Sunday, July 2, 2017

They are hitched

Daughter in law and Son Dawn and Randy at Ryan Dam Montana on their wedding day
Dawn and Randy, officially hitched now
Our son Randy made it official last Saturday and brought his fiancĂ©e Dawn into our family, we now have a new Daughter in law and we couldn't be happier for them. We flew to Montana as you already know and here is my outlook on their wedding day along with a few pictures. 

Ryan Dam near Great Falls Montana
The scene of the crime wedding was held at a beautiful spot Ryan Island Park in Great Falls, Montana, which is situated within view of Ryan Dam.

View of bridge over Missouri River going to Ryan Island park Montana
To get on the island you have to walk across a bridge that will sway while you walk if you are not careful. On my first trip across the bridge it began moving so bad that I almost thought the beer in Montana must be a lot stronger than I am accustomed to, but after we actually hit the island I found out that I was still capable of walking, and also of  drinking one beer with the brides Dad without issue.

our son Randy standing at the bridge on Ryan Island Montana
The ceremony began with Randy standing at the end of the swaying bridge while the brides Dad walked her across, this little situation was called "The Reveal", "The First Look", "the bride not wanting the groom to see her staggering on the bridge" or something along the line.

our son Randy looking at his fiancee Dawn and her Dan on the bridge at Ryan Island Montana
Woody (Dawns Dad) and Dawn made it safely across the bridge, and Randy could hardly wait for them to arrive so he could turn around to see her.

our son Randy and his fiancee Dawn standing together on Ryan Island Montana
This was going to be Randy's first view of Dawn decked out in her wedding gown, and man wasn't she beautiful. I know the pictures are a little blurry but she did look amazing and the look on his face said that Randy was really proud of her.

a shotgun shell boutonniere made for Randy and Dawns wedding
They made these little boutonnieres for the guys out of shotgun shells, it started out as a joke "Shotgun Wedding" but Cindy was so happy at the possibility of another grandbaby that they had to tell her the truth, there is no "bun in the oven"

This is a picture of my boutonniere (see I told you a purple and gray striped tie wouldn't go with my shirt)

Cindy began the process of sticking the boutonniere to my shirt. Have you ever seen a proud Mama with her eyes full of tears stick a 4 inch needle through a shotgun shell while holding it to her husbands chest?

Well I'm here to tell you that it doesn't work, no she didn't stick herself, but she did stick me, I received a little hole in my chest right next to my defibrillator.

At this point I had to yell, "Ow, Ow, Ow, Ouch!" She looked at me embarrassed and through gritted teeth said "Stop it Jimmy", I told her to hold on a minute, as I looked down my shirt to view the damage, she said "Oh you were serious, I thought you were messing with me", I bet this was my payback for the napping incident on the plane.

Tim did step in and relieve his Mom, as good as Tim is in tying neckties, he is just as good at sticking needles through shotgun shell boutonniers.

my wife Cindy with our Daughter in law Dawn
Cindy with Dawn before the ceremony

our son Randy and my wife Cindy standing together on Ryan Island Montana
Randy with Mama before the wedding

our son Randy being kissed by his mom just before his wedding
A Kiss from Mama saying I love you Son

Before the ceremony, during setup it was decided to lay a paper/cloth aisle runner on the ground for Dawn to walk on, her Dad was supposed to escort her down the aisle on this runner to give her away, it was very pretty and worked real well for just a few steps.

Dawn was walking arm in arm with her Dad, dragging a three foot train behind her, I was afraid the train would bunch up the aisle runner, but it flowed perfectly, what wasn't perfect was the decision to walk a bride down an aisle runner that was lying on top of thick grass.

Dawns feet sank into the grass, pushing the aisle runner down and causing her to step on her own dress, she stopped, adjusted her dress by pulling it from underneath her toes, and began again.

The third time this happened, she turned to look at her Dad with her face reddened, she smiled at everyone, said "what the hell" handed the bouquet to her Dad, pulled up the front of her gown, and marched down the aisle, I was kind of proud to see her do this, it was a lot better than falling on her face.

