox:
LOVE this picture (way to go melanie!):

i'm not even going to comment on these:








inappropriate:
family:







jessica and teresa (sorry teresa this is the only one i had):
jessica and teens:
the girls:
aunt jessica:
justin and talan:

grandpa and grandma kellogg, jess and justin:
tina and me:
tina and jenn:
justin laughing at jessica who apparently doesn't know her name:
melanie and me:
the room:





dad:
chadd. popcorn maker extrodonaire:
justin and jessica walking into the reception hall:
the room from above:
the upstairs:
my favorite rook partner, robin and mom:
sending wishes to jessica and justin:

robin signing the picture frame:
the candy bar:

thank goodness jenn was there to refill the jars...i didn't even think about it:




finally a normal picture:
instead of a little gift for each guest, jessica and justin donated the money to an organization called hands and feet. they made up a little card explaining it and hands and feet sent these bracelets for each person:
the wish tree:


the card holder that dad made:
the centerpieces:

rainah the popcorn girl:
the gorgeous cake that looked just like their invitation:

he was dancing up on the stage next to the cake. it made us a little nervous:
cutting the cake. they had to ask tec, the photographer, what to do:
my mom has told all of us that we are NOT allowed to smoosh the cake all over each other's faces at our weddings. if we do so, she has promised to hand over all of the bills for the wedding and we would have to pay. apparently justin didn't believe her and said to jessica "what? is she really going to get mad?" jess was a little worried for a bit:
but justin decided to play nice:

hayden being crafty with melanie and chadd:
jessica and justin's first dance. wavorly's "summer song":



dad and jessica danced to van morrison's "days like this" :


talan's new trick that he started doing minutes before walking down the aisle was sticking his finger up his nose. this was on the way up i guess:
jessica and justin had a dance with the kids. new radical's "you get what you give" :




time for everybody to get their dance on:
rainah and jenn:
hayden loved to get in the middle of the dance crowd and grab on to any random girls hands:


no idea where he got his moves from:
oh, maybe this guy:
tina, johnny (i love that guy) and jacinda making their own dance floor:



this isn't dangerous. a brownie, a spear and a jack-in-the-box:
he likes stairs:

he was a little upset that the earphones didn't make all of the noise disappear:
teresa was really getting into the video game:
leon and christy:
hayden blowing bubbles with nancy kaltz, a friend and natalie kaltz:
apparently that is justin's toby mac pose. heading out after a long day: