An Historic Amusement Park, a Wedding, Cheese Curds, and the Hokey Pokey

Who believes it's possible to meet your soul mate in the eighth grade? When I was that age, I could barely talk to a boy. I didn't have my first date or even kiss a boy until I was sixteen, and that relationship certainly didn't last past my junior year of high school. I dated many boys over the years--kissed a fair number of them, too--and it wasn't until I was in my early thirties that I managed to meet my soul mate in Ted.

But some people do meet "The One" when they're still quite young, and we were at the wedding of just such a couple this past weekend. Ted's cousin met her husband-to-be when they were in the eighth grade, and the relationship has survived all these years, even though they lived in different states after high school and went to different colleges. It even survived the semester she spent abroad in Italy. (I know I would have been tempted by those darkly handsome Italian men!) Just imagine growing old with someone you also grew up with. It's a beautiful thought.

Here are some snapshots from the weekend.

When we got to the hotel, we found a goodie basket waiting for us with coffee from Door County, a bottle of wine, homemade chocolate chip cookies, a book of Irish verse, chocolate, gummie candy, a CD of the couple's favorite music, and miscellaneous sundries. Seriously, I think I love these people.


The basket included this vintage postcard of the Men's Quadrangle at Northwestern University. What a great addition to my postcard collection. And I think I like this tradition of guests getting gifts!

There was some free time the morning of the wedding, so we made a quick trip to Bay Beach Amusement Park, a century-old park that still offers free admission and rides for 25 or 50 cents. Um, the photo above is a self-portrait of us in front of the bay. There's water out there, honestly.

The Tilt-a-Whirl at Bay Beach Amusement Park.

Ted and me with my future inlaws, Bob and Rachel. What a handsome group, although I missed the memo that we were all to wear blue that day. :-)

Now this is how a wedding should be--leave the hokey pokey and the chicken dance to the kids! Kids were very much a part of the wedding, from the March of the Cousins at the church in the processional to hanging out all through the reception. At the reception, the kids all got to wear funny hats.On display at the reception were photographs and mementos of the bride and groom, including ticket stubs for concerts and pictures from homecoming.

Oops! I suppose I should share a photo of the happy couple. Here they are at church, greeting their well wishers. The dress and veil were gorgeous! The bride's grandfather blowing bubbles outside the church.

I felt a bit wistful at this point, because when Ted and I get married, we won't have any of my grandparents there, or my dad, or Ted's mom. So many people that we've loved over the years are no longer with us. But I'm so happy that Ted got to meet my dad and grandpa before they died, and spend some real time with them. Here's the bride's father at the end of the evening. This man is a dancing machine.On our way back home, we stopped for an A&W Rootbeer Float and Fried Cheese Curds--you gotta love Wisconsin. As if we didn't already completely gorge ourselves this weekend between the BBQs and buffets. Ugh, time for a few more situps.

All in all it was a great time, and I'm glad I got to meet a few more of Ted's extended family members. We hope to see you all again soon!