Well, this is really late to say this, but Tia (Iana, Sarah’s sister), got married August 31 to Ryan Janisse. The wedding was in Fresno at Grandma Bev’s lake house and the reception was in Fresno at the San Joaquin hotel. Sarah was the maid of honor and sang Ben Harper’s “Forever” as Iana walked down the isle, while Ryan’s good friend Burton played guitar accompaniment. Keana was the flower girl and Maia just matched, and I rounded things off with a solo trumpet “outtro” after the ceremony, playing “The Very Thought of You“. But I’m getting a little ahead of myself…
We headed out to Fresno on Friday, August 29 so we weren’t just rushing into all the wedding madness. When we arrived at the lake house it was 107 degrees and we were exhausted. We tried to nap but it was just too hot and the kids were too excited. The hammering to get the front door in the frame didn’t help either. In the evening Iana, Ryan, Jennie, Bev, and Bev’s boyfriend Kenny came up to do some last-minute cleaning and set-up for the wedding. I barbecued a whole bunch of chicken and we all sat down for dinner, the night before the night before the wedding.
Saturday was another day filled with excitement and luckily we had some down time before the wedding rehearsal. Again, there were no naps in the cards but the girls slept on the way down to Fresno for the rehearsal dinner, and we figured 30 minutes was better than nothing. It was a huge rehearsal dinner with the entire wedding party and most of the immediate family—including aunts and uncles—on both sides. Luckily Robert and Cindy were watching a friend’s daughter who was 11 I think, and immediately Keana had a new best friend. Her name was Bryn, but for whatever reason Keana called her Marin. But they seemed to have fun and it was great Keana had someone to hang with in the sea of adult boringness (speaking from a kid’s perspective, of course). Dinner was fun, but took forever, and we got to Grandma Jennie’s house just before midnight. Maia had fallen asleep in the car and we were able to keep her asleep in the car-to-house transfer. We got Keana ready for bed, and even though she miraculously got her 100th “second wind”, she went to bed well, sleeping with Grandma Jennie. Sarah went back out with her brother Michael to join the after-party at the Elbow Room, and I stayed with Maia. I made the mistake of trying to change her diaper and she woke up and wouldn’t go back to sleep, so I had reel Sarah in a little early.
The next day was the Big One, and Sarah helped her mom prepare center pieces and I delivered them to the hotel. We then headed back up to the lake house to get ready for the ceremony. The house was all abuzz with the bridal party getting ready, the photographer taking pre-wedding shots, and as it got closer to the time, guests began to arrive. It was a small ceremony, with just immediate family present, but it was nice with Iana and Ryan exchanging vows on the bluff, overlooking Millerton Lake. Both girls had a bit of a meltdown right before show time, but pulled it together like pros when it was time to walk down the isle. I coached Keana along in her role as flower girl and she was absolutely elegant and adorable. I was supposed to hold Maia but she wasn’t going to have it, so Sarah held Maia while she sang. And now we’re back to the beginning I suppose.
The reception was at the San Joaquin Hotel in Fresno, and it was fun and festive as one might expect. I played my song again to usher people into the atrium—the reception was around the pool area of the hotel which transitioned into an atrium—and Sarah sang her song again for Iana and Ryan’s first dance. Sarah also gave a speech as maid of honor and brought the whole house to tears as she toasted her sister and Ryan, likening her relationship with Iana to what she sees developing between Keana and Maia. I held Maia during all this while Keana frolicked about with Uncle Peter and Oscar. Maia eventually konked out in the sling, but amazingly, Keana kept her little motor going until well past 1 a.m.! Honestly, much of the festivities were a blur of chasing Keana around, rocking Maia, playing my horn, crying to Sarah’s speech, 100 short conversations between family, friends, and co-workers, and of course, all the happy, magical moments shared with the newly-weds. Oh, and only two beers if you can believe that.
We were so worked from it all that we booked the hotel room an extra day and tried to recoup before heading home. It was a crazy-ass ride, but what better first wedding for Keana and Maia than their own Tia’s?