Last year on September 12th, my  brother and his fiancee Kym helped Sean and I on our special day in Savannah. This year on September 12th, Sean and I were in the wedding of my brother and Kym. While we share the same anniversary, the weddings and the events leading up to it were very different. It’s always nice to be back in Ohio and this time was no exception. The four days were a complete whirlwhind for me and Sean – I can’t imagine how it must have been for Tyler and Kym! 

We arrived in Ohio on Thursday morning, having left Pittsburgh early that morning.

Sean drove me straight to Spalon where all the ladies were getting manicures and pedicures. I got to meet Kym’s paternal and maternal grandmothers, one of her aunts and her sister-in-law, Kim. Everyone was awesome and it felt so great to be with my new family! Kym was bursting at the seams with excitement and happiness to be marrying my brother – her positivity was infectious in the best possible way.

Tyler hadn’t wanted a traditional bachelor party, simply an outing with friends to a Cleveland Indians game and dinner. I booked a room in downtown Cleveland for me, Sean, Tyler and Kym and got tickets for us and a few of their friends. We had dinner at The Butcher and The Brewer and it was great. Lots of shareable small plates, some pretty tasty brews, a beautiful space and perfectly located on East 4th Street.

Turner Field is far from the main streets and happenings of downtown Atlanta – which is always a bummer when going to a game there. In Cleveland, the stadium was down the street from the restaurant and there was so much energy in the entire area – lots of people out walking, shopping, dining al fresco…it was great! 

After the game, Tyler wanted to go to a nearby casino. He and Pat lost some money pretty quickly, so we didn’t stay too long. Haha! We headed out to check out the nighttime scene and found a spot to hang out and grab a late-night snack before heading back to the hotel.

We were up bright and early to head back to Warren so we could decorate the venue for the reception. We were all pretty tired but pulled through and got that room completely decked out in blue, yellow and silver. Kym made almost all the decorations and everything turned out so well!

Sean and I went back to my mom’s house to shower and get ready for the rehearsal dinner. Kym’s dad is a priest in the Russian Orthodox church and he was assisting another priest with the wedding ceremony. As they walked us through their traditional ceremony, it became clear this would be nothing like what most of us expect from a wedding ceremony. Most of the ceremony would be done in chants, filled with prayers and then songs from a choir. They would exchange rings at the door to the church, before coming down the aisle and say no vows to each other whatsoever. It was going to be very different but we discovered they were also going to get to wear crowns. Crowns! Now that is COOL!

After the church, we went over to Kym’s brother’s and sister-in-law’s house in Howland for the rehearsal dinner. It was catered by a local barbecue restaurant and everything was really tasty! My dad picked up pies from a nearby Amish restaurant – YUM! Kym and Tyler shared gifts with the wedding party, Tyler gave a lovely toast, we chatted with family (especially our cousins who had come in from Texas) and generally had a great time.

We all went to bed early that night. I’d say it was all due to the fact that the wedding was the next day, but I think we were still pretty tired from our fun night in Cleveland.

I was up early the next morning because I had to be at the hair salon (which was conveniently located right down the road from my mom’s house!) by 8am. It was me and Sean’s official one-year anniversary, but it definitely didn’t feel like it. It was now a day for my brother and sister-in-law. 

Kym texted me and asked me to bring her wedding veil and I was happy to be able to help out. All the ladies were at the salon and it was a fun, jovial atmosphere. I ended up LOVING my hair ‘do and I got so many compliments on it. It was raining in the morning and while everyone else was worried about their hair staying put, I knew the humidity and moisture would only help my curls. 😉

This was the first wedding I’d ever been in and it was definitely a busy and full event – more so than I’d even thought. But it went so fast and was a blur of laughter and tears and lots of love. I love my entire family so much but I was surprised by the swell of love I felt for this amazing, smart and loving woman who is now my sister. I knew I loved her, but it truly felt so extra-special to be part of this day and have her be “officially” in the family. And look how STUNNING she is. My brother is a lucky man, that’s for sure!

The rain never let up but Tyler and Kym had high spirits the whole day and never let it get them down. It was so lovely to see them handle it with grace and keep it fun. I mean, taking a golf cart to the reception and walking in with a polka dot umbrella IS the definition of fun anyway, right? We all thought so. 😉

The reception was a blast and the decorations were all so lovely. Tyler and Kym danced their first dance to a lovely rendition of Elvis Presley’s “I Can’t Help Falling in Love with You.” Tyler created an amazing photo booth that we all had a great time dressing up for and getting silly photos in.

My cousin Karen insisted my dad dance with her and I snagged a photo for evidence of him dancing!

Love this pic of the newlyweds and Kym’s niece Laney.

And it took me, Eric and Sean to convince my dad to get in the photo booth, but you wouldn’t know it from this picture – he clearly went for some of the silliest props. Love it.

Cousin Kathy, my mom, cousin Karen, aunt Barbie, grandma and me – I think this one is frame-worthy.

Happy anniversary to us!

The majority of our family stayed the night at Avalon Inn and had breakfast together the next morning. Sean and I said goodbye to everyone then headed over to Butler to see his aunt, uncle and cousins on the farm.

It was so nice to see everyone again. With he and I having no family in Atlanta, it’s always wonderful for both of us to be back up north in Ohio and Pennsylvania where much of our families live. Aunt Elaine is such a kind and generous person – she made a delicious lunch of homemade lasagne for our visit and it was the only home-cooked meal of our trip. And then she surprised us by baking us her version of a Hummingbird cake – which was one of the layers of our wedding cake. I was so touched by this incredibly thoughtful gift. It was so special and made me feel like a true part of the family. Not to mention it was delicious!

We headed to the airport in the early afternoon, but were both a bit sad to be leaving. It always feels like too short of a visit when we are up here. Hopefully next time we’ll have a few more days to add to the trip. But in all, it was an action-packed weekend filled with fun and love. What could be better?