I managed to emerge from my doldrums den in March long enough to make one good trip. My granddaughter was getting married and that was an event I was not about to miss. Julie has been a single mom for many years and done a very good job of raising her two kids with just a bit of help from her mom and perhaps some guidance from her other grandpa on the Madden side. Fred Madden, who was a schoolmate and friend of my late husband's, passed away just before Christmas. He was an amazing man and reminded me a lot of my maternal grandfather but that is another story.
Anyway Julie finally met a really special guy who also had a couple of kids and after some fits and starts--the course of true love seldom runs straight as I can vouch!--they decided they'd all be happier in a new combined family. Both having a lot of Irish ancestry, they elected to set the event on March 17. It was unthinkable that I would not be there to share their joy.
The wedding was celebrated at an atmospheric guest ranch on the outskirts of Sonoita, Arizona. There is a lot of history in that area and the old west is remembered in many ways. Old timers might recall when it was the home to some fine racing Quarter Horses in the Three Bars line owned by Art Pollard back in the 1950s and 60s. All that was way before Julie and Josh's time, though!
Anyway, I stayed at the ranch for two nights and shared a room with one of Julie's besties, a very sweet girl named Jamie. I was not a big help but tried to lend a hand here and there as they decorated the big barn where the reception was held and tried to help when people got a bit tense and edgy as is so common when there are important big events and things just don't want to fall into place.
The wedding itself was outdoors. Thankfully the wind calmed quite a bit although it was a bit chilly and I did not envy the bride and her attendants in their light dresses, a couple even strapless. I was chilly in a shirt jacket! It was lovely, though, as weddings are always supposed to be. The guys all wore jeans and white shirts and the ladies, down to the flower girl, all wore western boots with their festive clothes. The ceremony was a unique mixture of old and new, tradition and innovations the couple chose and planned themselves.
The party afterwards was great fun. Mostly Mexican food with a few other dishes, a mountain of cupcakes in lieu of a huge wedding cake, and music DJ'd by a close friend of the bride's mom who is used to doing such things and did a bang-up job all the way. Dancing, eating, drinking, talking and just celebrating in a good down home sort of way. It was wonderful! I saw people I had not seen for years, old family friends from Bisbee. I met Josh's mom and dad and their current partners. They're divorced just as Julie's are and all manged not to have any difficult interactions! I guess that is more the rule than the exception anymore, really. People just work around it and usually out of respect for the happy couple, peace reigns.
Of course I took lots of pictures! There were two professional photographers doing that also and I don't compete with them but I have my own memories too. Here are just a few. Julie's son Julian (17 this past July 14) was a busy guy. He escorted his grandma Shari to her seat and several others, gave the bride away and was a groomsman. He and Josh get along well. Julie's daughter Emma also adores Josh. His two little boys, younger, were involved also. Julian and Emma seem to like them as well. Ben and Alex are characters!
I had not seen Malcolm, my oldest stepson and Julie's dad, for a long time. I was jolted how much he looks like his dad--except Jim never wore a long beard--and also that he is plainly not well. That was hard. Lung issues from a life of smoking and congestive heart failure. He cannot be off oxygen very long and left early with his current wife but he did come at Julie's request. They've been a bit estranged. Any family or close friends with a question about any of the pictures just ask thru email or a comment and I will try to clarify.
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| Here Comes the Bride |
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| Giving the Bride |
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| With this Ring |
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| The wedding party afterwards |
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| New couple with bride's parents |
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| The first dance |
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| Dad and daughter dance |
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| The cake table |
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| The reception scene |
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| A picture of love |
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