The wedding was beautiful, the ceremony was really nice and at the end Randy walked away with a wonderful memory of the day he married the love of his life.

Dawn and Randy standing for a picture from Ryan Island with Ryan Dam behind them
Presenting the bride and groom, Dawn and Randy at the beginning of their married life together.

Randy and Dawn with their wedding party posing for a picture with Ryan Dam in the background
The wedding party

Randy and Dawns wedding party looking at the maid of honor spouting instructions
And before the wedding when Maid of Honorzilla thought she was the one in charge, I'm probably going to be in trouble for going there.....so we'll talk about this later.

All in all the wedding was great, it was a perfect day and all the glitches were small ones, you always have to go through little glitches to make a ceremony like this uniquely your own, and now Dawn is officially one of us, and we are proud to have her.

43 comments:

  1. I would have missed that wedding, that bridge would scare the crap outta me. Looks like a great time!

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    1. Hey Joe, they had a sign warning no more than six at a time which most of the people ignored, it really got to swaying then.

      We did have a good time, didn't linger on the bridge though...

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  2. Yes, you were right about the tie!

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful day with us. The bride looked gorgeous, and I had to smile at the way she coped with that runner and then proved her capability by hitching the dress and carrying on to the alter. Good on you, girl!

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    1. Hello Valerie, I had to grin when she did that, I half expected her to step completely off of it and carry on, but marching up the aisle holding her gown up worked really well.

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  3. What a beautiful and unique wedding. No rain on an outdoor wedding makes up for any of the other little glitches. The runner mishap was predictable on grass. I'm surprised the people who sold it to the bride didn't warn them. I was in the wedding business for over twenty years and I never, ever saw a more clever idea for a boutonniere. You have a lovely family!

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    1. Hi Jean, I'm no expert on this and I did question it while it was being laid out, I was told only the bride was to walk on it and it would be reused at the reception (which was outdoors also), needless to say it was not used there.

      I thought the boutonnieres were a really good idea, Thank you Jean I am proud of our little family.

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  4. Love the boutonnieres!! When our daughter & son-in-law married, their cake knife broke in half.

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    1. Hi Fran, I bet the knife breaking in half got a bunch of laughs between them, and they will remember that from now on.

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  5. May they have a marriage as lovely as their wedding. As to that bridge....yikes!

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    1. Thank you Delores, hopefully the swaying bridge will be the most difficult thing they have to cross.

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  6. Very cool! I love that idea of "the reveal" with the bride and her dad crossing the bridge. Great pics, Jimmy. Best wishes to the lovely couple.
    Whose creative idea were the shotgun boutonnieres? Or is it a Montana thing?

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    1. Hey Abby, The Reveal was a new one for me it worked out really well, I think the shotgun shell idea was worked up between Randy and Tim, it seems like something they would come up with to me.

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  7. Looks like a wonderful wedding. They look like such a happy couple.

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    1. Hello Stephen, Randy and Dawn are good for one another, their wedding was really a happy event.

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  8. Handsome couple and handsome wedding. Loved those boutonnieres but sorry Cindy is going to have to wait regulation time for a new grandchild.
    I'd have had to have seen the wedding via live streaming though for there is no way I'd have crossed that bridge. Sheesh.

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    1. Thank you Patti, yes you are right Cindy will have to wait at least the regulated time for a grandbaby here, although she would take one now :)

      That bridge was a problem for a few, the swaying motion really got to them, but the island was beautiful.

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  9. What a cute wedding. Looks like a country song.
    I like the bounonniers. My nephew did this in his wedding too.
    Great photos!
    Lisa

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    1. Hi Lisa, "Looks like a country song" I like that and I suppose it does ha ha, wasn't that a great idea for boutonnieres?

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  10. Even though it's blurry, I love that picture of them at the end of the bridge. I'm glad she said YES to that dress. It's beautiful on her! I also like those boutonnieres. Too bad you got stabbed! Karma and payback are both...well...you know what they are! You don't joke around with a germaphobe.

