A Wedding Weekend

This past weekend we headed to Ohio for Rich’s cousin Jenn’s wedding. It was set in a beautiful state park (Burr Oak Resort) about an hour or so out of Columbus. We all had rooms at the lodge and it was on a hilltop overlooking a beautiful lake. The setting could not be more gorgeous for a wedding.

The drive there for us was a long one – 8 hours! We left on the Friday morning and (after a few pit stops along the way), arrived at the lodge around 5pm that same day. We were greeted by Rich’s family (some of whom came from South Carolina, Florida and even London, England!), and then went to one of their cabins for a good old country cook-out!
It was really relaxed and a lot of fun and we munched on burgers and dogs and then the bride-and-groom-to-be, and all their friends came and joined us in the cabin, accompanied with banjos and guitars and mandolins! It was a great night before the great day ahead.

Saturday morning we awoke to cloudy skies unfortunately, but the temperature was warm and after a yummy breakfast, we put on our boots and set out for a hike along one of the many trails at the lodge. The wedding ceremony didn’t start until 4:30, so it gave us time to enjoy our beautiful surroundings.

After lunch we went for a rest, then got ready for the wedding and joined everyone in a big room to await the bride and groom. As the music started, the sun appeared and lit up the room, which was a big A-frame style with a huge picture window overlooking the lake – this is where they stood for the ceremony and it was truly lovely!

The happy couple are very much “outdoor” people. In fact, their honeymoon is being spent hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail, and instead of an engagement ring, Andy proposed to Jenn with a kayak!

Even though our weekend was short (we left for home Sunday morning – with of course another pit-stop at the Prime Outlet mall in Pennsylvania!)…it was great to see Rich’s family and celebrate with everyone. There was one point during the night of the wedding when Rich and I shared a dance, and it was a surreal feeling knowing this would be us in a just a few more weeks!

Congratulations to Andy and Jenn – your wedding was great and we’re so happy we were there to celebrate with you.