Dream Wedding in Hawaii

Mark and Laura's wedding day dawned beautiful and hurricane free! Mother and I did some shopping in the morning and rested up in the early afternoon while the Wedding party prepared themselves and did all of the last minute stuff wedding parties do.

Charlie took these wonderful shots of Mark and Nate getting dressed. Don't you just love them!

Before we knew it, the time had arrived. We all made it out to the beach where the ceremony was to be held. The sun was shining in a cloudless sky. Anna got this shot of a turtle that had come up onto the beautiful crescent beach. All in attendance called this a good omen!

The wedding was very simple and beautiful. Laura's Daddy brought her to the beach in a canoe and lifted her out onto the sand, to accompany her to the hut where she was to become Mrs. Mark McNamara. Her mother officiated at the ceremony. It was all original and very touching as there was something special about it to everyone there.

Once the ceremony was done, there were hugs and congrat- ulations and a few tears. Now on to the celebrating! We all drove back to the dockside where the getaway car was being decorated.

There was some mischief as there always is... coconuts and bananas were dangled from the rear of the car. I still don't get it.

The younger crowd did all of the decorating while us older married types hung back and watched.

We soon boarded the boat that would be taking us on a sunset cruise for the reception. The swells were pretty big and it was impossible to walk straight on this boat. The bartender said that she cuts people off when they CAN walk a straight line!

They turned us loose on the most scrumptious buffet. There were giant shrimps and some pork steamed in banana leaves that was to die for. It was all so beautiful.

Bar Tender, just keep 'em coming. Ahhh after 5 days in a hotel room with my mother... I needed this! I had not consumed NEAR enough alcohol on this trip!

Everyone was settling in. Charlie was the last to board. He looked so happy and relaxed! The real fun starts now!

Annette, too, looked like she was on the home stretch. She was flitting around giving everyone hugs and celebrating!

She had really pulled one off! The ceremony had been PERFECT!

We set off on our cruise with this dramatic backdrop. OK but Wait!! Where were Mark and Laura? Had they snuck onto the boat? Annette wasn't saying a thing. Alright, I guess the surprises weren't over.

We all relaxed and listened to the music and the angelic voice of this man. His voice was so sweet it almost makes you cry.

We worked on eating dinner. It was all so good.

Suddenly on the horizon, a sailboat could be seen. It was the Newlyweds, sailing towards us. Nate watched for a glimpse of his Daddy.

We continued along this beautiful coastline until we got closer to their Kini Kini.

We came near then passed on. The swells were too much. We needed to move into a more protected are in order to pull the sailboat alongside us so Mark and Laura could join the party.

Although.... with that lovely bottle of champagne...

It looked like they were having a party of their own! What a neat thing to get to do... sail off into the sunset on a quiet boat away from the nagging crowds for a little while to let the moment set in. Man and Wife!

I have a Sister-In-Law! They joined us and they both looked so happy.

It was all so much fun. We blew bubbles at them upon their arrival.

Soon the sunset demanded everyone's attention. We took some gorgeous pictures.

There wasn't anyone who looked bad in these. The lighting was magnificent! It even did OK for this old bird. And I needed some more pictures of ME!

Just after sunset, when everyone was milling around, I caught Mark and Laura in another quiet moment.

Nate joined them and was checking out his Daddy's new ring. They're officially a family!

After everyone had eaten, Charlie got up and began the toasting. I'll give you this one and leave the rest. It was all very sweet.

The cake was cut and passed around then the dancing began. We had the best time out there shaking our booties. The Bride and Groom took a turn on the floor.

All too soon, the boat was pulling into the slip and it was time to leave. We watched as Mark lifted Laura into the jeep while Nathan held the door. It was a perfect ending to the fairy tale wedding.