Amanda's Big Day

Today is my niece Amanda's birthday. She is the oldest of my nieces, and the oldest in her family of four girls. She was born when I was a senior in high school, and from the time she was a baby, lived very close by. So I got to spend a lot of time with her, and later, with her sisters. Which was nice, because my other sister and her family lived out of town, so I only got to see them once or twice a year.

This past October 27, Amanda got married in Baltimore. It was the first time in more than twenty years that our whole family was together at one time! We had a blast, and it was great to finally get to meet some great-nieces and -nephews that we had never seen before.

In honor of Amanda's birthday, I thought I would share some of the pictures from the wedding. There are just these few, for three primary reasons: 1) Blogger wouldn't let me load very many, 2) some I didn't use, because they came out looking too pixelated (sp?), and 3) we didn't take as many pictures as we normally would, because her new husband's sister, who is a professional photographer, said she would be happy to take the wedding pictures as her gift.

Having told you all of that, here you go. Enjoy!

Amanda and her cousin Lauren enjoy a glass of champagne before heading to the church.


Our great-nephew Jude, the ringbearer.

The cousins and bridesmaids: Top row - Annie, Liz; front row, Lauren, Julie.

Annie and Amanda.

Pat and Amanda during the ceremony.

Father-Daughter dance at the reception.

La Liz and Lauren performing "Proud Mary" at the reception.

The whole weekend was really fantastic, and the wedding itself was beautiful. Amanda and Pat are a lot of fun, and we love them both dearly. They are coming to spend New Year's Eve with us, and we can't wait to see them and catch up!

But in the meantime, Happy Birthday, Amanda! We hope you get a chance to celebrate in style.

P.S. Amanda's sisters sang at her wedding, and it was beautiful. If you would like to see the video clip, it's here. The singers are (in the order they sing) Annie, Julie, and Liz.