    Sorry, but I would have needed to watch the ceremony through binoculars from the mainland. No way could I have made myself go over that bridge. I guess I've seen "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" one too many times.

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    1. Hello Val, I'm hoping when they get their pictures from the photographer that they will have caught that shot, I was disappointed that one was blurry, but it still is one I like.

      Karma, yes I guess I had that one coming, I still have a red mark where I got poked, but I suppose she could have done it twice....Right?

      Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom ha ha that's funny I wish I had thought of that, it was a bit nerve wracking for a lot of folks, and also a sign that read "if you hear six short blasts please leave the island" If I heard one we were a goner.

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  11. Congradulation to the new couple and many more years to come...Coffee is on

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    1. Thank you Dora, I appreciate your kind words.

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  12. Congratulations! I've got to admit, my wife has to physically drag me to weddings if we're invited. Even then, I tend to sneak away and find the buffet table as soon as possible.

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    1. Thank you sir, the buffet table is always a great place to visit, even when you are forced to go.

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  13. Hello Jimmy - anyone with that name has to be fun. It was my dad's name and he was fun with a capital F. Anyway I popped over from River's blog to see if I was right and guess what- if the first post I've read is anything to go by you surely are a fun one with a fun family as well
    Will be back for another read later
    Take care
    Cathy

    Cathy @ Still Waters

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    1. Hello Cathy, with that name your Dad must have been a great man, seriously Thank you for the compliment I am honored to share his name.

      I think a lot of River and appreciate you stopping by for a visit, I look forward to hearing more from you really soon, I will stop by your blog soon.

      I am proud of my family and hope you enjoy your visits.

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  14. A beautiful wedding! everyone looks very nice and Dawn's dress is gorgeous. I like the thought of her hitching up that dress and marching down the aisle :)

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    1. Good morning River, thank you so much for the compliments, I too thought it was great when she did that, marching down the aisle with her dress hiked up worked much better than stumbling ha ha

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  15. What a hoot. We love Montana. That shotgun shell boutonnière was a clever idea.
    R

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    1. Hey Rick, this was our first visit to Montana and from the little we got to see it was really nice, the temperature was a lot cooler than what we were having in California, we really enjoyed that.

      The wedding was definitely a hoot, it came off really nice.

      Good to see you Rick.

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  16. How fun. What a lovely wedding.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

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    1. Hello Sandee, this was one of the most enjoyable weddings we have been to.

      A great day to you Lady.

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  17. Great photos and a fine looking crew! But that bridge........horrific!

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    1. Thank you Bijoux, I appreciate you so much. The bridge was strange you would be walking just fine then start staggering, my balance isn't the best anyways and I ended up having to hold onto both sides to keep from falling into the rails, had the rails not been there I would have been in the water. Most times the problem was others walking too fast causing it to sway.

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  18. It sounds like it was a wonderful wedding! Congratulations to the couple and to you for gaining a daughter-in-law with enough spunk to hike up her wedding dress to get to where she needed to be!

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    1. Yes you have to love the spunk she showed there, it was one of the best weddings I have ever been to.

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  19. That was a great wedding, they make a lovely couple. Congratulations and I want to wish them many, many, many years of happiness. You took great photos and the ones of Cindy with her son was very touching to me (being the mother of a son and remembering his wedding eight years ago), and the one with her daughter-in-law was lovely.

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    1. Thank you Denise, Cindy is really close to the kids, I am surprised there weren't more tears, she was really proud of both Randy and Dawn, I am happy that we got those pictures.

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  20. Congrats to all! I've walked across that bridge!! (used to live in Billings; visited Great Falls on vacation one year)

    I wish them many more wonderful years together!

    betty

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    1. Thank You Betty, I appreciate your kind words, that is a pretty island isn't it, the bridge gives you a funny feeling about half way when it starts swaying.

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  21. They catered my wedding last month and they were amazing! Don't overlook this gorgeous venue!! Seattle Wedding venues are something you have to check out in person. My family and friends could not stop talking about how good the food was and how sweet the staff was!

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