The rehearsal dinner was scheduled for 6:42.
Melinda was just being silly with the time...but it actually turned out to be right on the money :o)

Now the rehearsal dinner is traditionally the Groom's parents responsibility,
but not this time.

Melinda wanted to invite all of the out of town guests and more.
She asked if we could just have a barbecue at their church (which is right next door to their home) They knew of a man who loved to barbecue and Melinda's mom had some friends who were dying to prepare the meal for us.

So, of course, I said it was fine.

We just sent a check to cover the costs. (I offered to cook and clean but they said no!)

Couldn't have been easier for all of us!

It was casual, and fun and the food was great!




Melinda and her only brother, Jesse.







Shelby, Patrick, Matt and Pete



When Matthew was a senior in high school he went to live with the Wilcox family.
Here are two of Matthew's other 'brothers'.
Bo and Peter.
You will notice,
Bo only smiles when he doesn't know a camera is near.



See what I mean about Bo.
Here are the rest of Matthew's friends from up north.
They went outside to play basketball after the meal.
The rest of us milled around outside.
And took photos.

I must tell you that Patrick's brother and his wife, Susan, were there and so was Patrick's sister and her son and Patrick's other brother, Paulie.

Oh! About Paulie.
He was kinda quiet for Paulie, but when we got up to introduce ourselves at the rehearsal dinner, Paulie told a few jokes. He loves the jokes.

He told about the three rings of marriage:
the engagement ring
the wedding ring
and the suffering.

It wouldn't have been the same if Paulie hadn't told his joke :o)

(The Boucher's would rather not be in pictures...but I took some really lovely shots of them and will send them off asap!)

We were delighted and grateful that they all came!
Really!




We were there :o)
Our nephew, Charlie, is interested in photography so he snatched the camera and took this really sweet shot!
Thanks Charlie!



As things were winding down, I snapped my favorite group of shots.
As the girls were building bouquets earlier in the day,
Patrick Sr. and our boys went golfing.
They had fun.
Matthew won :o)
And got a little sunburned.

The Wedding Day

I'm gonna warn you right now. I do not have pictures of the actual wedding service.
I thought I would not be in the moment if I had a camera to my face.
So, I set my camera to the side and took pictures before and after and let the professional photographer do his thang.
I hope to see those photos one of these days...
I will pass them along when I do.




Getting ready.













The bride.



The Groom.
Yeah. He slipped his suit on right before the wedding.
Not quiet as much prep time for this boy!

Just before the ceremony,
I peeked out the church door to see if my sister's and their boys had arrived yet.



My peeps.
Phew.






Mr. and Mrs. Matthew Boucher



Tomorrow I will tell you what I can about the wedding.
I wish I had a memory like Lynn, she can remember words verbatim after hearing them just once.
But I will do my best to tell you about the actual wedding ceremony and post the last photos...the reception.

Just before Matthew and Melinda kissed...
they celebrated communion.

It was very special!

Did you do something special like this?

Encourage one another and thank you for your patience.
Really, I'm not teasing...
I'm just doing the best I can to tell the story :o)

Donna