Another beautiful event

We had a fabulous journey to Coloma, CA for my cousin's wedding. It was so nice to be traveling with the kids, John, my parents, and my sister and brother-in-law! The wedding was at a beautiful winery, Gold Hills Vineyard, and the scenery was gorgeous. We spent the morning before the wedding visiting Sutter's Mill and learning about the California Gold Rush. We dipped our toes into the American River and vowed to return and do some whitewater rafting. The kids went nuts at the wild blackberry bushes we found along the riverbank. It was very relaxing, and the weather was perfect.

There is something so magical about being at a wedding and witnessing two people bare their souls to each other in front of everybody! My sweet cousin Rose and her beloved, Nate, spoke to each other so openly, so nakedly, so honestly, it made my heart all rumbly and my eyes all blurry with tears. Wow. Is there anything more precious than hearing someone successfully articulate WHY they love the other?

I love crying at weddings, mostly because I don't feel compelled to try to hide it; I embrace it as part of the whole wedding experience. Being someone who tends to think too much, I recently wondered and figured out why I cry at weddings. It is because I see the bliss and the innocence of the moment, and it is just so pure. Here are two people with all the faith in the world, faith in each other, and faith in this ethereal thing called Love. Their whole world and their whole lives are ahead of them, and that is so freakin' beautiful!, because they really have no idea just how incredibly fantastic it is going to be! They don't even realize there are going to be bad times, irritating times, boring times, painful times, because it's all about the love. Hope, Faith, and Love are the most incredible things.

On top of all the beautiful words exchanged at this ceremony, there was beautiful music (two of my favorite things!). Any couple who chooses Sigur Ros' "Svern-g-englar" as their wedding processional is way cool in my book!

The Merlot was delicious, the winery had a very tasty Scotch Ale, and the catering was impeccable. The DJ played some Minnesota funk, so I was happy! The girls danced all night and made lots of friends!

We stopped for a family brunch at my Aunt Linda's the next morning, but unfortunately we could not stay as long as we would've liked because of the long drive home. Reminiscent of Sweden...