When we arrived in Grand Island for the rehearsal,
Liz looked like she might just take a nap instead.
While Liz was busy, we successfully entertained
ourselves with books, photos, bells, and chocolate.
A game of Botticelli had Erin deep in thought...
...until Libby managed to get her head stuck in Jared's navel.
And here Erin had claimed she could set foot inside a church
without anything or anyone spontaneously combusting.
It was probably best that we got a few things out of our
systems before the ceremony.
Using a dress bag, a beach towel, and Libby, several
ways of wearing a shawl were demonstrated.
To an untrained observer, they look... normal.
We probably wouldn't have rented Moulin Rouge if we'd known we'd be
watching it in the basement of a church with the groomsmen and their wives.
Most of them left pretty quickly. (It's only PG-13, I swear!)
One more note for this photo: we had our choice of about a dozen couches, and this was the best one.
I'm not sure what to call this ensemble Libby is modeling, but
those are the boxers that brought seven people to Wal-Mart at
midnight, where they were yelled at by a guy in the parking lot.
The blue thing (the one Libby isn't sitting on) is Sarah collapsing in a fit.
(Liz's grandmother thought we were quiet and well-behaved.)
Laura's mother ended up acting as the bridesmaids'
highly overqualified hairstylist and attendant.
Boys. You can't take 'em anywhere.
But they did manage to pick out a nice shade of lipstick.
Looking radiant, and a little concerned.
Time constraints required Laura to leave her curlers in...
...while everyone was getting made up.
Back at the church, we tried to eat a careful lunch without
wearing off all of our lipstick or being attacked by Libby.
The clear snaps they sewed on to keep the shawls from
falling off turned out to be in the wrong place, so we had to
hack them off at the last minute.
Liz's mother made sure that her veil was securely attached...
...and so was her head.
Everyone patiently waited to be arranged by the photographer.
Liz during the picture session, wielding her ten-pound bouquet.
Jared hadn't even known about the color scheme ahead of time.
Bridesmaids...
...bridesmaids again...
...bridesmaids doing the dance of the three veils.
Caption A: Matt picks greenery out of Liz's veil.
Caption B: Matt: "Gee, wonder what's under here...."
And suddenly it's six o'clock and it's time to get down the aisle.
Laura, Liz's sister Kate, and the local pastor happily watch the
procession as Sarah (far left) checks out the groomsmen and
Erin (middle) keeps an eye out for snipers in the balcony.
Everyone listens attentively as Pastor Bill makes fun of Matt.
Matt gathers preliminary data toward the research questions
proposed by villagers and publicized by the Brobdingnagian Bards.
Liz and Matt turn around and realize that a whole bunch
of people have been watching them all this time.
So they slowly flee the church, only to be slowed down by Liz's dress.
I'm sure computers and networks were not discussed at that table at all.
(If she really tried, Libby might have been able to look a little more pained.)
How nice.
No, of course these two aren't up to something.