A Wedding! and a few other bits

I headed to Santa Cruz one more time, this time to attend the wedding of my cousin Emily to her Sam, and to help Jeffery vacate his rental place as he is finished with his projects and is coming home to stay! It was a jolly time seeing cousins I'd been parted from for a couple or three, or even more years, and because it was a three day affair in a forested enclave-retreat, it was definitely a gathering where we got more than just one busy day to catch up and meet and enjoy each-other.  I have a few photos to share; snapshots, but hopefully family-full for those who couldn't be there.

On Friday, we went up to see the practise and to meet and get re-acquainted with the folks who had come ahead of the wedding day.  Such fun with a nice dinner followed by a bonfire and live music by the groom and groomsmen.

Emily's smile would be a constant source of joy throughout our time there, and must be her nature!

On Saturday, Jeffery introduced me to Lawn Bowling at the club he joined so that he could learn how it differs from bocce ball, and because it's really fun.

I had set up the mat where your foot must be and prepare to send out the "jack".

Jeffery takes his turn.  The balls are weighted oddly, so it's a completely different game, and I beat him at it this time.

Jeffery shows off his name on the members' key board.  Co-worker Michael is also up there.

One of the wonderful old-fashioned motels that still exist in Santa Cruz

This shop's name lured me to take a photo, and a glimpse in made me sad not to have more time to browse.

The sign in front of this shop.

We arrived early and took a brief wend around the retreat's grounds and facilities.  Below-right is the yurt which is the temple.

Pretty fountain in the plaza

Multi-colored flowers in the garden

Tate and Parker

Tate, Ted, and Parker, and I learned, baby boy!

Photo session ahead of the ceremony near the bonfire area

Quick snap of the wedding party

Ninh and family of the groom

Mother of the bride

Cousins Millie and Becket

I'm going to do a procession series for my mother and others.  The wedding party is ready to come down.

Here comes the Groom

Groomsmen

Maids of Honor

Man and Maid of Honor

Children and flowers

Here comes the Bride!

Emily greets her mother, Ninh, who will give her away to Sam

Daughter and Mother

Beautiful ladies

I do believe this was where Sam had to apply the hankie-of-joy to his eyes

The ceremony was touching, loving, and very fun

There's that smile!

Can't you feel the love?

The photos of the Kiss were too blurry to add here, but this shot was fun

The reception awaits

The Seating Names table

Haven't seen Cousin Dan's family in some time!

Family group - mostly Terry's clan

Fletcher was nice enough to pose for a photo

Millie, Lexie, and Fletcher

Darshon, Dan, and Nick

Susan, Millie, Kai, Julia, Emily, Lexi, David, Don, David, and Chitanya

This is one of those candid shots as we gathered for the photographer and the family portrait that made me laugh with happiness.

The Bride and the Sisters

A bit closer

The Groom, the Bride, and the Parents. Lovely.

The Hora was performed

This is the name of Sam's band, which played for our dancing pleasure for a while before the DJ let Sam get back to his party.  Excellent fun!  And very descriptive of the entire wonderful celebration of bonding.

As you can see, I did put my camera away, so there's a lot of stuff that's not shown, but you get the idea.  A memorable time and a really great wedding.