Wedding, Cake-making, and the Hora

Last week Kathryn and I went to my sister, Brooke's, wedding in Atlanta. During the wedding, one of the officiators said something about how all of Brooke and Neil's friends and family must have known from the beginning that they would end up together. That definitely wasn't the case for me. When Brooke started dating Neil all I could think was "well at least there's a 99% chance he's better for my sister than her last boyfriend." It wasn't until I met Neil many months later, and spent about a week with him and my family, that I began to see him for what he was--a great person that made my sister truly happy--instead of what he wasn't--a disappointing ex-boyfriend. That's when I started to recognize where the relationship was headed, and now I'm glad we could see and participate in the wedding!

Neil comes from a strong Jewish heritage and my sister, Brooke, a Mormon one. So obviously everyone was excited to see how this wedding was going to play out. To Brooke and her mother-in-law's credit, the whole thing was great. Brooke looked beautiful and her dress rocked, and Neil was pretty dang classy himself. Co-officiated by his rabbi and her bishop, the ceremony was beautiful--both aesthetically and symbolically. Nothing stole the show quite as much as Neil's personal vows to my sister though. They were genuinely thought provoking and touching--and made me grateful I never wrote vows for my wedding or Kathryn would subconsciously compare them to Neil's and find mine lacking. 

Kathryn and I got to participate as well. I did a reading from the Bible and Kathryn was a bridesmaid. Her main duty was making the groom's cake for the reception. Most groom's cakes I've seen are pretty tame (an ice cream cake or even just a sheet cake with NASCAR on it or something like that). But when Neil requested a Game of Thrones-themed cake, Kathryn was determined to go all out and continue her quest to be an expert caker. Just to explain the picture and why the cake looks the way it does, the show apparently features a throne made of swords and a fictional nation whose crest is a ship with an onion on it (my little sister hand painted the ship with food coloring). 

After the wedding we took more pictures and started the party, um, reception. There was delicious food, dancing, and cake--but the best part was the hora (the Jewish tradition where the bride and groom are lifted up on a chair in the middle of all the dancing). Brooke was terrified and, as her little brother perpetually bent on embarrassing her, I had to tease her about the likelihood of her falling off (she didn't). The reason it was the best part was my little nieces all decided they needed to try out the hora as well. 5 year old Mikaela was a little scared but a good sport about it, 8 year old Aelish looked like she was going to cry, but 5 year old Caitlin laughed maniacally the whole time, jumped off when she was done, and ran up to me exclaiming "Uncle Nathan, you have to go on the ride!" as she pointed at the chair. 

Outside the wedding and reception, Kathryn and I really enjoyed seeing extended family and going to dinner with my high school friend who lives there.