Groomsmen: Scott & Colin

As I did with Katherine and Kimberly, I will be doing a dual post for my brothers, Scott and Colin. I know, I know... they deserve their own posts, but I am running out of summer!

Scott is my older brother. He is Tisha's husband and Braeden's papa. He is a special education and theatre arts teacher in Tyler Consolidated High School in Tyler County, West Virginia. He is also very busy as a coach. He coaches both soccer and basketball. He is a true soccer enthusiast. Every time he visits, Chris joins the horde playing FIFA on XBox 360. Scott and I both went to the same college and sang in concert chorale together. Here he is pictured rocking out to Rock Band. Always an entertainer.


Colin will be a freshman in high school this year. Like Scott, he has a quick wit. Colin loves to sports, singing, and (of course) the ladies. He likes to read and is a terrific writer. Who knows what will come of Colin. Perhaps a future collumnist!?!


My brothers are 17 or so years apart, but they have similar sense of humor. It's really scary to see how alike they are. It must be in the genes!

I am really glad that Chris decided to include Scott and Colin as groomsmen. Be prepared to see them whip out their fancy dance moves. Look out world!!

Flower girl: Braeden

Our flower girl is my niece Braeden. She is currently 2 1/2 years old and residing with her parents, Scott and Tisha, in West Virginia. I just adore this little girl! I don't know how you couldn't! She is the best! She is going to do a terrific job as our flower girl. Here are some pictures of Braeden in all of her glory!


She loves me even when my hair is wet and I have my glasses on!













Here she is at only 2 months old.












Here she is at maybe 10 months?

Of course, here are some adorable bath pictures of Braeden at 11 months old.

The shirt says it all.
















Here is the little kangaroo at Halloween.










Braeden loves to make tunnels. Usually they are only girls and dogs allowed, but this time she made an exception for Chris. (She is wearing a princess dress!)










Here she is playing in her pool with her Uncle Colin and Aunt Kim!












I am so lucky to have such a special little girl as my niece and our flower girl. It is so amazing watching her grow up and become a little lady.

Bridesmaids: Katherine & Kimberly

Here are my sisters, Katherine and Kimberly. Although they are deserving of their own blog posts, I figured I would put them on one since I have a lot of the same things to say about them. For instance... I have known each of them all of their lives. I remember changing their diapers. I remember being annoyed when they screamed and cried excessively. I had to share a room with each of them, clean up after them, feed them, babysit them, etc. Sisters are sisters and I have two really great younger sisters.





Katherine will be starting her first year of med school at Penn State this fall. She just graduated with a Bio-Chemistry degree at Mount Holyoke in Massachusetts. She is very involved in Christian life organizations and volunteering for the Christian Medical Foundation. She likes tending to the inter-city folk. She's a complete brain and in every conversation there will be some nugget of trivia. Because she is strong-willed and determined, she has shone in her disciplines.

What it all boils down to is my sister Katherine is super smart and a big dork. And no, we don't look alike. There is something wrong with the world when you are mistaken for your younger sister!







Kimberly, who I often call Kimmy, will be a sophomore in high school next year. She is they typical teenager. She loves the Jonas Brothers, taking pictures of herself, and talking on the phone/computer. She is the shyest of my siblings. She is also the only one that has brown eyes! She is a great athlete when she is able to compete. She enjoyed rowing on the crew team and indoor track (before her shin-splints!). Her easy going personality makes her a quick friend for many... much to the dismay of anyone trying to use the computer or telephone. Kimmy and I wear the same Gucci glasses. She had picked hers out before me. A month or so later, I picked out these great glasses that turned out to be the same frames but in brown. I guess when you are family, you think alike.


My sisters are beautiful young women with the same values and have distinct personalities. I am really lucky to have their support and love.

Bridesmaid: Tisha

I first met Tisha at West Virginia Wesleyan when she started dating my brother. We all went to the same college and moved in the same circles. Scott and I were in choir together and had a number of friends in common. The fact of the matter is, Scott hanged out at the fraternity that I used to frequent on the weekends. My best guy friend was a brother there so Heather Schneider and I would go out there to dance in their over crowded, humid basement. That was the life!! There was one cafeteria so, when I ate, I was always running into them! Being a small campus, it was hard to live completely separated lives.

