But I must augment that blog title with a statement that this dust is truly in the wind (in that Bob is full of adventure and creativity!). Bob and Heather were married May 28th (Daniel writes this craftily as part of his secret ploy to be able to Google search all important dates so he doesn't have to memorize them). It was a beautiful wedding, but let's rewind to a couple days before the wedding to capture more of the story. The bridesmaids had all ordered their dresses from a company in China to reap quite a savings. Three of the dresses arrived, but Joo's never came and the company was unable to be contacted. Heather went ahead and picked out a separate dress for Joo since it would have been impossible to match the other bridesmaids' dresses at that point. And then... two days before the wedding, the dress came.
Unfortunately, there were a couple other things that did NOT come on time. Namely, the best man and one of the bridesmaids. Bad weather had forced airlines to cancel the best man's flight and reroute Kristen (the bridesmaid) all over the U.S. So, Aunt Bonnie was a stand-in during the rehearsal.
Joo and I did make it for the rehearsal although that was in question for awhile also. We had let the gas tank get pretty low in order to make good time (at the time it was rational), and then were trapped on a stretch of back-country roads by the time we started looking. After our gas light came on, we passed three consecutive exits with no gas station signs and Joo started to question my logic about waiting to fill up.
I realized I had probably made a bad call, about the same time I was reminded that the same thing had happened when Chris Longenecker and I were driving out to get things ready for his wedding. The moral: Having gas before a wedding is a good thing.
The rehearsal dinner was held in a beautiful botanical gardens near the church in Richmond, Virginia. Cousin Laura was a bit bored at times (frustrated, at right in the picture below)...
... but she was soothed by the captivating fountain.
The wedding day itself ran incredibly smoothly. The best man drove through the night to arrive on time and Kristen made it in time to enjoy a morning of pampering (the bridesmaids went to get manicures, pedicures, and folicures or whatever kind of cure is for the hair).
Stacey King played the piano beautifully, although she probably wondered how creative she would have to get when the dual-footwashing ceremony stretched out for about 15 verses of Will You Let Me Be Your Servant.
Uncle Duane and Aunt Marilyn combined forces to pastor the wedding; unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them; I suppose we'll have to wait on Heather's official pictures. In the meantime, another picture of the beautiful women in my life...
Kristen (shown below) had been Heather's roommate for awhile in Arizona and so they reminisced of old days as Heather prepares for her first ever male roommate.
Another big surprise was Grandma's decision to overcome all physical inconveniences and attend her final granddaughter's wedding. One of Heather's biggest motivations for moving out to Virginia these past two years has been to spend quality time with Grandma so it was touching to see Grandma make it.
For the children, Heather and Bob designed a unique little children's story halfway through the wedding. It was probably much-needed after the scary stories Marla had been telling on the bench outside the sanctuary. Notice the change in Ella's face before and after the story.
Just kidding of course, Marla did a wonderful job of helping out in crucial moments, as did the Groff boys (and many other people who aren't pictured). Lady readers, I do believe this one is single (the one on the left that is). Ben, feel free to comment if otherwise :)
Here's the groom (Bob) and his best man (Brett)...
Cousin Crystal...
Parents of the bridegroom...
One of the creative features of the wedding reception was the method of getting Heather and Bob to kiss. Rather than tapping the glasses with spoons, a table had to stand up and sing a song with the word "love" in it. Try this experiment really quickly. Try to think of the first five songs that come to your mind with the word love in it.
Were at least 1 or 2 of them Beatles songs? That seemed to be the case with our table anyway. After the wedding reception, Bob and Heather had one more surprise.
Rather than ride away in a fancy car, they chose to zip off on a tandem bicycle. :)
The rest of the evening was a fun blend of the two sides of my family (and Bob's as well). Since Joo and my wedding reception had been held in PA and VA, this was the first time that I had seen many of my Mom's and Dad's side interact with each other. Here Joo holds Baby Ruth.
So, with some minor mishaps in the days leading up to the wedding, it was a beautiful day of celebration. And, as I said in my toast, it's an older brother's delight and relief to see his little sis get married to someone who will truly respect and love her. Welcome to the family, Bob!
Unfortunately, there were a couple other things that did NOT come on time. Namely, the best man and one of the bridesmaids. Bad weather had forced airlines to cancel the best man's flight and reroute Kristen (the bridesmaid) all over the U.S. So, Aunt Bonnie was a stand-in during the rehearsal.
Joo and I did make it for the rehearsal although that was in question for awhile also. We had let the gas tank get pretty low in order to make good time (at the time it was rational), and then were trapped on a stretch of back-country roads by the time we started looking. After our gas light came on, we passed three consecutive exits with no gas station signs and Joo started to question my logic about waiting to fill up.
I realized I had probably made a bad call, about the same time I was reminded that the same thing had happened when Chris Longenecker and I were driving out to get things ready for his wedding. The moral: Having gas before a wedding is a good thing.
The rehearsal dinner was held in a beautiful botanical gardens near the church in Richmond, Virginia. Cousin Laura was a bit bored at times (frustrated, at right in the picture below)...
... but she was soothed by the captivating fountain.
The wedding day itself ran incredibly smoothly. The best man drove through the night to arrive on time and Kristen made it in time to enjoy a morning of pampering (the bridesmaids went to get manicures, pedicures, and folicures or whatever kind of cure is for the hair).
Stacey King played the piano beautifully, although she probably wondered how creative she would have to get when the dual-footwashing ceremony stretched out for about 15 verses of Will You Let Me Be Your Servant.
Uncle Duane and Aunt Marilyn combined forces to pastor the wedding; unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of them; I suppose we'll have to wait on Heather's official pictures. In the meantime, another picture of the beautiful women in my life...
Kristen (shown below) had been Heather's roommate for awhile in Arizona and so they reminisced of old days as Heather prepares for her first ever male roommate.
Another big surprise was Grandma's decision to overcome all physical inconveniences and attend her final granddaughter's wedding. One of Heather's biggest motivations for moving out to Virginia these past two years has been to spend quality time with Grandma so it was touching to see Grandma make it.
For the children, Heather and Bob designed a unique little children's story halfway through the wedding. It was probably much-needed after the scary stories Marla had been telling on the bench outside the sanctuary. Notice the change in Ella's face before and after the story.
Just kidding of course, Marla did a wonderful job of helping out in crucial moments, as did the Groff boys (and many other people who aren't pictured). Lady readers, I do believe this one is single (the one on the left that is). Ben, feel free to comment if otherwise :)
Here's the groom (Bob) and his best man (Brett)...
Cousin Crystal...
Parents of the bridegroom...
One of the creative features of the wedding reception was the method of getting Heather and Bob to kiss. Rather than tapping the glasses with spoons, a table had to stand up and sing a song with the word "love" in it. Try this experiment really quickly. Try to think of the first five songs that come to your mind with the word love in it. 
Were at least 1 or 2 of them Beatles songs? That seemed to be the case with our table anyway. After the wedding reception, Bob and Heather had one more surprise.
Rather than ride away in a fancy car, they chose to zip off on a tandem bicycle. :)
The rest of the evening was a fun blend of the two sides of my family (and Bob's as well). Since Joo and my wedding reception had been held in PA and VA, this was the first time that I had seen many of my Mom's and Dad's side interact with each other. Here Joo holds Baby Ruth.
So, with some minor mishaps in the days leading up to the wedding, it was a beautiful day of celebration. And, as I said in my toast, it's an older brother's delight and relief to see his little sis get married to someone who will truly respect and love her. Welcome to the family, Bob!
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