A Change of Heart....

Two weeks ago, we had a bride who wanted black bridesmaid dresses and calla lilies. Absolutely no roses. That was it. She had her mind set.

Earlier this week, she gave in just a little bit. Maybe a few roses interspersed among the calla lilies to add some filler. And her dress color choice had changed from black to moss green.

So this morning, I get an email that starts off like this: "Your gonna kill me". (I knew it wasn't going to be good.) She found a photo of the perfect bouquet - kind of vintage - perfect with the moss green dresses - and full of ROSES!!! Yep, you heard me - roses.

Her exact words were, "I found these flowers and I LOVE them. I dont know what color the roses are, but there are some pink in it too. And i like how it has just a couple of dark roses in there too. I think it gives it an antique look. And it would look really good in front of the moss dresses. And if i have to go all roses I don't care. I just really REALLY love everything about this bouqet."

So.....does anyone have any use for 90 peach/pink calla lilies?

(If the truth were to be known - I like these bouquets sooooooooo much better than her original choice). Just don't tell her, because we tend to not agree on too many thing with this wedding planning stuff.

Thankful for Monday.....

The last four days seem somewhat of a blur in my mind. After spending Wednesday evening up to my elbows in pumpin pies, cornbread casserole, brocolli salad and party mix, we were up and on the road at 6:30 Thursday morning. Traffic was light and we arrived at Grandma and Grandpa's house at 11:00 (their time). Needless to say, little Anna was the highpoint of the day for many family members - getting their first chance to hold her and kiss her. I just couldn't believe how good she was - being passed from person to person and hardly a nap all day. Here she is about 9:00 on Thanksgiving evening - passed out!

It's tradition for all of the Knight children to pose in their "oldest - youngest" photo too.

After lunch, my group headed to the retirement home to visit Aunt Mabel. The sight of this BUNCH brought tears to her eyes.

Some of our kids had to work on Friday, so they journeyed home after our visit with Aunt Mabel. The rest of us relaxed and stayed until Friday afternoon before starting home. The girls did some shopping and the boys spent the afternoon visiting the old neigborhood where Bob grew up near St. Louis - and of course a stop at a favorite bar for a couple of cold ones. It was late afternoon before we started for Indiana and well after midnight before getting home.

Saturday morning, it was up and out the door for Allegan, Michigan for the wedding of Jessica Gibson and Brandon Mock. Jessica played softball at LMC with the twins and Katie was a bridesmaid in the wedding. It was a beautiful wedding and reception - held at The Silo Banquet Facility. It was decorated for a "country Christmas" and really put us into the holiday mood.

It was fun to see the girls celebrating with all of their old college friends. I remember when these kids would show up on my doorstep and would sleep on the couch. Now, they're all grown up and college grads and making their way in the world.

And of course, the hi-light for some of us was having Bob's band play at the reception. This was a first for the band - never had played at a wedding before. The bride was insistant on the fact that she wanted his band to play. All I can say is that it was a great success!! The band was supposed to stop at 11:00 and at 11:30, the dance floor was still packed and everyone was chanting, "ONE MORE SONG - ONE MORE SONG".

My Girls and Their Guys...

The twins were in a wedding on Saturday - their BFF Kristin was married at Holy Cross church with a beautiful reception at Blackthorn. The three girls have been friends since the first grade at Corpus Christi. Here's some photos of my girls, along with Colleen's husband Jimmy and Katie's boyfriend, Santiago.

An Evening to Remember....

Summer weddings are always fun, but especially so when the child of your good friends is married in a beautiful ceremony on the Notre Dame campus. The weather was beautiful and we thoroughly enjoyed the reception held at the Irish Garden of the Morris Inn - in the shadow of the Golden Dome. Yesterday's bride and groom met when Colleen introduced them at the salon. Sharon was just finishing when Kevin arrived for a haircut - and here we are less than a year later.

Katie and Colleen and Kevin (the groom) went to grade school at Corpus Christi together and also high school at LaSalle. We've been friends with Kevin's parents for nearly 20 years.

Another added thrill for our Kevin was the fact that Sharon works for Charlie Weis and his family. So, the Notre Dame football coach was seated just two tables away from us at the reception and once dinner was completed, he graciously posed for this photo with Kevin. I don't think Kevin's come down off his cloud yet.

Another fun part of the evening was the wedding party being led into the reception by the Notre Dame Leprechaun. The Fight Song was played MORE than once!!!! The Leprechaun made his way throughout the reception, posing for photos with just a few IRISH fans.

...and finally, a couple of special photos - myself with my husband and three of my children and another of myself with my two good friends - Mary Lou and Paula.

Cohan/Costello Wedding

We had a wonderful weekend in Chicago - surrounded by family and friends and sharing Mark and Erin's day. What a beautiful way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day - the joining of the Costello Clan and the Cohan Clan!! The wedding included a bagpiper and then prior to dinner, we were entertained by Irish dancers.

Bobby's best man speech brought tears to my eyes - remembering how he and Mark met as freshman in high school and became best friends. He told how on that day in January of 2003, when he was activated to go to Iraq, he called Mark to tell him the news and two hours later, Mark was standing at his front door.

EXCEPT for the best man getting lost on the way to the church and arriving 10 minutes before the ceremony (with the rings in hand), it was a perfect day and a fun time was had by all!!





To enjoy more photos from the day....



Cohan/Costello Wedding'>http://

Cohan/Costello Wedding

Nadjek/Berta Wedding - September 23, 2006

More Wedding Photos to Share...

It all started two years ago when Saturday's bride and groom met at the wedding of these two...

Beautiful Wedding...

Chanda Nadjek and Mark Berta were married on Saturday at St. Stanislaus Church in South Bend. Katie and Colleen were bridesmaids and our son-in-law Jimmy was a groomsman. Katie, Colleen and Chanda met during their freshman year at LaSalle and have been the best of friends ever since. Mark and Jimmy were friends from their days at Riley and it was at Jimmy and Colleen's wedding (two years ago) where Mark and Chanda first met - as a bridesmaid and groomsman.

Wedding Weekend

Our family enjoyed a beautiful wedding last night in Michigan - a college friend of Katie and Colleen's. The site was the Blue Dress Barn near St. Joseph, Michigan. The wedding was held in the garden and the reception in a huge old barn - like nothing I'd ever seen before. Please enjoy the photos from Jeff and Katie's beautiful evening.










The "SAND" ceremony.











The Reception Hall











College Friends - Brian, Colleen, Jeff, Katie and "Papa"











The "Birthday" Girl and her sweetie.