here comes the bride

isn't it amazing that weddings take weeks, months, even years to plan and yet, it all comes down to one day. in a blink of an eye...it is a memory. this time it was kyle's brother, clayton, and jessica's turn. we have enjoyed helping them plan their special day and were honored to be a part of it. kyle was a groomsman, I was a personal attendant, and miles was the ring bearer. at nine months old he was hardly going to walk down the aisle carrying a crisp white pillow. good thing clayt & jess are huge john deere fans and just happened to have an adorable little wagon handy to transport said ring bearer down the aisle. it was a bit of a challenge to come up with a way to get a squirrely little guy to sit still and (more importantly) avoid toppling out of the shallow wagon. many things went through my head: duct tape, velcro, a dog harness, etc. until I finally settled on a bath tub seat. now, this could not be just any ordinary primary-colored baby aparatus. it had to blend in and not take away from the decor. it's a good thing I have watched many an hgtv show. I scoured the local used kids store for a bath seat (which then got a long soak in some bleach), collected a bag of goodies from the fabric store and got to work on transforming the seat into something wedding worthy. a swatch of black fabric, 15 ft of grosgrain ribbon, and oodles of hot glue later...I don't think it turned out half bad...check it out and let me know what you think.

ANYHOO...the rehearsal was on thursday evening. everything went smoothly and miles thought he was hot stuff getting pulled around by some doting young ladies. after everyone mastered their role for the big day, we sent miles home with auntie beth and kyle & I drove out to the zumbro falls golf course for dinner. the broasted chicken and fish were scrumptious! thanks to randy (kyle's dad) for hosting...it was such fun!!

miles was dressed and ready for his close up on saturday at noon. we took a slew of pictures (imagine that) and he put up with the whole she-bang quite happily. I packed him up in the car around 2pm and rode around town while he took a little snooze. we were back and ready for the big moment at 3:30pm. the ceremony was beautiful and miles rode down the aisle like a dream. there were plenty of oohs and aahs from the crowd. jessica was GORGEOUS and clayt cleans up pretty nicely, too ;) we managed to time everything just perfectly so that miles could guzzle down a bottle during the ceremony and shimmy back into the wagon for his exit. his full belly caused him to look a little loungy - but by then he was an old pro!

thank you to auntie beth & uncle seth for taking miles with them to the reception so that kyle & I could join the wedding party for a drink at whiskey bones roadhouse. the sun was setting and they took some fun pictures with a quarry in the background.

the reception was held at la quinta inn - the table decor was lovely and we all feasted on a yummy ham and potato dinner. miles had a seat at the head table with mommy & daddy, but he preferred to chill in his stroller with beth & seth!

miles was able to sneek in some dancing and giggles with grandpa before his auntie jen came around 8:30pm to take him home to bed. she was such a life-saver!

we continued to party with the bride and groom until midnight! a special shout out to sober cabbie beth...one of many "perks" to being pregnant, right?!

the kroening ladies

the kroening men

we woke up to a winter wonderland on sunday morning...argh. it was tough to get up and moving after losing an hour of sleep, but we headed out to the gift opening at clayt & jess' house. clayt was especially over-joyed when he unwrapped his favorite gift...the shamwow! you know...that annoying tv infomercial?! too funny. jess' cousins - brittany, trisha, and mandy - continued to dote on miles and he soaked up every moment. it was a wonderful weekend full of family, friends, and lifelong memories. congratulations to the NEW mr. & mrs. kroening!!!