Wedding!

Shelley & Ryan's Wedding

(photo album)

Saturday morning, Erin and I headed to Waukon, IA, to the much-anticipated Kubitz/Mahannah wedding. This wedding has been over a year in the making, and Shelley and Ryan being close friends, we've got to see the whole process unfold. Additionally, I had the honor of being the HEAD usher (keeping Shelley's 3 nephews in check :)

Before heading to Iowa, we (mostly Erin) cleaned up the downstairs bathroom and prepared it for a one-day kitty jail cell for Mr. Fluffy Face - he has been doing his business in places he shouldn't be, and based on advice from several friends and the vet, we got him his own litter box and put him in the bathroom while we were gone so that he could get used to it. (We think it worked, so far anyway).

Off to Iowa - I missed two turns on the way down but nothing critical. Arriving in Rossville, IA about 12:45, I headed downstairs and changed into my tuxedo. (tuxes are GREAT! I wish I could wear one all the time!) After several rounds of pictures, chatting with friends and family, the moment had arrived. Myself and the nephews escorted people to their seats, the grandparents and parents were escorted in, and nephew Kyle and I rolled out the "white carpet" that Shelley and her dad walked down. What a wonderful wedding - a beautiful little small town church, lots of friends and family, a wonderful singer, and just an all-around great day.

The reception was equally well-done. I always look forward to smaller town weddings because usually the food is mostly home-grown and this was no exception. One particular great idea was that they had cheese curds as appetizers - whoever came up with that one was brilliant! Special bottles of wine that everyone who wanted one could have, with a special S&R label. Little candy bags the kids could fill up with candy of their choice, and glow bracelets for the kids (I love the idea of having something special for all the kids to play with!) Open bar complete with a starting keg of Leinie's and anything else you could think of, and a wonderful meal complete with pulled turkey and pork, salad, bacon green beans, and dinner rolls. AND THEN, later in the evening at 10pm for those who were still there, a full compliment of delivered pizza for a snack. Kudos to Shelley, Ryan, and their parents for such great planning - they know how to put on a party!

We stayed with friends Paul & Anne (and Lukas) at "Grandma's Attic", a suite of two rooms, kitchen, and living room, wonderfully decorated and well-kept up. This morning we had breakfast at the S and D cafe, and all had great big breakfasts that came to $25 total for the 4 of us (gotta love small-town cafes). After dropping off the tux and saying a last goodbye to everyone, we headed out, making a quick stop in Decorah for coffee (a little adventure finding a coffee shop but well worth it) and headed home to release Mr. FF from kitty jail.