"I'm a mother-in-law!!"

Well folks, It's official. My son and his long time girlfriend were married on Sunday, June 24, 2007. The wedding took place after an 18 month engagement. We thought we had so much time and before you knew it...the date was here. They had a beautiful ceremony in Huntsville, AL. at the college church on the Campus of Oakwood College (a HBCU) where they met about 6 years ago. The bride was stunning in her gown. I thought she looked like a porcelain doll, so fresh, simple and yet elegant. My son was handsome and soooo emotional. When he entered the ceremony you could tell he had been crying. When he saw her enter the church, he bit his lip and rocked side to side to try to maintain his composure, but to no avail. He wept as she walked down the aisle. As I looked at her I began to tear up as well. Her mother openly wept. She was just so beautiful and our children were truly entering a new phase in their lives. It was indeed a bittersweet moment for a parent. The couple wrote their vows and they were very touching as they declared their love for one another. When they lit the unity candle and then came over to hug each set of parents, that was another tearful time. For each parent we were able to say that we loved them both and give them encouragement as they began the journey as man and wife. My husband even teared up and had to fight back the tears as he hugged his son. In his words, "He's not my little boy anymore, he's gone...he's really a man!!" I can't wait to see the video as I think to deal with the emotion of the moment, my husband and I became distracted by the children participating in the ceremony and at times watched them rather than attend to the ceremony. I think it was a sort of defense mechanism to keep the intensity of the moment at bay. The reception was great. His wife (oh, my goodness...he has a WIFE!!!), is of Jamaican heritage so we had jerk chicken, curry chicken, Escovitch fish, beans and rice, veggies etc. Each layer of the wedding cake was a different flavor. The grooms cake (see photo) was a Polo bear, fully edible with Red Velvet cake inside and a head of molded rice crispy treats. There was also Jamaican Fruit cake. Cake and food was everywhere.