The Honeymooners

Well…. They pulled it off! Katie Lindsey Welsh has changed her name officially to Katherine Welsh Laliberte. (Read the other posts below to see how this all came to be.)

I would love to catch up with everyone personally but everyone has been calling for details so I thought this would help until I can catch up.

The wedding was absolutely perfect. We’ve never seen Katie and Fred so happy and oozing with joy. To have sat back and watched them all weekend was so much fun. They were both calm, relaxed and so sure of what they were doing and SO much in love.

So here’s how the weekend went…. After nearly 10 hours traveling with Jimmy, Colleen and the Grandmas, and 2.2 miles away from our hotel, the tire on the rental mini-van blew on the highway. Not a fun experience--a little loss of control, smoke, pulling over on a highway with no lights (with the exception of trucks speeding by). We called AAA, Enterprise rental car and Fred’s parents who were there within minutes. So that was our first introduction of “meeting the parents”. They immediately scooped us up and got us into our hotel while Jim waited for AAA to fix the tire. Once we got the Grandmas settled in their room, we freshened up and headed over to their house for a glass of wine (11:30ish) and immediately figured out it was going to be an amazing weekend. His parents are absolutely great. They were so gracious, welcoming and fun. Katie and Fred eventually showed up which was great to finally squeeze her for the first time since they announced their plans 9 days earlier. Several glasses of wine later, we went back to the hotel (3:30a.m.).

Saturday: We met up at the Lalibertes for a pasta lunch under the tent before they took us up to the family farm which is about 40 minutes from their home. The farm is about 400 acres and the “driveway” was about a mile long. It was so rustic, charming and perfect. The chapel is a two-person stone chapel that Fred’s grandfather built for the purpose of meditation and reflection. His grandparents “Daddi” (Nicholas von zur Muhlen) and “Nah” (Isali von zur Muhlen) were two of the sweetest people of the weekend. They were both full of so much love, positive energy, humor and sweetness.

So my daughter who had always despised Autumn, got married among French Cinderella pumpkins (from Uncle Harry’s farm), gorgeous foliage (Fred’s cousin Vanessa hand-braided garlands of Canadian maple leaves) and gourds! I guess Canadian foliage has changed her outlook of fall. It was absolutely gorgeous and vibrant.

From the farm we stopped at Uncle Harry’s (1000 acre) farm for more pumpkins, potatoes and cut sunflowers and pulled carrots and parsnips out of the earth for our Friday night dinner later that night. When we got back to the house, Fred’s siblings and friends started showing up which was great to get to know everyone in stages. I have never met a family with so much genuine love for each other and without a doubt, now Katie. Fred is the oldest of the four; followed by Nick (an adorable blonde version of Fred, and sisters Toya (Victoria) and Aley (Alexandra) (did you catch the Russian theme?”. I know this is all sounding nauseatingly sappy but we are now in love with his family. Showing absolutely no effort, they all embraced us and couldn’t have been more welcoming.

Katie’s friend Amanda drove up from Ithaca which was so great. It seemed like old times but now they're women in love! Her friend Maggie booked a flight that we found out Friday was delayed until Saturday and then that flight was delayed which made her miss the connecting flight which was truly the only HUGE disappointment of the weekend. It was hard not to think about how upsetting it must have been for her. Her friend Laura got a different flight that got her in just in time for the wedding. Katie's maid-of-honor, Elizabeth, is a close friend that she spent a year with in Paris. Her family lives in Clinton but Elizabeth lives in works in California so she got the award for longest travel.

So we hung out and had a lovefest/party Friday, lots of great wine and laughing, listened to Katie and Fred singing and playing guitar. They sang this adorable, playful and catchy song they wrote together and then all cooked a wonderful grilled dinner, fresh vegetables from the garden.

The day of the wedding started with a caravan from the Laliberte house to the farm with a little bit of rain (or was it the heavens anointing their wedding day?). Katie was whisked into the farmhouse and got dressed downstairs while Fred got the upstairs. Fred and his brother left first to take their spot in front of the chapel and then we all casually walked down the path where we gathered outside the little chapel where the minister and Fred’s Uncle Harry held a beautiful and touching ceremony. Jim read a passage from Tolstoy to Katie and Fred about marriage that was beautiful. We went back to the farmhouse and drank champagne and nibbled on sandwiches and fruits and cheeses, had lots of toasts, more laughs and fun and then eventually started heading back to the house.

Everyone pitched in to prepare another amazing dinner of Jamaican coconut pumpkin soup (served in a pumpkin), beef tenderloins, goulash, sauteed red cabbage from the garden followed by an amazing chocolate cinnamon layered torte decorated with miniature maple leaves. The tent, tables and dance barn was set up and decorated by THE GUYS! (Canadian and American flags at the entrance). Because the Lalibertes are always hosting hordes of people, and in this case had all of Katie and Fred's friends and cousins staying over, Fred's brother and sisters prepared a honeymoon tent that was so sweet and amazing. (air mattress with plush comforters and a ton of pillows, space heater, carpeting, table with a bowl of fruit, champagne, iPod with speaker)

After we stuffed ourselves, dancing ensued which was a blast (Paulo salsa dancing with corn stalks!). Katie and Fred stayed in their wedding attire all night (Fred wore tuxedo with tails. Katie wore J Crew wedding dress. Did you know you can order and receive a wedding dress within 48 hours?). We headed back to our hotel around 2am, we hear the police came at 3:30 (they congratulated them and said have a good time). We all met again for brunch the next morning (Fred wore his tails with jeans--very dashing!). More goodbyes and happy tears from the Lalibertes and we headed home with the Grandmas and Laura and got home in exactly 9 hours with only one stop.

Katie and Fred stayed one more night and then headed out for a short honeymoon at Niagara on the Lake (wine country). They expect to come to Connecticut Columbus Day weekend to get more of her belongings as well as Jim's Uncle Chuck's 80th birthday party. We may sneak in a shower and we will definitely be planning a New England post-wedding reception to continue all the fun and celebrating.

All in all, the wedding was as close to perfection as Katie and Fred could have expected. With the exception of not having more of their relatives and friends celebrate with them, it was extremely intimate and kept the focus in perspective.

It occurred to me that 24 years ago to this day an adorable 26-year old law school grad proposed to his 22-year old girlfriend and were married two years to the day of their first date. Fast forward to Katie and Fred who got engaged one year to the day of their first date (7/27) and married exactly two months later (9/27). Again, life comes at you fast!

For me and Jim, we can't even describe how full our hearts are to be together and watching such happiness. With the successes our kids have experienced through the years, nothing compares to seeing such pure happiness of the hearts. We are truly blessed.

Here are links to the pictures we have so far:
MB's pictures: http://katieandfredlaliberte.shutterfly.com/
Marina's pictures: http://katieandfredericswedding.shutterfly.com/