Nelson Family Blog: Ryan and Emily's Wedding

After 2 years of planning, and talking about it, Ryan and Emily's wedding has come and gone. It was a really fun weekend, but it was so busy and went by so quickly.

It all started on Friday evening, when we headed to Minnesota. We stopped in Redwood Falls at the Scicily Boutique to pick up the suits for the boys. We ran into an interesting problem there. Elliott's pants ended up not fitting very well. They were way too tight in the hips and too short. He ended up gaining two inches in the hips and he grew an inch. So, we had a problem. Luckily, Bonnie called in an overnight order and John and Elliott just had to drive to Granite Falls the next morning. It was a sucky problem, but at least we had a solution.

There were a couple of other problems before the wedding as well. Michelle and Adam had their baby two days before the weeding, so they couldn't come to the wedding or be in the wedding. So, everyone was a little bummed about that. And Alex (the best man) almost didn't make it back from Canada. So, things were happening and there was some stress.

After we figured out the suits, we headed to the farm. The kids played around on mom's new e-bike (and no one got injured, thank goodness). At 5:00 pm we headed to Gibbon for the rehearsal. We walked through the wedding ceremony and practiced walking in and out. It was a good practice and took care of some of the nerves.

After practice, we headed to Ryan's for supper. We had pulled pork, brisket, a pasta salad, cheesy potatoes, and bars. And drinks. It was a nice little celebration, and Michelle and Adam even stopped by with their new baby girl. We all enjoyed the party, but we had to call it an early night. The girls all had to be in New Ulm by 7:00 am the next morning, so it was time to go to mom and dad's house and get ready for bed.

Saturday was a very long, very fun day. We got up at 5:30 am so we could get ready, packed up, and get to New Ulm by 7:00 am. We did pretty well. Emma even got up without too much problem, and we had time for some coffees and a hot cocoa before we arrived at The Hive.

The Hive was a really cute little place to rent for getting ready for a wedding, or baby showers. It was adorable. Emily had a hairdresser and a makeup artist come in, and we all got our hair and makeup done. It took awhile, and we barely all got done on time. It was very close (good thing we were down a bridesmaid). I really loved how my hair and makeup turned out, I even tried fake lashes, and those went pretty well. Emma got her hair done and she looked so pretty. We decided that makeup for her would be a little overkill, so I just put some makeup on Emma, and just a touch of makeup looked pretty good on her. We also enjoyed some mimosas and muffins during the getting ready time. Then, of course, we got our dresses, and accessories on. And we helped Emily get ready as well. She made such a beautiful bride!

We left the Hive around 10:45 to get to the church for photos. We were running a little behind, but overall doing well on time. Photos went really well and pretty quickly. We did the bridal party photos outside, and then the family photos inside the church. The kids handled the photos really well. First, I should talk about how good they looked. Emma was absolutely gorgeous. She honestly looked 5 years older with her hair and makeup, and then a formal dress. She liked being a part of the wedding and being included with everything. She had a great day, she did really well with the photos and walking down the isle, and being patient. I was super proud. Elliott also did very well. He looked so handsome in his suit, and he also did really well with the other boys, the photos, the waiting, and the pants-not-fitting fiasco. I was also so proud of Elliott.

After photos, we had some time to chill in the basement of the church. We ate a little lunch, had bathroom breaks (and helped the bride) and then before we knew it, it was time for the ceremony. The kids got a little nervous at this point, but they did really well. The ceremony went well. It started on time, everyone filled their roles well, everyone said their vows and exchanged rings. There were a couple hiccups. Ryan and Emily had a little trouble with their unity candle. It did not want to light. The priest had to like whittle around the wick so it would finally light. Luckily, there was a long soloist song during this time, so they had some time to make it work. And they got it lit in the end. And then when they exchanged rings, Emily accidentally almost put the ring on Ryan's right hand, but they corrected it in time. But the congregation chuckled a little.

But the silly moments aside, it was a beautiful ceremony and it was special to be a part of it. Both Ryan and Emily got emotional a couple of times, and that was sweet. After the wedding, we got on the party bus (no kids allowed) and headed to the reception. We stopped at DJs in Gibbon, and then the Sleepy Eye Brewery in Sleepy Eye. And we had some drinks along the way. We were all feeling good and having a good time at this point.

We got to the reception around 6:00pm. We did our silly walk-in when they announced the couple. Emma gave Elliott a piggyback ride in, and then ended up tripping on her dress and they both went down. Nobody was hurt, and it was pretty funny. John and I did the twist, which was pretty dorky. Then, we got to enjoy a nice meal of pork chop, roast beef, mashed potatoes, glazed carrots, and a bun. And they had cupcakes and cookies for dessert. It was delicious, and I was starving by then. And needed something in my stomach. Next up was toasts, tears, and kisses.

After all that, we finally checked into our hotel room and hauled our bags into the room. And then it was time for the dance. The kids were dancing machines. Emma couldn't wait to change out of her dress, and then she danced the night away. She even did the worm. And of course Elliott was dancing all night. He was leading line dances and break dancing in front of everyone. And he had Cody and Kyle to hang out with, so he was a happy little boy.

We all danced a lot, drank a lot, and overall had a really fun time. We all stayed until the end of the dance (Emma left a little early and went to bed). It was really hard to believe how fast the weekend flew by. I felt like I was surrounded by family and friends all day, but barely spent any time with them because the whole day was so busy. But, I am so happy for Ryan and Emily, and it was a really fun day.

Congrats to the newlyweds!!