Memorable Moments

We have recently been involved in putting on two weddings. After the months of planning, it seemed that the weddings went by in a flash, and without photographs, I would have forgotten a lot that happened. However, certain moments stand out clearly in my memory and at the time they felt both emotional and meaningful. And they were often the totally spontaneous and unexpected moments. I thought it would be nice to blog about a few of them.

My daughter Emily got married in a beautiful, rustic outdoor setting. As her father was walking her down the aisle, her veil got caught in a tree branch and was yanked from her head. I jumped up from my seat and jammed it back on her head. As I straightened the veil, I was overcome with love for her and on impulse I took her face in my hands and kissed her. Then she continued down the aisle, calling out, "Thanks, Mom!" This sweet moment was well documented:

Another favorite memory was the young couple's first dance. Emily's fiance Nick was NOT known for dancing. As a surprise they secretly had their first dance choreographed by the award winning choreographer Kelly Todd. Several days of practice were involved. At the wedding, as the first dance began and Nick smoothly led Emily around the dance floor, I could hear the crowd gasping and saying "No" and "Wow" and "What?" When they went into their choreographed movements, the crowd burst into cheers and hoots. I was busy videotaping it, but a few photos show the fun:

And of course, it was wonderful to see how beautiful and happy Emily and Nick looked just after they were married:

Our son Matt married Christina a couple of months later. Several unplanned moments made wonderful memories for me:

At the rehearsal dinner on a boat, I tried to get the baby to
smile while two photographers captured parents and baby.

During formal family portraits, Ryan spontaneously
joined the Chavez family!

I finally managed to get a photograph of
all the Kee men!

Matt and Christina had a lovely first dance, but a later dance with them and their baby was incredibly cute and sweet:

And of course, it was wonderful to see the newly married couple so happy and beautiful:

This got me thinking about my other daughter's wedding in 2004. Again, only certain moments stand out in memory. One again involved a veil. During formal photographs of the bride, taken on an outside, upper deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the wind suddenly picked up and Kelly almost lost her veil. She was laughing her head off while she tried to get it back under control.

Of course, Kelly and John, competitive swing dancers, put on a fabulous first dance:

And they too looked happy and fabulous after marrying:

Reviewing one's happy memories is good for one's mental health!