Tisha and I got to know each other better not through the obvious-that she was dating my brother-but through another organization. In the Spring of 2001, Tisha came to my dorm door to show me a picture of the bridesmaid dress she had picked out. (Scott and Tisha were engaged the previous February.) After she did that, she brushed the magazine aside and told me it was a ploy to give me an open bid to pledge Alpha Gamma Delta. This was the sorority I had always wanted to join. I was very excited and accepted the bid. That started my tenure with the sorority! Tisha and I both were in the Spring Sing Competition. This meant we had many long practices and dealt with sometimes frustrated, over zealous sorority girls. It was a lot of fun in the end... especially because we won the competition!

After college, Tisha and I continued to bond during vacations, holidays, and special occasions. We have become sisters on a number of levels. First, she became my sister through Alpha Gamma Delta. Then she became my sister because she married my brother. But most importantly, she became my sister through bonding. She has laughed at my high strung-outbursts and has been a true sister by lending an ear when I have had a dilemma. We have nearly a decade of great memories together and a lifetime to make more. Therefore, Tisha was another obvious pick for a bridesmaid. You need to have your sisters stand up beside you, right?

(This is Tisha on the way to Disney World)

ONE MORE THING...







I am also a huge fan of my niece. Tisha was responsible for making half of her... so you can't help but love someone that did such a great job making a kid.

Bridesmaid: Brittany

My dear cousin Brittany... where do I start?! I have known Brittany since she was born. I wasn't exactly there. I was only four and Brittany was born in North Carolina, but I knew about it. Brittany was my first first-cousin.

Throughout the years, we have grown more close. There are countless vacations that we shared, either in Florida, Vermont, or Connecticut. We spent time with each other when our moms sent us away so they could divorce our biological fathers who are beyond worthless. We commiserated through all of the situations that that imposed upon us. We had big break-ups at the same time and literally became each other's voice of reason. But, mostly the times we have spent together were good times!

Some would say we are immature. Some would say we are goofy; but one thing is sure, we laugh a lot together. We have countless inside jokes and crazy memories.

For Brittany, I would like to take you through a photo montage.


Here is Brittany, my sister Katherine, and I in her pool in Florida. She was going into 5th grade. I was going into my freshman year of high school.












Here are Brittany and Colin at the Yankee Candle Company. I think the picture speaks for itself.













Here is a picture of Brittany and I at Magic Wings Butterfly Observatory. We were wild about butterflies.

Brittany was very excited to be at Epcot! This was the last time we were at Disney World together.










Here is a picture of Brittany and the Statue of Liberty. We were quite savvy and found out that you get a great view of the statue if you take the FREE Staten Island Ferry.

Here is stellar journalism done by Brittany.

Here is a picture of Brittany's favorite hot spot. The Green Lady Cometary... where the green lady was laid to rest. How did she die? Toxic Shock Syndrome, of course!











Here Kimberly and Brittany are on Uncle Amos's boat.













I knew I had to have Brittany as a bridesmaid because she is like a sister to me. She is honest and open... she always has an opinion.










And so I leave you with the words of a song that is so dear to us both:

You are my Sunshine
My only Sunshine.
You make me happy
when skies are gray.
You'll never know dear
how much I love you.
Please don't take my sunshine away.

Bridesmaid: Kim

In the summer of 2001, I decided working at Talbots was pretty much hell. I just couldn't subject myself to another sale season! I figured that it would preserve my sanity and help my resume if I found a job working with kids. So, I contacted Debbie Platt at Country Garden Preschool and Daycare in Waterbury, CT. This program was actually run in my former church, Waterbury United Methodist. I made two great friends working there: Miss Dana and Miss Kim!

I don't believe it was until the following summer that met Kim. AND, it was not until the summer following that summer that we were both teaching the school-aged children program together. The school-aged children are the only children in the school that don't nap. That means, you have 8 hours to fill with entertainment and we unfortunately had very few resources to pull from. We came up with games, crafts, read alouds, and even produced a play! That's right, we wrote and produced our own adaptation of Katie DiCamillo's novel The Tale of Despereaux. We combined our talents and created EVERYTHING! Script, props, back drop, staging, etc.! I have to say, it turned out to be incredible. The kids memorized all of their lines and we had a great showing. Anyway, when you are spending that amount of time with someone, you can't help but bond!

