62. October 9th, 2010 Picture.

{Kara and my Aunt Ceil walking down the aisle!  Her dress was SO beautiful.}

{Kara and Andy saying their vows.  The church was so pretty, all planked wood, stained glass and natural light.  Simply beautiful.}

{Kara's sister Erin as the Maid of Honor, the colors were navy and lime green, which was such a pretty combination!  In the background you can see Uncle Dave and Aunt Pat doing a reading.}

{They're married!}

{Ratty and I at the reception.  It was on Ocean Edge's front lawn under a spectacular tent.  The cocktail hour was just outside the tent, where it was a little breezy, hence the coat.  Cousin Rich kept making jokes that it looked like I was going skiing, but at least I was warm!}

{Shot of the reception.}

{Causal croquet court on the front lawn too.  You can see a group of people playing to the left.  There were 3 other weddings going on that day, so there were LOTS of people around.  Except for the bar inside the main house and the cars in the parking lot, you'd never know there were so many people there that day.  The tent was nice and private and the service was amazing!  As a former wedding planner, I really pay attention to the little details.}

{Kara with the Aunt (just my mom) and Uncles.}

{Tim and Becky sat next to us at dinner.  Obviously we found ways to entertain ourselves while waiting for our turn at the buffet.}

{Me and Ratty.}

{The happy couple!}

{My brother Ronny rocking it on the dancefloor.  I think he looks like Kevin Bacon, my mom says Clifton Webb.  Go ahead and google Mr. Webb, we had to.  And no, Ronny doesn't look anything like him.}

{The wedding cake.  I think love of nautical themes must run in the Downey blood.}

{Me and Steph!  Isn't she so cute?!}

{Me and Cousin Sue.}

{Cousin Alison on the dancefloor.}

{Ron and Sybil dancing up a storm.  The band was REALLY good.}

{Some of us cousins.  By some I mean, um, probably 8% of us.}

{I THINK this was a conga line...}

{Me and the lovely bride!}

{All the Downeys!}

{Me, Rich and Kathy.}

{Ratty, on the ground, doing 'a little bit softer now....'}

{I am pretty sure Kara had the greatest day ever.}

{It was SUCH a great wedding!}

{Everyone loves Eddie!}

{Quick shot with some cousins.}

{Confusion ensues at the after party.}

The wedding was just so much fun.  The ceremony was so sweet and thoughtful, and the reception was a blast!  The location was simply spectacular, and the food was out of this world.  The cocktail hour was filled with shrimp cocktail, oysters, clams and drinks while the dinner was stations serving everything from lobster to shrimp to pasta.  It was a truly magical day and I was so happy to be apart of it.  

Thankfully I brought flip flops because the second I stepped out onto that lawn my heels drove straight into the ground.  I always bring flips flops because I love to dance, and well, heels aren't really conducive to lots of dancing.  There was a great band there that played lots of recently popular songs, as well as the party favorites, like Bryan Adams.  I may have freaked a little when he came on, I love him.  No one gets it.

There was LOTS of partying back at the hotel, hours and hours of it.  I ended up crashing around 1:30am, which was considered early on all accounts.  My Uncle Paul ended up staying up until 3:30am drinking in his room with Sue, Phil and Neil - Go Uncle Paul!  So bummed I missed that scene, but I think it was for the best that I put myself to bed.  After a long, fantastic day of family and fun, I was beat!  Can't wait for the next Downey wedding!  Erin?  Liz?  Anyone want to claim that one now?  Carolyn literally got mad at me when I didn't catch the bouquet at the wedding.  She had pushed her way to the front, camera in hand, ready to apparently take a picture of me catching the bouquet.  I stood in the back row and didn't even reach for it while girls tore it to shreds.  Carolyn was bummed saying that she needed another good party to look forward to, I believe the exact quote was 'what are we going to do next summer?!'  I promised her that if there wasn't a wedding on the books that I'd throw a party for the cousins, that seemed to settle the issue.  We are all just looking for another reason to get together and have a big party - we're just so much fun and we love spending time together.  

Congratulations Andy and Kara!