Our family had just about regrouped from celebrating one wedding when it came time to set plans in motion for the next wedding. We were all so excited to take off to California to be a part of Ashley and David’s big day!

My first California morning was all about celebrating and pampering the bride-to-be. Ashley arrived at the hotel to pick up me and Nicole for our bachelorette afternoon. Without spoiling my bridal gift, I had tried to suggest how Ashley might want to dress so as to match my surprise. After a quick change for the bride we were off for our girls’ day!

Our first stop was getting beautified for the wedding day with manicures and pedicures. We met up with Ashley’s other bridesmaids and Ashley’s sister-in-law at the nail salon.

Then we were all off to a nice lunch in the cutest courtyard restaurant. I had a great time visiting and chatting with this group, what a fun time!

Meanwhile, Jesse and A had their own fun back at the hotel…

After our full morning it was time to get to the wedding rehearsal and dinner. The wedding planner at this venue was fantastic, loved her and her organization!

I was so pleased to be able to stand next to my sister as her matron of honor. I loved having the best view to watch their day!

Even when almost husband photobombs our sister picture…

Dinner was at a neat Italian restaurant and David’s mom did a great job of putting it together. She was so thoughtful and had a new book to keep A occupied while everyone mingled. A was a huge fan of having two desserts that night! I loved what David’s mom had to say to the two as them as we all prepared for their marriage.

After a great day and night, these two were more than ready for tomorrow to come!

The week surrounding my brother’s wedding was just as great as the wedding itself. It was so fun to get to see family that we hadn’t seen in a long time and enjoy time set aside to just relax and be together. We were counting down the days until wedding week for so long… finally more people starting flying in each day until we had quite the house full. What great memories we made together!

I was most excited to get to introduce A to both of my grandmothers. We had shown him pictures of who was coming, and he greeted Nanny with a big hug when she arrived. After that he was a little more unsure for a while saying that he didn’t want to hug people that he didn’t know before… fair enough. A few days later he had Nanny following him from room to room taking off in spaceships. He had so much fun playing with Nanny!

Two of our wedding guests were visiting from the Czech Republic. Andrew had the idea that it would be great to prepare an American Thanksgiving for them, just for fun. Mom did the whole spread… turkey, cranberry sauce, desserts, and all! It was a delicious way to feed such a large group!

After dinner, it was A’s idea to play some hockey. He persistently asked until he talked Papa and the big boys into playing with him. The boys got themselves all sweaty while the girls tried not to get hit by missed shots on goal.

The day after the wedding we enjoyed unwinding and lounging around by the pool.

A was just told to get out of the pool and dry off for dinner when Papa turned on the water and starting hosing him down. A loved it!

A had a ton of fun with my cousin, Ben. At first, A referred to him as “the guy I never saw before.” Then Ben offered to build trains with him… after that, Ben was instructed on how to play several projects with him. Ben was such a great sport!

Even the big boys had a chance to build their own train track when A went for his nap…

Fun times were had by all!

We will always have great memories from celebrating this special day! My brother, Andrew, an his wife, Nicole, had such a beautiful wedding day. I loved the colors and style they chose, everything looked perfect. Just a few pictures to share…

I thought their ceremony was perfect. They kept it short and simple, but still added plenty of their personalities. Jesse and I liked that they happened to choose the the same venue where we had our wedding reception almost eight years ago. It brought back great memories and made such a beautiful background.

Andrew was glowing with happiness and was clearly enjoying every moment of the day! Nicole was just gorgeous!

I’m not sure if anyone had more fun than A did at the reception. He and his friend danced the night away! I guess they were really watching carefully during the first dance, they had all the moves… fancy twirls and everything!

Congratulations again! We are so very happy for these two!