Virginia, The Flower Girl

Thomas's cousin, Shannon Mack, got married this fall and Virginia was honored to be asked to serve as flower girl in the wedding.  Shannon married a lovely Southern gentleman, Brett Casey, who just happens to be from Charlotte, North Carolina.  Shannon will be moving there after her honeymoon, so she has gotten to be friends with my sister who also lives in Charlotte (along with Thomas's other cousin, Beau, who already has befriended my sister).  Needless to say, it is starting to get hard to unravel these Neeland/Mack friendships and connections!  I was just thrilled that Liz could make the trip to Connecticut too so we got a chance to visit with her and her husband, Dave.

The wedding weekend was a huge success.  Virginia attended the bridesmaids' luncheon, where Shannon gave her a lovely engraved jewelry box filled with all sorts of fun kid jewelry.  We were then off to get manicures and pedicures with the bridesmaids - Virginia's first visit to the nail salon!  She totally ate it up.

Posing with the bride and her bridal party:

Someone was in manicure heaven!:

Friday night was the rehearsal dinner in downtown Stamford.  Virginia desperately wanted to make a toast, but then froze under pressure and exhaustion when she got the microphone.  I'll spare readers the details, but the toast did not end well!  But we certainly entertained everyone, I suppose.

With the bride at the rehearsal dinner (pre-toast meltdown):

Saturday was filled with getting dolled up for the big afternoon wedding.  But we made sure to spend a little time with family and also set off on search of some good Connecticut pizza!

With Dave, Liz, Beau, and Jessica at a hole in the wall pizza joint - the best kind:

And then it was off to the wedding!  Virginia loved her beautiful dress and tolerated the crown of flowers on her head.  We were afraid she wouldn't wear it, but she completely rose to the occasion.  She got to ride in the limo with the wedding party to the church, and she was mesmerized by the lights inside.  She called the limo her "spaceship" and announced we were "ready for blastoff" when the limo started moving.

Strike a pose:

She was so proud to be dolled up like the big girls:

Spaceship limo ready for blastoff:

The wedding ceremony was truly beautiful, and Virginia fulfilled her flower girl duties with grace and charm.  Virginia was accompanied down the aisle by Brett's nephew, Colin, as the ring bearer.  Colin was a little younger than Virginia, and there was some question whether he would make it down the very long aisle in the Gothic cathedral.  In the end, he and Virginia grabbed hands and powered down it like pros.  We breathed a sigh of relief!

It was a "three lollipop wedding!"  All the sugar limits went out the door as we tried to keep Virginia quiet through the ceremony - Catholic services are a little longer than we Methodists are used to!

With Mom outside the gorgeous church:

The kids after the service - Virginia's "twin" cousin Jones and the ring bearer Colin:

After the church service, we went to a reception like no other!  It was held at the Westchester Country Club, which was beyond impressive.  There was a candy station and photo booth, among other surprises.  The kids joined us for the cocktail hour, and we then got some much-needed adult time when the kids went upstairs with a babysitter during the dinner and dancing.  Thanks, Aunt Ellen, for hiring that sitter!  Virginia, Colin, and Jones apparently had a blast, while we danced the night away with a very fun band.

The Charlotte contingent, Dave, Liz, Jessica & Beau:

Sisters, sisters, there were never such devoted sisters:

These boys might have gotten into some trouble over the weekend.  No comment:

Doug and Thomas, with a happy and relieved father-of-the-bride, David Mack:

Virginia and Colin conked out with the babysitter before the night was over:

We finished the wedding weekend with a Sunday brunch at the hotel with family and friends.  Then it was back to California!

Virginia adored cousin Beau.  She spent most of the brunch negotiating with Beau and his wife Jessica about how she was going to take a plane flight by herself to Charlotte to visit them!

I got my one photo with the bride and groom.  Don't they look happy to be married?!:

Virginia with Aunt Meg: