Happy 4th Anniversary, Kids!

Four years ago today, our oldest son got married to a lovely young lady he'd met on CatholicMatch.com two years earlier.  The two of them hit it off immediately, after meeting on-line in November of 2007 and spending lots of time on the phone; so they arranged to meet for the first time in person under the clock at Grand Central Station in January of 2008. 

Isn't that romantic?  Doesn't it sound a bit like that old movie "An Affair to Remember" with Cary Grant and Jean Kerr, where they plan to meet at the Empire State Building on Valentine's Day?  Only way, way better, obviously, because neither of them got hit by a taxi and they both showed up, right on schedule!  They clicked right away, and the rest, as they say, is history.  By the following month (after spending only a second weekend together), my son called and told me that "uh, I think might have to, you know, start saving some money...because, um, I think I'm going to be buying a ring pretty soon." (!!!!)

Within six months of meeting in NYC, they were engaged.  They had a rather long engagement, however, because a mere three months after my son put a diamond ring on his beloved's finger, he was deployed to Iraq for a year.  But finally a couple of months after he returned, they were married in an absolutely glorious wedding ceremony in the bride's hometown in Wisconsin, at the Catholic church she'd attended all of her life.  The nuptial Mass was so incredibly beautiful and holy; the bride's older brother sang and was the cantor, and when he sang the Litany of Saints, it just made your soul soar.

My oldest son is a guy who never wanted to date just anyone for the sake of having a girlfriend; he was always looking for "the one."  Well, take a look at his face on the day of his wedding.  His expression tells the story better than words.  I think it's safe to say he found what he'd been searching for.



So our boy got what he'd been searching for--the woman of his dreams, his soul mate; and my husband and I, after raising five sons, finally got our first daughter!  (Now that I have two daughters-in-law, I have given this one the blog name "Regina.")

Look at that sweet, beautiful face!  Our son hit the jackpot four years ago, that's true--but our whole family did, too.

The wedding reception was held in a gorgeous old historical building, in what had once been the auditorium of a Catholic school called Notre Dame (how apropos for the Pearl family!).   I think the ceilings must have been about 30 feet high, and the place was all pillars and arches and soaring arched windows and gleaming wood floors.  That venue would have looked magnificent with no decorative touches at all added, but Regina's choice of simple vases of pussy willows as centerpieces for the tables was absolutely stunning.

When guests arrived, they didn't sign a typical guest book; they signed a large coffee table book about NYC--which of course had great meaning for this couple.  Another interesting idea that Regina came up with was to use what looked like old fashioned library book check-out cards (Remember those cards in the back of the library books?  Remember card catalogs?) as place cards for all the guests.  They even looked as if they'd been typed up using an old school-style typewriter.  She is a librarian, which made this little detail especially endearing and fun.  As favors, she and my son made homemade hot cocoa mix and put it into cute little mason jars, with labels that had their names and "The Perfect Blend" printed on them.  Adorable.

The wedding party (with our four other sons as their brother's groomsmen!) sat at a long banquet table that was set up on the stage, with a majestic red velvet curtain as their backdrop.  After dinner, the table was cleared, the curtains were opened, and the musicians took over the stage.  For two hours, a famous local band played polka music, and that was followed by two hours of a DJ who played contemporary party tunes.  The dancing was spirited and even the little ones got involved (and the stage became a mini dance floor as well!).

I have so many wonderful memories of that wedding, which WAS the perfect blend: a holy and reverent wedding Mass, followed by a delicious dinner in a spectacular setting, and topped off with four hours of non-stop dancing and merriment (including polka dancing, which no Pearls really knew how to do but were game enough to try anyway!).  Life was good; it was very, very good.

But it got better!  Within 18 months, these two lovebirds were the parents of identical twin baby girls.  And about 20 months after that, the twins were joined by a little sister.

We're so proud of our son and his wife.  They are wonderful parents who are completely open to having as many children as God wants them to.  And as far as my husband and I are concerned, when it comes to grandchildren, the more the merrier!

I was not a blogger when my oldest son and his wife got married, so I haven't really talked much about that wedding here at "String of Pearls."  I thought it would be fun to do so today, as a way of celebrating their anniversary.

And it is wedding season, you know: because my husband and I celebrate our anniversary on December 27; and our middle son also had a December wedding, back on the 7th, which I have yet to blog about in the detail it deserves.  So be on the look-out tomorrow, because I'm planning a 7 Quick Takes Friday post about it! 

In the meantime, HAPPY 4th ANNIVERSARY to son #1 and his lovely wife Regina.  I love you both so much, and I pray that God blesses you with many more happy years together.