Bemily Cluck: the Wedding Weekend!

Weddings don't get any sweeter than this one. Sitka, Alaska offered a gorgeous backdrop. Just take a look at Ben and Emily and their glowing faces and that's all you need to know. Seriously. They are an incredible couple, and we had the BEST time celebrating with them.

Here they are with the flower girls.

Somehow I don't have a picture of our entire family, but I did manage to get one of Em's new family, the Clarks, including fabulous Grammie who (at 89 years young) led us all in an electric slide lesson on the dance floor-- no joke! Word has it she retired from teaching dance classes last year, so we were glad she came out of retirement briefly for all of us.

 A quick snap of Em and I. Could she look more beautiful?? She was radiating with happiness.

 Here are the three cousins on the top of a whale, shivering in the cold weather but smiling nonetheless. Instead of leaving a trail of flower petals behind, these three girls rang beautiful little bells down the aisle. It was priceless.

Em has such great friends in Sitka. Two of them surprised her after the ceremony with a pair of decorated Pedi-cabs. They took the newly-married couple down to Totem Park, the location of their very first date.

 The day after the wedding, Em hooked us up with some kayaks for a little excursion. We had hoped to rent them so that she could catch up on rest, but the kayak rental bus wasn't staffed on Sunday. Fortunately, Em found both a car and a few kayaks for us so that we could paddle out and see sea stars, a playful seal, and bald eagles, too. (Many thanks to the grandparents for wrangling all five kids.)

Little Ryan was a great traveler, even on the late-night boat cruise. And speaking of great friends, her pal who shares her name (and many interests, too) wrote a song for the couple and led us all in singing the chorus with her on the boat cruise. Absolutely amazing, that Emily R!

A magical whale captivated us on the dessert cruise. We would see the whale spouting, then hold our breath as we watched him rise up in the water, finishing with a wave of that tail. Mesmerizing. And a good omen, we are sure.

Speaking of omens, little cousin Liesl was baptized just before the rehearsal by none other than Fr. Rob. As is tradition following sacraments with Fr. Rob, an attempt was made to re-enact the baptism on the boat. Fortunately, Ryan wasn't strong enough and Nikki was too kind to help out.

 In Sitka, everyone wears ExtraTuffs, a durable rainboot nicknamed the Sitka sneaker. When I say everyone, I mean everyone. Even the piano player at the wedding was sporting them under those ivory keys. One of the best desserts on the cruise were these locally-made cookies, including Mt. Edgecumbe and yes, Sitka sneakers. Much more delicious than the name implies.  And, speaking of salmon, Curtis and Uncle Jim went out charter fishing on Friday and both caught beautiful salmon. I promise to upload a photo of that adventure soon.

The wedding wrap-up would not be complete without a word about the dancing! The crowd danced and danced until the very end of the reception-- and big surprise, our Lucy was an enthusiastic part of this crowd. She got her start early, jumping and dancing off of the whale. No Photoshopping here, I promise. This Mary Poppin-esque picture shows just how busy that girl was!

 Many thanks to Emily and Ben for an adventure to treasure. Best wishes, Mr. and Mrs. Clark. (Even though it should be Buck based upon triathlon standings....that post, up soon!)