Wedding!

2013 was off to an exciting start for our family. In late January and early February we traveled to Hartford, Connecticut, for my youngest brother Peter's wedding. Charlotte and Alexander were both very enthusiastic, not only to welcome Jeannine into our family, and to see their cousins, uncles, and grandparents, but also to attend the first wedding that they would remember.

On the Friday evening we attended the rehearsal, followed by the rehearsal dinner. This was even more of an adventure than expected. On the way to the rehearsal, my nephew Matthew, the ring bearer, fell and needed to go to the hospital for stitches. Fortunately, he is an experienced ring bearer and was fine without the practice, and was able to return in time to join us for dinner.

The brave ring bearer with the bride and groom

It was fun to spend time with family. Here is my oldest brother Andrew with his wife Monica and their children Matthew and Hannah. They also live in Connecticut, far away from us.

The Websters had fun together too!

The children learned many new traditions during the wedding weekend, including receiving gifts from the bride and groom for participating in the wedding. I'm not sure Pillow Pets are a traditional gift, but they reminded the children of our family trip to Disney World in November.

Saturday morning there was much to do to prepare for the wedding. Charlotte enjoyed having her hair professionally styled.

And it looked beautiful!

We all enjoyed dressing up.

Even the boys got to get "fancy"!

Alexander was helped by his godfather, my brother Paul.

The boys went to the church first, where Matthew and Alexander helped seat guests and pass out programs.

Then the girls took the bus to the church with the bride Jeannine.

Charlotte read beautifully!

Pete and Jeannine exchanged their wedding vows.

Mr. and Mrs. Strada

After a trip to City Hall for photos, it was time to party.

The children were introduced together.

The bride and groom shared their first dance.

The girls took their places to catch the bouquet.

And the winner was....!

Charlotte was very happy to see Claire, Matthew and Hannah's cousin from Toronto. Charlotte had gone to Canada for the baby shower when Martha was expecting Claire, but met her for the first time at the wedding.

Tired girls

Dancing the night away

(The video is dark, but the little guy dancing with his back to the camera is Alexander.)

Enjoying the reception with my brother Rob

We all had moves like Jagger.

The kids were both tired after dinner. As long as I kept them on the dance floor, they were into the party. It meant that I wasn't able to socialize as much as I had hoped, but it was fun to watch their moves!

Congratulations to Peti and Jeannine! Thanks for including us in your celebration. We look forward to seeing you again this summer.