I know, I know there are just too many good pictures. This blog has become more of a diary of our life and I can't tell you how many times I've researched things in our life by looking back at the blog. Just recently, I was looking up when we lost Buddy, our first Golden Retriever. I want to make sure that the wedding is well documented as it is a HUGE development in our family and in our life. The fact that M Place Productions, the photographer for the wedding, made all of these photos available digitally to anyone on Facebook is amazing and a sign of the times. Most photographers are very stingy with their photos, but really, only the married couple will buy any photos. It is a product of the cost of the photography and just the reality of digital photos.
We got into Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon and picked up our car, A Kia Sorrento SUV and then headed over to the Aliante to check in. We met Dad and Shirley, Darryl and Cheryl and Randy and Cake back at Dad's condo at the Polo Towers. We enjoyed some appetizers and a cold drink and then headed over to the Prime Rib Loft at the Orleans Casino off the strip for dinner. I had a hankering for Prime Rib and the strip has changed over the years. Prime Rib used to rule and it was plentiful and cheap. Now you can hardly find a Prime Rib and when you do, it's expensive. The days of the $9.99 Prime Rib dinner have given way to buffets. I Googled "best prime rib restaurants Vegas" and The Prime Rib Loft came up again and again. The reviews were good. It turns out the dinner was excellent. The restaurant gets its name from the fact that it overlooks the gaming tables at the Orleans. The dinner was great from the salads, the corn chowder, the huge baked potatoes and. of course, the prime rib, which was huge, perfectly marbled and delicious. We enjoyed a leisurely meal and then repaired to the slot machines downstairs for an evening of gaming. The Orleans was hosting a huge car show on the weekend and they had the Stray Cats playing in the casino and the patrons were dressed in 50's gear. It was fun to see all of the poodle skirts and white tee shirts with blue jeans and slicked back hair. We sat playing slots, but mostly people watching as the parade of 50's outfits walked on by.
Friday, I was up fairly early and Darla and I went over to pick up my tux at the Men's Wearhouse. From there we headed over to Jennifer's house and met the bride and groom, her bridesmaids and a couple of the groomsmen. Jen was supposed to go over and meet her birth mother for the first time at Jamba Juice. She had met her sisters and brothers in Vegas, but only Skyped with her birth mom. They were running late and ended up coming over to the house to meet her. Barbara showed up with her sister, Roxanne and we met them on the porch. Barbara was 16 and had just given birth to Jennifer when I last met her. The two of them are "mini me's" as Barbara is about 4'11 and has the same nose and eyes as Jennifer. It was emotional meeting her. Diane and I both thanked her for blessing and enriching our lives and told them both we looked forward to seeing them at the wedding the next day.
From there, We were off to the Rehearsal at the Grove. Darryl and Randy drove Dad and Shirley to the Grove and then headed over to the local area for some sightseeing. It was about 4 and we would be at the restaurant in Summerlin about 5:30. There were several people including Darryl, Randy and their w1ves that would be coming to the dinner but not b at the rehearsal and Jennifer asked if Darryl and Randy could get to the restaurant by about 5:00 and hold the venue and welcome any guests until we got there. They brought about 12 bottles of wine with them from Jennifer's house. The rehearsal dinner was great and Maggianos was the perfect location. We had a great evening. Darla and I took Sam home with us that night and Jennifer and McKenny hosted their friends back at the house to a pre wedding party.
Saturday morning dawned Sunny and warm, but not hot. We started our day by meeting Diane and Bob, David, Daniel, Becky, Miya, Bill and Sondra and Jennifer for breakfast. Sam had stayed with us and Jennifer was getting ready at the Aliante, so she met us about 9:30 and we bought our family breakfast at the Buffet. We had a nice visit. Jennifer took Sam and they went up to the room and took a nap while the boys and their girls and Darla and I played some slots. We hung out for about an hour and then went up and changed for the pool and picked up Samantha. She had a great time with the boys and Becky in the pool. Miya stayed poolside with a magazine and relaxed. I went over to Jennifer's house and met the guys for drinks and getting the tuxes on and ready to go. Darla headed up to the Bride's room at the Aliante. The photographer was there and took many pictures of the bride getting ready and then came over to the house and got pictures of the groom and his mates and got a picture of Diane's husband Bob and I as we watched the shenanigans. It is the first picture above after the couple pictures from the Prime Rib Loft.
