This past weekend, Real Man and I left the monkeys with their grandparents (who did an amazing job, with the rest of the extended family, tag-teaming so we could go) and headed to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, to witness my brother-from-another-mother, Mark, marry the love of his life, Rob.
Here’s Mark in 1998.
So yummy.
Here’s Mark today:
Yummy still.
Doesn’t age.
The wedding was beautiful.
It was held on a rooftop, so it was a bit windy:
But, truly, no one seemed to care.
It was so evident that we were in the presence of a deep, abiding love, the wind was forgotten.
Rob’s brother is a minister and performed the ceremony and had such beautiful words about them both and about marriage, on the whole, and how they embody what it should be.
And they do.
Then, the reception:
Who could have a bad time in a room that looked like this???
Not us!
There was a touching wedding video where they were both interviewed about how they met and about their relationship and the proposal and everything in between. It was awesome.
There was a photo booth and the photos that were being taken inside were being displayed on the big screen outside.
Hours of entertainment.
There were props and rockin’ music and just really great people and really great times.
There were also presents.
Oh, you think I mean presents for the grooms.
No.
I meant presents for me.
Because, apparently, my brother-from-another-mother decided that the middle of his wedding reception would be a perfect time to give ME gifts.
He walked over with an armful of wrapped boxes and said, “These are for you! Let’s go open them.”
What was inside?
Seasons 8-9 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer Comics and Angel and Faith Comics.
Be still my heart (but not really still, cuz then I’d actually BE a vampire).
I want to lock myself in my room and not come out until I’m done with them.
But, I won’t.
Because I’m responsible and all that.
AND…
An “Eat, Sleep, Write” mug.
Because he reads my blog every day and found a mug that meets my criteria.
And, because he loves me. 🙂
Such good stuff.
So, it was a beautiful, fun night celebrating Mark and Rob.
The next day, Mark and Rob were off on a cruise with Mark’s parents and his sister and her family, so Real Man and I slept in, went for a long walk, took a long nap, went to the beach, and went out to dinner.
Our dinner companion?
Can’t figure it out?
Let me zoom in.
It was Barack Obama.
Okay, technically, it wasn’t Obama, but let me tell you, this guy was a dead ringer for Obama!
And, he didn’t seem to appreciate my taking pictures of him, despite the fact that I tried to disguise it by pretending to show Real Man pictures from my phone.
Tip: If you ever go to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you must eat lunch at the Casablanca Cafe. And when you do, you must order the chicken quesadilla. And, then you must go back there for dinner (we find something we like, we stick with it) and you must have the Angus Burger with cheddar cheese, and you must put their special mango-chile aioli sauce on said burger, and then just enjoy. Seriously. That place rocks our socks.
I took shots of us, throughout the two days, also.
Oh, and I was totally channeling Vanilla Ice when I saw this sign, and poor Real Man had to listen to me sing “Ice, Ice Baby” for the rest of the weekend.
It was a truly wonderful weekend, but, by the end, we were both ready to fill our empty, aching arms with our monkeys, and homecoming was oh-so-sweet.
Congratulations to Mark and Rob.
We love you both!