Miss Kim (yes, I still call her that!) and I became friends outside of work. We have always had so much in common! Our deep love of theatre, music (especially fun bands!), and kids was just the start. As the years have gone by, our lives seemed to parallel one another. It turned out that Kim's aunt is Allison's mom's best friend and Mark's (Kim's fiancé) aunt is Allison's mom's OTHER best friend. I kept running into them at every party Allison's family had. Kim also graduated in December, so we commiserated over the lack of work for an education major and the joys of moving back home with the folks. We also went through the inevitable pain of the process of getting a full-time teaching position in Connecticut. We also went through the BEST program. Kim, of course, had it much worse than I did... but it was still terrible. AND THE BEST THING WAS... she moved 10 minutes away from my family's house.

Kim and her boyfriend of a million years, Mark Moriarty, got engaged several hundred years ago. I am more than excited to be apart of the wedding on October 11, 2008. Mark is one of my favorite of my friend's significant others and is one of my favorite guys. He is a lot of fun. I was really honored to be asked to be a bridesmaid. They make a great couple who are truly best friends. I was really giddy to invite Kim to be apart of our wedding party. I am really happy to have one of my favorite people in such an important role on the biggest day of my life.

And here is one last picture because "we look like we are having fun!"

Bridesmaid: Heather

Heather and I became friends in unusual circumstances. Sure, we lived next door to each other in the dorm freshman year at West Virginia Wesleyan. Sure, we had similar interests in the arts. However, I first knew Heather as the girl that I was running for dorm rep against. She had plastered all off the walls of the dorm with her quirky posters. "I know Bob. Vote for Heather Schneider". My group of friends would mock them and I think as went as far as taken one or two down!! Sadly, neither of us got the position... and my days of government were more or less numbered after that.

Wesleyan had a thing called fall break. It was a long weekend in October that most students went home for. Seeing as West Virginia isn't exactly close to home, I was kind of bummed that I had nowhere to go. That's when Tanya (a friend and fellow music major) and Heather invited me to go to James Madison University to a Supertones concert with them. Who were the Supertones? Yeah, I didn't know either. It turned out they were a ska/rock Christian band. We had a great time together. From that point on, Heather and I were inseperable.

I really mean we were inseparable! Heather and I did very few things apart in college. I could probably count on one hand the number of lunches or dinners that weren't shared. We even went on each other's dates. I recall one of her boyfriends telling me that he'd pay for my dinner if I would run around the parking lot. My looking like a fool was payment enough for my meal. I had a fiercely loyal friend in Heather. She was beyond supportive. She gave me confidence when I lacked it. She protected me from mean people! Since I am overly sensitive and nervous at times, I always admired her for her strength and ability to be laid-back. She also has a killer sense of style and eye for art. Basically, in the four years at Wesleyan, Heather became family.

Heather and I were in several shows together. I don't think I would have done theatre if it wasn't for Heather's encouragement. I think that there was more than one occasion where I got to the audition and froze. Heather would always coax me with her "no nonsense" manner. Our first show together was Pippin. We were both in the chorus of Cabaret (although Heather was the brilliance behind the make-up design) and then we both landed leads in the farce Lend Me a Tenor. It was show that Heather shinned as the jealous wife of an Italian operatic tenor. I still use her token "cloze" line.

It was because of my insisting and begging and prodding that Heather pledged Alpha Gamma Delta. That was the only thing that she and I didn't share and I was destined to make her apart of it. Frankly, I hated doing something without my best friend. So, this very independent, feminist joined a sorority. I don't think it particularly fit us entirely. Neither of us were the textbook definition of "sorority girl" but we both made some memories with the organization.

After college, Heather married Kelvin Mason, an art professor at Wesleyan that she became friendly with after college. I guess, they were more than friendly because the fell in love! They lived in West Virginia for a year or two after they were married and now live in a suburb of Chicago. Being hundreds of miles apart and often having opposite schedules has made keeping in touch difficult, but it always seems when we do catch up that time had not gone by, but paused for us.

I am really honored and excited to have Heather as a bridesmaid for our wedding. My marshmallow in the rain. As being one of my dearest friends, I couldn't imagine having a wedding without her there.

Matron of Honor: Allison

My earliest recollection of Allison was of her coming over my grandmother's house and playing with this wooden horse pull toy. Who would have thought that that toddler would one day be my best friend and matron of honor?!

