A Perfect Wedding

Last week was a busy time for my family! I graduated from college on Monday, my oldest brother Andrew got married on Saturday. I unpacked and repacked all of Tuesday, and headed out for Pennsylvania on Wednesday with my Grandma in her baby blue convertible Bug. We traveled all day and stayed in Binghamton, and then arrived in Lancaster on Thursday after arguing with our GPS for a while. We met up with my parents at the Heritage Hotel, a very nice place with a Robin-Hood themed restaurant (Loxley's) attached.

Near the hotel was a dinner theater, the Dutch Apple Dinner Theater, which was showing Annie Get Your Gun. It was a decent meal and a very good show afterwards! I had never seen Annie Get Your Gun before. The next day, Grandma and I went for a tour of the Amish country on the Strasburg Railroad before heading to the rehearsal dinner at Loxley's.

Dad's toast at the rehearsal dinner

We had a very fun time at the dinner and met up with my mother's relatives afterwards for some sherry and storytelling :) my cousins and my other brother, Dan, and his wife Kate, and I went to Loxley's treehouse bar after that, which was very fun.

The next morning was the wedding!

It was a beautiful day. The park in Litiz was pretty shaded, so it wasn't too hot. The wedding party was there around 10am, and people started arriving soon after that.

My dad's side of the family, enjoying the sunshine as they wait!

The ducks came to visit...they were NOT very nice!

Megan and the bridesmaids came down a curved stairway on the other side of a pond.

The ceremony was conducted by my dad's cousin, Bart Worden. It involved a ring-bearer with a book, two very determined flower children who almost made it the whole way down the aisle, the reading of a poem, a lively Bible reading (both by friends to the bride + groom) a sand ceremony, and very touching vows.

Afterward, the bridal party stayed in the park for a while to get pictures taken. While we were doing that, the guests walked to the reception at a nearby inn. My aunt and cousins enacted a secret plan we made months ago to surprise the bride and groom!

They were very surprised! When they entered the reception, the DJ played the Imperial March for us, and everyone waved the lightsabers around until Andy & Megan were seated at the head table. A shockingly small number of Star Wars events occurred, however, so we were glad to help out.

The plotters: the closest 3 ladies!

"Sexy and I Know It" brought out the Star Wars fans

My brother Dan gave the Best Man speech, which was wonderful!

There were so many other nice moments. Uncle Jim on my Mom's side sang the Danahy's hat song. Andrew and Megan had their cake and first dance. The sound of ringing on glasses to call for a kiss was never-ending :) We took sibling pictures, and the bridal party departed for a while to take more pictures in the park. Eventually, the reception wound down and we headed back to the hotel to relax and have a late dinner. It was a wonderful day!

Most guests departed on Sunday. My Mom and I went to Ithaca, NY, to scope out the theater I'll be working at. It was a long drive, but we had nice weather and it was worth it. Ithaca is a beautiful city, and the Hangar theater is right next to a park and boat launch. My housing at Ithaca College appears to have a little balcony on the outside. We drove back on Monday and boy, is it nice to be home!

Many congratulations to Andy & Megan on such a special weekend!