monique and tim say i do

It's Brooke again...reporting on our Sunday wedding at the Indiana State Museum (ISM). (And an immediate special thanks to Susan Ham at the ISM for always making our lives so easy! We love working with you!) So here it goes: two of our favorite families of all time gathered to join the hands of one's daughter & one's son, who are one of our favorite couples of all time, at one of our favorite venues, an outdoor wedding on a gorgeous day...IT CANNOT GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS. I know that we go on and on about our couples and the weddings, but I am not exaggerating when I say that this couple & their families are the kindest, most generous, giving, genuine, caring, loving, and FUNNY people!!!!! Before we had even arrived on the wedding day, we had been invited in a hand-written note and several times in person to please be the guests at Monique's parents' home in Florida for a vacation in the near future. Monique's dad made me laugh so hard throughout the entire evening that my face hurt at the end of the day. Both moms were so sweet. The wedding party was so willing to do anything the couple wanted (which isn't always the case). And....Monique and Tim. Although they had a BEAUTIFUL wedding, that's not what I'm going to talk about. They were there on Sunday to celebrate their love & vow to be together forever. It was so genuine and sincere. Monique's speech at the reception started as (something along the lines of...) "As people talked to us about carrying cascading flowers, whitening our teeth, and finding the perfect dress for the wedding, all we really cared about was having the right people here with us today." I teared up many times during the day, including during her speech & Tim's speech, as did Dan, which really rarely happens. And the reception....it turns out that Tim's dad has somewhat of an obsession with Kelly Clarkson and turns into a DANCING MACHINE when her music is played. Talk about cheeks hurting from laughing so hard! (See the last photo.) It was absolutely the funniest (in a good way) dancing I have ever seen from a parent, ever. I know this is getting long but I have to also mention that in leu of a wedding cake, Monique and Tim chose to feed each other (as well as their guests) stracciatella gellato with berries and whipped cream - one of their favorites (one of Dan's favorites too since his photography internship in Italy in 2002). So, not only was it special and SO unique, but it is rare that Dan and I even eat at a wedding...and it is unheard of to have dessert/cake. A waitress came up to us in the middle of the reception with two gelattos and said "It was requested by the bride that I hand deliver these to the two of you & you are required to eat them." I mean, I'm telling you.....we have never been treated so well & it brings me to tears writing this to think that we were invited to share in such a powerful and meaningful wedding celebration. We felt like the most important guests there...as did every other guest in the room. Monique and Tim, we can't thank you enough (although we will keep trying). When you do make it into town again, we are taking YOU out to dinner!!!!!!! Much love to you and your families always!