Celebrating love!

Aren't weddings the best celebrations? Two people come together to publicly commit their lives to one another. Friends and family gather around them, hearts and hands open, to offer support and encouragement. Love fills the air, and everyone feels it. It's impossible not to embrace the hope and happiness of a newly married couple! 

So it was this past weekend, as I flew to Phoenix, along with Shulamith and her daughter Kennedy, to attend the wedding of my niece Carley and her fiancé, JaSon. It was a warm day, so very different from the cold we left in Utah. The outside ceremony was brief but meaningful, as Carley and JaSon each recited their own original vows, promising to be each other's strength, confidante, and respite from whatever life throws their way.

...and then the celebrating began. As the wedding party took photographs, the rest of us gathered in the reception area, where lovely floral arrangements, placed high above each table, decorated the room. For me, the best part was seeing my family, almost all of whom live in the Portland area, so I don't get to see them often. Several "relatives of relatives" I hadn't see in decades; it was delightful to catch up! At last, the glowing couple arrived and moved immediately to the center of the room for their first dance.

Dinner was next on the agenda, and it was for real the best wedding food I've ever eaten. Baked salmon, slow-roasted short ribs, creamy whipped potatoes, and white macaroni and cheese. So so delicious! (There was also some broccoli and cauliflower, which I'm sure lots of people liked, haha.) Dessert was miniature bundt cakes, and not just any bundt cakes, mind you, but Nothing Bundt Cakes! I may have eaten parts of three different ones as we passed them around our table.

A photo booth, along with the most beautiful sunset, created perfect lighting for pictures, so we took advantage of the opportunity. Here is a 4-generation shot of us Webster women: Claudette Webster, Terrianne Webster, Shulamith Webster, and Kennedy Webster-Monson:

And here are the OG Websters, other than my dad, who passed away years ago:

And finally, a photo booth shot of some wacky Websters and a few of their friends:

Celebrating love! So glad we were able to do just that this weekend. To Carley and JaSon: Happiness always!