Our January Trip to Louisiana.....Part 5

Part 1 of our trip is HERE.
Part 2 of our trip is HERE.
Part 3 of our trip is HERE.
Part 4 of our trip is HERE.

The wedding was set for 7 pm on the 4th so we had some time to kill before evening.
After a very nice breakfast buffet at the hotel in town we drove over to the Fiancé's parents house late morning where Fiancé and our Daughter were living.
I brought a bag of dog treats for Cinnamon, daughter's dog.
We hadn't seen Cinnamon since last May when daughter packed up after graduating and moved back to Louisiana and I didn't know if Cinnamon would remember us.
I figured she's growl at Hubs since that's what she always did at first whenever we hadn't seen her in awhile.
But Doog(her nickname) remembered me right away and ran over to me for pets.

But after 15 seconds she was done............

But then she saw the bag of Beggin' Strips in my hand and she got even happier. lolz

After I finished giving her treats and she said hello to Hubs she wandered off.  We call her our special grand dog because if she was a human she'd be on the spectrum.  I had a few minutes with Daughter as they were busy with last minute stuff and I gave her her grandmother's pearls which mom wanted her to have once she married and I had a pin the put into daughter's bouquet.
The bouquet was artificial tulips tied at the stems with pearls woven through and we couldn't get the pin fastened into the stems since they were plastic.

The pin was my idea to use.  It was my mom's.  It is her first name's initial with a small angel sitting on it.  Mom and daughter had a special connection and she died when daughter was 7.5 years old.  I know mom would have wanted to be at her wedding in person but at least she would be there in spirit.

So I wore the pin on my dress for the wedding, over my heart.

There was so much to take to the wedding venue that we were enlisted to carry  boxes of flowers and vases and other things in our car to set-up at the venue later that evening.

We left and stopped at a Walmart near were the trailer we used to own is and walked around to kill some time.  There was still Xmas clearance so I found a few things on 75% clearance to cart home there along with some Blue Plate mayo. 

A Xmas cat blazer and matching tie, anyone? lolz

Back to the hotel to lay down for a bit and then get dressed and go to the wedding venue.

They got married in the local aquarium.

It was a very small wedding and reception.  Just family(3 from our side and 4 from the groom's side)and 3 longtime friends of the groom.  My brother was suppose to fly out but he damaged his foot back in October, delayed getting it looked at and developed 4 blood clots in his leg so he had surgery in December and couldn't fly due to the blood clots and undergoing physical therapy at that time.  I know he was disappointed that he couldn't go.  And none of Hubs' siblings or the nephew expressed any interest in going but I won't go into a screed over that here. ;-)
The officiant was a cousin of the groom's mother too so including her there were 11 people besides the bride and groom.

They put us in the touch tank room at the aquarium which was filled with skates and some other fish I don't remember what type.

You can see the chafing dishes in the first photo on the other side of the fish tank.

This little guy kept coming up out of the water trying to get my attention. lolz

Every thing got set up around that tank which dominated the center of the room.  There was a glass lined tunnel which led off into another room and that is where they set up the bridal arch they stood under to exchange their vows.  

Being the mother of the bride it fell to me to get daughter ready so we went off into what turned out to be a storage area and the aquarium staff's break room to prepare her for her walk down the aisle/fish tank.  Mostly daughter did her own make-up(which she had FINALLY learned how to do in the last 6 months-she had always been a nerdy tomboy and not into girlie things).

Daughter's future mother in-law helped with the hair......and yes, Daughter dyed it purple. 8-)

Then it was time to get all those wedding garments on.........

And that's where I came in handy, though those four bazillion hook and eyes were a challenge. lolz

Then we were off to the races after a quick photo of the bride with her soon to be mother in-law.........

We all scurried to our places so the ceremony can begin.  But one quick shot of the radiant bride first.

The groom and officiant waiting expectantly........

And the bride enters the room to music from "The Princess Bride"(McVal will love that! lol).........

I tried to video the ceremony but it was too noisy in there to hear anything because well, the fish tanks need oxygen and it's not quiet machinery.

The ceremony beings........

They exchange rings and vows........

And the kiss to seal the deal.........

And it's done.......

 No take backsies........

A photo of the happy couple with his parents...

A photo of the happy couple with her parents(plus her older brother)...

Let's see what's under that bridal gown......

A purple petticoat and purple Converse sneakers. lol

And the bride's brother caught the bouquet.
(There were no unmarried women at the wedding. lol)

Artistic wedding photos of rings, the bouquet and crossed hands.......

 The "kids" table........

And the "parents" table.....

The decor inside this room of the aquarium was very outdoorsy Louisiana.  The drink station set up in the little bait shack in the room.

Yes, I can now tease my daughter that she got married next to a Bait Shack.......

There was various tables set up too.....a place to sign the guest book with a photo of J proposing to H(the one on the left).  He proposed in Gatlinburg and you'll notice their dog is there too. lol

There was a gift table.....

The cake table..........

 With the wedding cake..........

Notice the gaming cake topper.  It says, "Achievement Unlocked-Got Married". lolz

And instead of a Groom's cake there were Groom's cookies.  As you can tell he is a BIG soccer fan, Liverpool FC to be exact..........

Cutting the cake...........

Smashing cake Putting cake into each other's mouths..........

And since their  dog wasn't allowed in the building there were special napkins for her.......

Then the marriage license had to be signed.....

and witnessed. J's mom and I acted as witnesses and I got a photo of her signing the certificate.

And it's official now.

There was a table for everyone to make up a goody bag of candy too...........

Most candies were fish themed; gummy fish, sour fish and some other things plus Jordan Almonds(daughter's favorite).

They also had two party favors-- Bomboniere, which are the Italian sugared almonds that are wrapped in tulle and given as a gift at weddings to recognize the Bride's Italian heritage and Stroopwafel cookies in a baggie to recognize the Groom's Dutch heritage.

I made Ex-College Boy a bag of candy to bring home to him since he wasn't able to come with us.

I love these photos J's mom and I got of them in the glass tunnel with a shark above them.........

And of course there were also other fish that couldn't care less about what was going on.......

Lazy sharks and others.....lol

But my favorite photo I got that day was this one..........

My daughter playing in the touch tank as things wound down.  As a child she was all about animals and every trip to her grandmother's in Virginia had to include a visit to the Virginia Aquarium and Marine Science Center.
And she was always a tactile child which is a nice way of saying she had to touch EVERYTHING(and sometimes she had to also put them in her mouth). lolz
She's always been my inquisitive, science-y child.  I guess that's why she ended up with a degree in Chemistry. ;-)

But this photo I got is a classic.........."What have I done?!?" lolz

And to end this episode I have to tell y'all that I found a penny at the wedding........

Right in front of the Bait Shack when I went to get a drink! lol

As I waited outside for Hubs to get the car to go back to the hotel I noticed the lights on the fountain by the Aquarium were purple.

Now that's got to be a good sign, right?

Sluggy