the wedding!

my little brother (well, little in terms of age; he's four years younger but seven inches taller) got MARRIED last saturday.  it was 6:30 in the evening on the beach, with a coast guard ship floating in the distance.  he was dressed in his coast guard blues, and we stood barefoot in the sand, enjoying a cool breeze.  with the waves crashing in the background, no music was necessary.

and then laura, his bride, descended the 42 steps (i counted) from the beach house to the ceremony on the arm of her father, kicked off her shoes at the foot of the steps, and walked up to ben in one of the most gorgeous cream-colored wedding dresses i've ever seen.  which she bought off the rack a few weeks prior, because this whole thing came together in a matter of less than a month.  it really made me look back and wonder why in the world we dragged our engagement out for over a year -- because from start to finish, it was perfect.

liam and susanna were beside themselves with excitement.  liam made a "COUNTDOWN TO THE WEDDING" (see above) and would methodically cross off each number before breakfast each morning before announcing how many days remained until the big event.  susanna was given her own miniature tiara and bouquet of peach and pinkish red roses.  they stood quietly, reverently, while they listened to the readings and the vows, and clapped when the groom kissed the bride. 

[side note: after my cousin finished the reading of corinthians, i bent down to liam to emphasize the main message of the scripture.  "did you hear that, liam?" i whispered.  "isn't that wonderful?  the greatest of these is love."  he looked up at me and with total seriousness replied, "well, for me, the greatest of these is the wii."  nothing like a five year old to suck a little romanticism out of a ceremony.]

i'm so thrilled to welcome laura as my sister-in-law!  below are some snapshots my uncle took of the special day.

liam apparently has been studying the j. crew catalog.  we call this "casual beach" pose

from left: chris, daddy's bald head, me, laura, liam, ben, susanna, mom, and my sister leslie.  (i'm hoping the professional photographer had a better angle)

ben & laura with the kids and their second-cousins, reilly and baby laurel