Going to the {California} Chapel ~ The Wedding

Friday, October 4, 2013

 
The day that will forever be Tony and Rowena Van Gelder's wedding day!
 

My girls and I hanging out in the Bride's room right before the wedding...look at those faces...

T-R-O-U-B-L-E

 

Our little family!

 

 

The guys (Phil and his brother-in-law, Pat, who was the officiant, and officiated our wedding too) just waiting for the wedding to start!

 

Groomsmen, with Tony

 

Pat and Tony (Photos taken by Chris Esaki, Phil's cousin's husband)

 

 The violinist (he was also the DJ and Emcee at the reception and he was AMAZING!)

 

With my little rascal who was so noisy we had to get up and walk out of the wedding right after Rowena walked down the isle :(

 

Tony escorting his Elaine (his step-grandmother)

 

Pat escorting Lindsey and 'baby cousin Scout', as we call her:)

 

I choked up when I saw Tony walk his parents down the isle, knowing it was their last child to get married.

 

The groomsman watching Emrie come down the isle

 

Emrie was so shy she kept her finger in her mouth and didn't drop a single flower.  BUT, she was standing next to me in the pew and as Rowena passed us, Emrie took a handful of flowers and threw them AT her.  She then looked at me and said, "I did it mama, she has to walk on the flowers".  I nearly lost it!

 

The MOMENT! Tony saw his bride for the first time!

 

She was such a beautiful bride, escorted by her lovely mother!

 

My sweet little flower girl watching the wedding!

 

Just glowing

 

Exchange the rings

 

AND THE KISS

 

MR. AND MRS. VAN GELDER!

 

Aven and I were hiding behind the doors because we didn't want to be seen, so we got the front row view as they exited the church!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I wanted to try to get a decent picture of me with my flower girls...but....

 

They were in full meltdown mode!

 

That's okay, because my mom came and picked up the girls so Phil and I could enjoy the reception (which was way after the girls' bedtime anyway). It was a win win for everyone.

The New Mr. and Mrs. Van Gelder making their grand entrance to the reception

 

Phil gave a VERY sweet speech

 

Now, let the party begin

 

 

The youngest cousins were shutting the dance floor down!

 

It was a beautiful (and VERY VERY short) ceremony, followed by an unbelievably fun reception!  My legs were sore for days following all that dancing!

 

CHEERS TO THE NEW MR. AND MRS. VAN GELDER

 

Going to the {California} Chapel ~ Rehersal

So, the reason we were out in California in the first place, was to celebrate Phil's brother's wedding.  Tony and Rowena met in Australia (where she was born and raised and he now works).  Having friends and family from all over, they picked Orange County as a pretty central location. 

Our girls (well, really just Emrie) were the flower girls, and Phil was the best man.  We were really excited for the rehearsal dinner because we would be able to see all of Phil's dad's side of the family.  We don't get to see them often (two of the youngest cousins were in our wedding) and it is always so great to catch up.

Unfortunately, I woke up feeling like garbage the morning of the rehearsal.  Phil was with Tony doing wedding stuff, so Phil's mom watched the girls while I ran to an urgent care, only to find out I HAD STREP THROAT! Thankfully, there are CVS everywhere and by that afternoon I was feeling well enough for mani/pedis and by evening I was feeling well enough to socialize.

Emrie went with Nana, Aunt Lindsey and Mommy to experience her very first mani/pedi. She was so cute and sat so still.  I think she was pretty proud of her cute little fingers and toes!

The wedding was at Mariner's Church and the chapel was absolutely GORGEOUS!

 

Emrie and Aven met all the extended family at the delicious Maggiano's dinner!

 

It was a really great evening spent with family, old and new!

 

Disneyland...Truly the Happiest Place on Earth

Halfway through the day we needed to re-charge with lunch.  We chose to dine in Frontier Land at the Big Thunder Ranch Barbecue.  The all you can eat ribs, chicken, beans, cornbread and drinks were excellent and we enjoyed the live music and fall décor while we ate.

Aven, trying to get someone to feed her...stat!

We thought the girls might take a nap in the stroller after we ate, but who were we kidding. These girls were ready to GO!

After lunch we had to try our hand at fairing the stormy seas on Pirates of the Caribbean. 

 

These pirates serenaded us as we exited the ride.

This little sister was getting a bit mellow, or tired.

Aven hitched a ride with her new boyfriend (Mallory's boyfriend, Tyler) through Tarzan's treehouse.

Our little family on Tom Sawyer Island

Catching a ferry ride back to the mainland.

 

As we were waiting in line for Peter Pan, our last ride of the day (and hands down, Emrie's favorite ride of the day) we looked over and saw my mom looking at her phone, entirely oblivious to the fact that she was sitting next to Johnny Knoxville.

Johnny Knoxville was one of three celebrities (minor celebrities) we saw that day.  We also saw Destin and Rachel from Millionaire Matchmaker (and I took a family picture for them), and former American Idol contestant, Carly Smithson (her husband had facial tattoos, which is what drew my attention first).

Not only did we survive Disneyland, we had a FANTASTIC time, and got photo bombed as we exited the park...haha!

 

Experiencing the wonder that is Disney through the eyes of my daughters was even more rewarding than when I experienced it for myself as a kid. 

It truly was magical.

Disneyland...It's Magical!

After the Cinderella experience, I knew that would be hard to beat.  But I didn't think the first ride of the day would go over as horribly as it did.  There was no line for the Snow White ride.  I should have read the subtitle a little more closely (Scary Adventures), but all I cared about was starting the day!

Well, it started with a bang all right.  After seeing one scene of the dwarfs and Snow White, the entire rest of the ride consisted of the witch jumping out with the apple and Emrie SCREAMING in fear!  It might have been a bumpy start, but at least we only had up to go!

We opted for a bit of a safer choice for our second ride in Casey Jr.'s train. 

Dumbo was a hit, especially since we were first in line, allowing Emrie to pick the purple one.

 

Mommy conveniently went to the restroom leaving Daddy and Oma in line for the teacups.

 

Alice in Wonderland was a family affair

 

We fell down the rabbit hole...wee

 

 

It's a small world after all (you know that song is stuck in your head now)

 

Emrie was getting the hang of it...Now she's giving orders:) On to Finding Nemo we go!

Fast forward 14 years...We have a driver on our hands at Autopia

 Boy, all those rides and walking left us hungry.  Time for lunch and a quick rest.