Cleveland Rocks! Part 5

Back to Part 4!

After spending the morning at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, it was back to the VRBO for us to rest up and recuperate for our late afternoon/evening event, the whole reason we were all in Cleveland, cousin Ashley's wedding!

The wedding and following reception were held at the beautiful Walden Inn and Spa in Aurora, a suburb about 40 minutes away from downtown Cleveland.  We got to the venue in plenty of time and had the opportunity to see Uncle Doug (Ashley's Dad), meet Brandon (the groom) and Noelle (their daughter), as well as catch up with Jodi (Ashley's Mom, who I hadn't seen in enough years that it took her a good 15 minutes to figure out who I was).  We also had the chance to grab tons of family shots before the wedding started, and the grounds of the Inn were a fantastic place to do so.

Us inside the main hall area

Following Jim and Leigh's Impalar

on the way to the Inn.

Look!  Trees with colors!

Lots of permutations of family groupings, incoming!

Mom with her two kiddos, Jim and I

A cousins picture - Jim, Amber (Ashley's sister),

me, and Ethan

The Ashley/Sams/Olsen siblings

VRBO party shot!

Mom with her two brothers,

Uncle Jim and Uncle Doug 

Mom, Uncle Jim, and Aunt Kim

After having taken every family picture possible, it was time for the ceremony to get underway, so we made our way to our seats.

Ceremony selfie!

Uncle Jim was in charge of the

marriage license.

Aunt Kim looks amused at

this turn of events.

The ceremony started in lovely fashion, and although there seemed to be a few musical miscues at times, things went smoothly.  Per the norm, the attendants and groom came out first, and finally, we got a glimpse of the beautiful bride.

Getting ready to start the stroll down the aisle

The proud papa and Ashley

Having a tall husband is the best

A hug from Uncle Doug to Brandon

Aww...all the feels.

The ceremony itself was touching and blissfully short (not shorter than ours - we still hold the record for a 6 minute wedding ceremony - boo yah!), and after the kissing and whatnot, it was time to celebrate!

Get it, girl!

While the wedding party finished up a few pictures, we enjoyed drinks and appetizers (our whole crew chased the poor waiters around the entire time - that's my family!), and once the guests of honor were done with the formalities, we had a chance to catch up with them.  Ashley was my very first girl cousin; she's about 10-15 years younger than I am (I think - it's hard to remember when you're old), and the last time we'd seen each other, she was in high school.  It was absolutely lovely to catch up with her and see her so happy.

Cousins catching up!

Look at that gorgeous bride!

Ashley, Jim, and I.

Is Jim really that much taller than us?

I guess he is in Doc's,

so that's a few inches there.

Chatting with Jim and Leigh

I love this picture - 

it's not the greatest of Ashley or Leigh

(although Leigh's hair and the back

of her dress look great),

but look at Jim picking lawn clippings

off Ashley's train.

That's my brother, that is.

Nope, no idea what's going on here.

Or here.

I know this one's blurry,

but I love the joy on display here.

Noelle, escaping the wedding madness

After cocktail hour, we headed inside to find our tables and get ready for dinner.  Our entire pack was placed together - table 7, represent!

Leigh understands.

Uncle Jim, Aunt Kim, Jodi, and Mom

Aunt Kim saw this picture on Facebook and said,

"wow, we have a lot of glasses!"

Indeed, we do.

That's how you know this place is FANCY.

I asked Ethan to take a shot of Chris and I.

This was his first attempt.

He obviously did great, though,

with a wee bit of coaching.

Always time for a back massage.

Leigh, double-fisting like a maniac.

That girl has a serious H2O addiction.

The wedding party was introduced and food was served.  At some point in time, we missed the cutting of the cake, but we were happy to be involved in the eating of it.  We also had a chance to visit with Ashley and Brandon once again, which was awesome.

Who always knows her camera angles?

This girl!

Here I am, helping Jim figure out the settings on his camera:

Be sure to click these to make them bigger.

So helpful.

As dinner wore down, the reception made the shift to a larger room toward the back of the facility, all set up for dancing.

The father/daughter dance

We all partied for quite some time that evening, and an enjoyable experience was had by all.  We bid adieu to the bride, groom, and Uncle Doug, and headed back in the cars to the VRBO, where I promptly crashed out, although several other members of the party continued the festivities later into the night.  Congrats, Ashley and Brandon!

On the next blog, CULTURE!

Later!

Amy