The wedding party, take 2

When we renewed our vows we had a much bigger wedding party. Necole was still my Maid of Honor. And Dave was still Lee’s Best Man. But we also got a bunch of other friends to join us on our special day.

My childhood friend Laurie was my Matron of Honor. Laurie and I met in elementary school. She was (still is) a year older than me. She lived in a house right behind my apartment complex. We were best friends and inseparable all through elementary school. Right until she moved to Illinois with her family. I was devastated. But, miraculously, we stayed in touch. We wrote letters. We called each other a few times a year. And now, with all this new fangled technology, we’ve connected on instant message and Facebook.

Lee’s sister Tana was a bridesmaid. Lee has two sisters on his mother’s side. And a brother and sister on his father’s side. But since he was raised by his grandmother and have very limited contact with his parents he didn’t meet any of his siblings until he was an adult. Back in the mid-90s Lee’s mom sent us Tana’s wedding picture. We framed it and put it on the wall with all of our other photos. One day Necole and her then husband Kyle were at our house and saw the photo. “That’s Al,” said Kyle. He was friends with Tana’s husband. So Necole and Kyle set up a dinner date with all of us shortly after we got married. And that’s how we all met. We were so happy to finally have a relationship with Lee’s sister. And to be able to include Tana in our wedding.

Lee’s friends Chad and Dustin were groomsmen. Chad and Dustin are two of Lee’s best friends. Lee has a lot of friends he’s known practically his whole life. They are a tight knit group. Chad and Dustin went to a different school, but lived in the neighborhood just across the street from the neighborhood Lee lived in. [The school lines are a little tricky here in our city.]

Lee’s friends Jaasen, Trent & Troy were ushers. Jaasen, Trent and Troy are some friends Lee’s known his whole life. They all lived in the same apartment complex and went to the same school as they grew up. Trent and Troy are identical twins.

From left to right: Back row is Troy, Chad and Trent. Middle row is Dustin, Me, Lee, and Tana. Front row standing is Laurie, Dave, Necole. Front row kids and kneeling is Kyria (my sister) Justis, Keaton and Jaasen.

My little sister was our flower girl. Kyria is 16 years younger than me. So at our renewal in 1998 she was just 7-years-old. I also have a brother Le who is 12 years younger than me. I asked him to be in the wedding too, but, at 11-years-old, he was too shy at the time to partake.

Keaton & Justis were ring bearers. They were sooo adorable. They were just 4- and 6-years-old. They had matching suits. And matching ring bearer pillows. And they held hands as they walked down the aisle together. They also lit the unity candle with Lee and I. It was too cute for words.