Tom and Maddy's Big Day

The big day finally arrived.  This wedding has been in the planning stages for a year--actually longer than that since Maddy had decided she wanted to get married in the Methow Valley even before she and Tom were engaged--maybe even dating.  Maddy picked Brown's Farm to have the wedding last July during the height of the fires in the valley last year.  There was no water, no electricity, etc. but she fell in love with the place to have the wedding immediately.

Sherrill had alerted me to the fact that the temperatures during the ceremony would be 104 degrees about a week ahead of time so while I was looking forward to the wedding, I certainly wasn't looking forward to melting in that heat.  But the wedding was beautiful and wonderful.  As Bill says--"it is the best wedding I have ever attended".  And I have to agree that it was truly wonderful and so much fun.

 

 Maddy did a lot of searching on Pinterest to get decoration ideas for the wedding.

I took this picture before they put the flowers on the arbor.  They waited until the very last minute so they wouldn't wilt in the heat.

 The wedding party table all had bows on the back of their chairs.

 And there were some cute signs around the venue.

 Slight error on this sign--the first "I love you" was actually 6-6-2009.

 These windows with photos turned out so great!

 Mr. and Mrs. signs above their heads at the table.

 And Maddy made the cork bar sign and Pete made the wood slices.  I didn't get the centerpiece photos come to think of it but there were wood slices at each table which the flower arrangements were placed on top of.

We got ready at the cabin we were staying in which was right next door to Pete and Marian's cabin.  That was so convenient and of course had a wonderful view of the valley as well.

 Marian and me before the wedding.

 Tom and his attendants before the wedding.  Almost showtime.  Avery, Zach, Tom and Chris.

 Anna helped Pete with his boutineer.

I didn't see Maddy at all before the wedding but this picture was posted on Facebook.  They did her hair and then realized that they needed to cut her t-shirt off so they wouldn't mess it up.

 

Chris took Anika and Rose up the aisle during the processional.

 Pete and Maddy danced up the aisle to "Good Day for Marrying You".

 Tom's attendants--Zach, Chris and Avery.

 

The Ceremony.

 Bridesmaids-Allie, Tristen, Anika, Rose and Anna.  The flowergirls are Tristen's daughers.

 The Kiss.

Most of the photos taken by the photographers were candid shots.  But we did pose for a few posed pictures immediately after the ceremony.

 The poor flowergirls did not want their pictures taken.  It was too hot and they were too tired.

 Tristen, Chris, Allie, Anna, Tom, Maddy, Rose, Anika, Zach and Avery.

 Let's show off those boots!

 Those boots were made for walking.

 The wild card Zach gives Tom a kiss much to our surprise.

 Chris, Tom, Maddy, Zach and Avery.

 The Speer-Osborne Family--Anna, Marian, Tom, Maddy and Pete.

 Our family-Bill, Shannon, Tom, Maddy and Chris.

 Tom and Chris with Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Chuck.

 All the Rollers at the wedding.

 Jeff and Jeff both had cowboy Hawaiian shirts on.  I had to get a picture of that.

My best friend, Suzi, from when I was in the Army.  Hard to believe we have been friends for 30 plus years.
So happy she was able to come.

 Tom sharing a moment with his mother-in-law, Marian.

Suzi and Terry.  I also worked with Terry at the same time that Suzi and I met.  In fact, I probably knew him before they met since I arrived a month before she did.

 Dad and Tom.

 Me with my sissy, Sherrill.

Rhys and Jeff.

The cutting of the cake had a little bit of a mishap.  They didn't practice that obviously and half the cake fell off.  Too funny trying to see them figure out how to fix it and get it back up.

Tom says "Ahh!" and Maddy says, "Am I going to get this in the face or my mouth?"

 The cake was made at the Mazama Store and it was so yummy!

Tom and Maddy chose "Crazy Girl" as their first dance together.  They had a choreographer in Wichita that helped them with their dance and they have been practicing it for months. Link to their first dance.  They did such a beautiful job!

A side note--Maddy actually wore her Great Grandmother Madeline's cowboy boots for the wedding.  How cool is that?

Tom and I chose "My Wish" as our first dance.  The words of that song are definitely my wish for Tom and Maddy as they live their life together.  We didn't really get much of a chance to practice but we did pretty good considering.

Pete spent a few days in Wichita just before the wedding so he and Maddy had a bit of a chance to work with the choreographer to put their dance together.  They chose "Just Fishin'" as their daughter-father dance and it was also really beautiful.  It was the perfect song for this dad and daughter.  Pete is quite the avid fisherman and Maddy goes fishing with him. Link to the Father-Daughter dance.

 I love the look between them in this picture.

 

As a surprise to Tom (we didn't dare surprise the bride), Pete and Bill did a Blues Fathers routine and sang "Sweet Home Chicago".  Bill has his Blues Brothers schtick that he does with Jim West on occasion for fundraising type events.  Bill got this call several months before the wedding from Pete and Marian that they wanted to do this for the wedding.  So once they got Maddy's blessing--they moved forward on it.  And it was a fun addition to the wedding dance.  Link to a little bit of Blues Father's Video.

 Pete and Marian.

 Tom asked his mother-in-law to dance.

 Maddy dancing with father-in-law, Bill.

 Chris, Tom, Maddy and Anika cutting it up on the dance floor.

 Not quite sure what these girls were dancing to but it is such a cool picture.

 

Suzi and Terry out on the dance floor. 

 Tom dancing with a flower girl.

Time for the garter toss.  All the single guys lining up to catch it.

 Chris dove for it and came up with it.

 Bouquet toss.

 Sister Anna came up with it.

 As the sun was setting on the evening's festivities.

We had such a good time.  It was a beautiful wedding and so much fun.  Tom and Maddy are now off on their honeymoon and our wish it that they are having a fantastic time and that they have many happy years together.