Fall Back Friday To That Wedding from One Month and Three Days Ago

The baby sister got married last month. Now all of the Alloway girls are Alloway-middle-named girls and have a guy to drag along to family events.

Good times.

Speaking of good times...as the oldest sister I was both matron of honor and the official whatever-sister-needs-you-to-do jack of all trades.

Tami asked me to make signs:

Lots and lots of signs:

And just when I thought I was done...more signs:

And the wedding toast.

And keep track of the groom's wedding band. This was surprisingly more challenging than I expected it to be (no worries, Tami - Josh got it when it was necessary, right?).

I was also an official bridal party squad member. Since the ceremony was at a country venue, the squad had plenty of gnat-fighting, careful insect repellent application and one tense moment of swatting at a mud dauber that hitched a ride down the aisle on the back of the wedding dress. Some bugs don't know how to give a bride her moment.

But the bride was lovely.

And so was the ceremony.

And so was the reception. You can not go wrong with lots of fairy lights.

And CAKE. Made my the same person who made my wedding cake because she's the best and our families have known each other for literal-ever. (She and my mom worked together before I was born.)

We successfully made my mom cry at least once.

And Tami successfully made my dad dance with her. (Well done!)

Somehow I managed to get the garter installed correctly while the rest of the world went on without a care in the world.

I taught my nephew how to slow dance. He's all ready for his First Real School Dance now. You're welcome, middlest sister.

The selfie queen niece and I scored an updated pic.

I hung out with my lovely bestie friend, Stacie.

And caught up with my Kenyan brother, Njari, whom I don't see nearly often enough.

Then we wished the newlyweds a happily ever after with the best Alloway family tradition - sparklers lit using blow torches. 

Good times, indeed - even though Kelly and best friend John hit a big-as-a-bobcat (not an exaggeration) raccoon later that night while heading to Texas for a marathon and ended up 1) Waking the wives at 1:30 am to let them know that the car was broken down on the side of the road, 2) Waking the Texas mother at 1:45 am to ask her for a ride - and she promptly hopped in the car and drove an hour in the wrong direction to get them (hey...it was 1:45 am!) and 3) Running a decent race time despite the lack of sleep.

And that just made it an even more memorable weekend.