Lucky In Love

This past weekend Ryan, my dad, my grandmother and I all hopped on a plane and headed to my cousin's wedding in Kansas. The actual wedding was on Sunday afternoon, but we flew in on Saturday morning so that we could attend the rehearsal dinner.

The rehearsal dinner was held at Bucca di Beppo in Overland Park, Kansas. It was a lovely downtown spot which I have been told is even more lovely when it is lit up at Christmas time. My cousin Hannah and her fiance Matt had invited around 70 people to the rehearsal dinner. This was the largest rehearsal dinner that I had ever been to. Ryan and my rehearsal dinner was only around 20 people and just focused on the wedding party. This dinner however encompassed tons of family who were in town and the large wedding party.

Ryan, my dad, and I sat with my cousin Emily and her boyfriend Ryan. Yes, two Ryans and my dad named Brian, that never gets confusing especially in a loud and crowded restaurant. Anyway, Bucca di Beppo served us all family style, which actually worked out really well. It meant that we never had to wait too long for food and that everyone got to try a bunch of different things. The food there is amazing and the wine our small group ordered was tasty as well. It was good getting to catch up with Emily and her boyfriend Ryan as I hadn't seen them since our wedding about 2.5 years ago. It was also good to see my cousins Hannah and Sarah, whom I hadn't seen in 20 years! Crazy how time flies!

Sunday morning, we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We had a couple of hours to kill before we needed to get ready for the wedding, so my dad, Ryan and I headed out to the Nicklaus Gold Club at LionsGate to have a couple of drinks. It was a beautiful little club, a member of the ClubCorp family, and the staff was really welcoming. We still had a few minutes to spare once we were done with our drinks, so we ran a few errands and then headed back to the hotel to get ready for the wedding.

The wedding started at 4pm on Sunday and while we were initially worried about rain that was in the forecast, the day couldn't have turned out prettier! The wedding was held at a newly constructed banquet hall that was designed to look like a big, red barn on the outside. It was called the Ironwoods Lodge and was in Leawood, Kansas. Since family got to sit in the front row, I got some great pictures as Hannah and Matt were married.

Hannah Elizabeth Graves & Matthew Thomas Allen

Here comes the bride

My uncle giving Hannah's hand in marriage to Matt

The bridesmaids

The bridesmaid's bouquets

Mr. and Mrs. Matt Allen

After the outdoor ceremony, we headed inside for the reception. It started with a wonderful catered dinner soon followed by all of the traditional wedding things. There were toasts, a cake cutting, a bouquet toss, the garter ceremony and dances galore. One of the best things was that the groomsmen and fathers had choreographed a surprise dance routine for Hannah, the mother of the groom, and the mother of the bride. They did the 'Call Me, Maybe' video dance that was made famous recently by the Harvard Baseball team. It was pretty funny!

After all of the whirlwind of wedding activities, we helped the parents of the bride and groom pack up as Hannah and Matt drove off to their Honeymoon. It was a surprise for Hannah, because little did she know that they were headed to Bora Bora! I was pretty jealous, not gonna lie. Welcome to the family Matt and best wishes for a wonderful life together as husband and wife!

Their cupcake wedding cake

First dance as husband and wife

My father and uncle with my grandmother 

My cousin Emily and her boyfriend Ryan

Me and Ry - LOVE!