We lost touch during our "formative years" until high school. I first realized who she was and reestablished connection in high school. She was dating Kris Halliwell. A year prior, Kris was my first kiss so I was curious who this upperclassman floozy he was dating was. It turned out it wasn't a floozy, but Allison! Through another friend, we started hanging out. We did the typical high school things... hung out at each other's houses, hung out at a coffee shop, went to movies, went to school sporting events and functions. I can't remember how many shows and concerts Allison was dragged to! What a great sport and an excellent friend!

When Allison went off to college at University of Hartford, I was scared that it would end our friendship. Luckily for me, she worked at a bakery on the weekends, so it was as if she was never gone. That's a good thing, because we racked up a lot of long distance telephone bills! Later, when I went off to college in West Virginia, it was even more difficult to keep in touch, but we managed.

When Allison asked me to be her maid of honor, I was so psyched! I couldn't wait to get in on all of the action. Leah, Jeff's sisters, assisted in planning Allison's bachelorette party. We gathered Allison and her bridesmaids and went to Mohegan Sun Casino. We had a delicious lunch at Todd English's Tuscany, played a little of the slot machines, and then got decked out for a night of bar crawling.

When the big day arrived in September of 2006, Allison made the most beautiful bride! It was a perfect day and everyone had a blast. I was quite nervous all day about the toast I had to give. She had given me strict instructions not to get long-winded. It turned out really well and they are still talking about it!!


Our love for musical theatre, movies (especially ones including hot British actors!!), chick books, and shopping always keeps us amused. Allison has always been the person standing beside me. I was honored to be Allison's maid of honor, but I am even more honored to have Allison stand beside me (like always!) as my matron of honor.

New Year's Fireworks

New Year's Eve 2008 marked an exciting beginning for these love birds! Chris and I planned back in October (or maybe even earlier!) that we would be going on a Boston Harbor dinner cruise for New Year's. It would be a treat since we both love boats and the water. Combine it with great food, live music, and dancing and you have a real treat, indeed. I knew it was going to be a memorable night, but little did I know what Chris really had in store.

So, I bought a new dress and we gussied ourselves up and headed to the shore. I had this weird feeling about the weekend. I was nervous that he would be proposing and trying desperately to push it out of my mind in case he didn't. I knew this was a special night and I didn't want it to be a disappointment if it wasn't THE special night. I had a throbbing headache from the stress!

We arrived early and Chris had the idea of going and waiting out the time in Starbucks. This just made me even more tense because we met at Starbucks so I thought maybe he had something planned there!! When we found that the Starbucks in the area was closed, I was quite disappointed because I thought there might be a possibility that his proposal plan was foiled! We found that the Panera Bread that was across the street from the place was in fact open, so we went there.

We eventually finished drinking copious amounts of coffee, and ventured across the street to the wharf. We stopped for a quick picture and then boarded the boat. As we walked in, the host took our name and asked us what we were celebrating. My heart skipped a beat again, but Chris replied that it was New Year's Eve!!

We had a great dinner and danced to several songs. Chris and I struck up a conversation with the Brittish couple next to us and it turned out the woman just finished her PhD in biophysics!

I had another moment of heart attack when the spokesperson for the band announced the people celebrating things other than New Year's. My heart raced and I felt my face getting really hot. I thought that maybe this was his plan! Nope. I quickly started telling myself I was ruining the evening with my anticipation or what wouldn't be. I truly was sure at this point that it wasn't going to happen that night.

At ten minutes to midnight, I suggested that we went upstairs to the top deck to see the fireworks on the harbor when the ball dropped. Since I suggested it, I was sure Chris wasn't intending to propose. We got our jackets and they handed out hot apple cider to everyone as they waited. Chris prompted me to put my gloves on (another sign he wasn't going to use my hand for anything ;-)) so that I would warm up! We cuddled and canoodled as we waited to ring in the new year.

When the fireworks erupted over the harbor, Chris asked me if I knew how much he loved me. I replied, "yes!" He pulled out the ring and asked me if I would join his odyssey and marry him. I replied yes and whipped my glove off. I am still not sure what happened to that apple cider!

The odd thing is I didn't cry during the proposal. Hallmark commercials and movie trailers make me cry, but the proposal did not! It was not until later when I called my mom that everything sinked in and I squirted a few.

We rejoined the party and danced the night away. We vowed that 2008 would be our year!