Ali and Joel Kooger's Wedding!!

I absolutely love weddings! I love them! On Friday, July 28, 2006, Alison Handy and Joel Kooger got married! It was a beautiful wedding and Ali looked stunning!
Kira, my personal hair stylist and make-up artist, came over early in the morning to do my hair and make-up because Lynn and I had several lists of things to do before the 4:00 wedding. Kira always saves me when it comes to special events because, as most of you know, I'm not very good at the whole dressing up thing. I did manage to shave my legs though! Kira even plucked my eyebrows... a first. I don't know if that is something one should publish on a blog, but I think I just did it anyways.
Lynn and I went to Handy's parents house in the morning to bring the corsages and to pick up the boutinneers and to say hello and do Handy's bidding. She had her make-up and hair done and she already looked amazing! There's something about brides, eh. Brides and new mothers. They just radiate joy and are the most beautiful women ever!
So Lynn and I hung out at the Handy's and did odd jobs and ate and talked and laughed and enjoyed ourselves and everyone there. We acquired another list of things to do and so we left to meet the women at Lynn's house for some pre-ceremony pictures. Our task there was to play with the flower girls and we were more than willing to oblige. When Ali stepped out of the car I was beaming. She look incredible. She was so beautiful and joyful and excited. She kept on giggling and saying "I'm getting married!!! I'm getting married!!!" It was so exciting!
We then ran off to the church to get everything ready for the ceremony. There was so much to do before the whole thing started and everything came together nicely.
The cermony ran smoothly as well - that was the only remotely stressful part. If anything had gone wrong then it would have been my fault. As the flower girls walked down towards "Uncle Joel" and gave him a "squishy" hug and kiss on the cheek I had tears in my eyes! They were adorable!
There really is something amazing about seeing a bride just before walking down the aisle. The doors are closed and she's linked arms with her father. The finishing touches are made to her veil and her dress and she takes one last deep breath before the doors are opened and she begins down the aisle to meet her soon-to-be husband. Seeing Ali's face and watching all the emotions that flashed in her eyes (all positive) as the signal was given for the doors to open and the look of excitement and confidence that rested there as she took her first step towards her new life... it was incredible. Her dad had tears in his eyes as he walked his baby down the aisle but he couldn't have been happier either.
The ceremony was short and sweet. Everything was wonderful!!! The first thing Ali Kooger said after walking out of the church was... "It was perfect!" And it was.
We rushed to Lynn's house for more pictures and to Fort Langley before walking onto the ferry and heading to the reception. It was so much fun! The food was delicious! I even got to dance with my brother Joel. I'm not gonna lie, I think my brothers are the funnest people to dance with. I don't even want to know what we look like when we dance, but we have so much fun that I don't even care. He even dipped me... and my head almost hit the ground. We had the dorkiest looks on our faces the entire time and we were so dramatic... I loved it!!
Yup... the wedding was perfect!