We got over to the wedding site a little after 5 and the guys had their own room that quickly filled up with adult beverages as each of the guys seemed to donate a bottle to the bar. They got the "Dads" together and had us turn our backs and then brought Jennifer out in her bridal gown and got pictures of the "Reveal". They also did that with McKenny and got pictures of the same. The wedding started right on time and Dad and Shirley were seated and then the Moms and the Dad's wives and McKenny's Mom and Dad. I seated Darla and then stayed at the end of the aisle while Bill (J3nnifer's step dad during her teen years went up to get Jennifer and bring her to me. I was thrilled to walk Jennifer up the aisle and present her to McKenny as his bride. I placed her hand in his and just then my phone buzzed in my breast pocket. I took my seat and checked the phone and it was a text message from Sam's Dad, John. Great timing. The wedding was great. Sam did really well as the flower girl/ring bearer and looked great. Jennifer was gorgeous in her gown. It was a thrill for me to have all of my brothers there as well as our sons, my Dad and Shirley and Darla's parent and sister and her family.
The wedding was great although not enough mention of God and the sanctity of marriage. The wedding was done by an officiate rather than a preacher. I prayed over the meal and in my speech to the Newlyweds talked about how Darla and I prayed for Jennifer and Sam every day and eventually for McKenny as their relationship flourished. Diane read from 1st Corinthians Chapter 13. The wedding lasted until 11 and then Jennifer and McKenny had everyone to their house for a last drink. Darla and I were going to drive them to their hotel near the airport, but opted out when they decided to have their friends over AFTER the wedding. We had Sam and wanted to get her home and to bed. We went back to the house and I picked up McKenny's tux to return Sunday and we said our goodbyes and drove Diane and Bob back to the Aliante.
We had a good night's rest, but stayed up too late looking at the pictures from the wedding on Facebook. The photographer has a Facebook Page and the Mckenny and Jennifer wedding is displayed under Photos at M Place Productions Facebook page. Sam was frustrated with us and we finally turned off the light and looked at the photos in the dark. I think Darla and I were both still running a little high from the excitement of the wedding. It was a great wedding with almost no glitches at all. It went so smoothly and the kids had a great time.
Sunday we were up at the crack of 8:30 and showered and were off to the Men's Wearhouse to return not only my tux and McKenny's, but also Bill's as he left it at the Concierge for me to return as they had an early flight. From there, Darla, Sam and I went to I Hop for breakfast. Our plan was to meet Don and Alicia and Luke at the Tahiti Village for a pool day. They were out with a friend for a late breakfast and we had to cool our heels at The Boot Barn on Las Vegas Boulevard before they finally came and got us. You have to have a parking pass to park on site so we left our car in the Outlet parking lot across the street. We got to their room and the key wouldn't work and we had to sit for about thirty minutes before they finally opened the room. The Tahiti Village has a lazy river and Luke and Sam must have gone around a dozen times while we were there. You can see pictures above.
From there we drove over to Dad and Shirley's condo and picked them up and drove over to the Silverton Casino and met Darla's parents for an early dinner. Don and Alicia wanted to go somewhere a little more fancy than the diner at the Silverton, so opted out. We had a great visit and was nice to see the two parental groups visiting and having a great time together. You can see the picture above.
From there we dropped Dad and Shirley off and said our goodbyes. They had bought Sam a Disney autograph book and she asked them to autograph it for her. Very cute, We drove Sam back to North Las Vegas and met up with John at his home. We had a nice visit and got caught up with him on how things are going in his life. It was a nice visit and he was very gracious. We gave Sam hugs and told her we'd see her in July for her Summer Camp here in Roseville at our church.
It was nice to get back home on Monday and pick up our boy who did really well at the Pet Resort. He was freshly bathed and groomed and looked great. He was back to limping on his left paw and we called the vet on Tuesday and we have a consultation with an orthopedic veterinarian a week from Tuesday.
Both Jennifer and McKenny and Dad and Shirley are traveling today back to their homes. Dad and Shirley stayed an extra week in Vegas and Jennifer and McKenny have finished their Honeymoon in Hawaii.
I will call a halt to this right here and be back at it again next week. I hope everyone if well. Ciao
