This last weekend was a very special weekend for Lee and me and for many of the people that made the trip to Wallowa Lake. It was the grand finale of our wedding events and truly was a grand finale. The weekend was one we will cherish forever. Although highly emotional, it was absolutely fantastic - from start to finish.

The celebrating started as early as Wednesday when family started rolling in. We had family travel from Vermont, New Jersey, Chicago, Wisconsin, Utah, Colorado, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. The Tanner/Kalemba clan were all together by late Thursday night. We were fortunate enough to have decorated the party place by Wednesday evening and were able to just relax on Thursday and enjoy family. But boy did we work my Dad and Lani on Wednesday as we strung (Lee strung) 4,000 miniature Christmas lights, hung decorative curtains and anything else we could do to transform the building we rented for our reception. The building is from 1918 -- and I don't think it's been improved since it was built. As we decorate we had nearly 25 - 50 people stop in and wonder about the building. Was it really a functioning building? What goes on here? Can we come to the party? Those were just a few of the questions we received. The best was when we heard that one woman's husband went to a dance in the building 72 years ago and arrived on horseback! I think there was still dirt in the building from that dance! :) All in all, the building looked pretty fantastic by the time we were finished. Thank you helpers!

The wedding festivities didn't officially start until Friday afternoon so we had time as a family to enjoy the lake and what there is to offer near by. It happened to be the time of year that the Kokanee Salmon run - and we all spent a fair amount of time checking that out. We got in a few family trots and waddles up the trail head, lunch at Terminal Gravity (they make a killer buffalo burger) and inhaled some fine grilling by Chris and his steady hands. All the Kalembas and Tanners arrived by late Thursday night. It was really fun to have the Kalembas meet and mingle with the Tanners. We threw the Kalembas into what Tanners do best - eat and take millions of pictures. A true Kalemba/Tanner eating event. :)

The Merricks rolled in on Friday morning and the wedding events kicked off with a "no-need-to-rehearse-lunch" at the Summit Grill. The Summit Grill is located at the top of Mt. Howard, a 15 minute tram ride up from Wallowa Lake. All the family Merricks, Kalembas and Tanners that made the trip participated in this unusual and casual rehearsal dinner. We were fortunate to have a fairly clear day to enjoy the views of the Eagle Cap Wilderness and the food at the Grill was fantastic! If you can have multiple highlights -- this was one of them.

Lee and I are fortunate to have pretty incredible (and dedicated) friends who also made the long trip from California and Utah to celebrate with us. We threw them into the celebrating and we all gathered for an evening around the campfire, cookies, s'mores and a little dancing. Joy and Collin even created the ultimate s'more - who needs graham crackers when you can use my chocolate chip cookies? If only I had gotten a picture of that! The night was clear, the stars were incredible and family and friends gathered together until late into the night.

The big party on Saturday didn't start until 5:30pm so we all had the majority of Saturday to hang out and relax. Of course there was "coffee hour" at my parents condo, we got in another trot/waddle up the hill, a round of miniature golf, some even took a dip in the water while others played on the paddle boats. Cute Ayrowyn Kay and Erika helped me get decked out for the night. Everyone that hasn't seen Ay's hair skills in action were just blown away by what she could do! I told them she's been playing with our hair since she was 4, if not younger.

The party was a huge success. Lee and I kicked it off with a slide show of our last year together and pictures of the wedding. We then got in some family photos before diving into the DELICIOUS buffet. We had a Texas BBQ and it was oh so good. The pulled pork was to die for. I'm drooling just thinking about it. Both my Dad and Lee's mom said a few words.... both of which were very sweet and tender. My dad did lighten things up a bit when he brought me up to his side and asked, "why do people get married?" and demonstrated that for us -- it clearly wasn't a shotgun wedding.

Lee and I danced our first dance to "Blue Skies". A song that reminds me of my grandma Katie who is no longer able to travel. Thanks to Adrian's dance lessons we actually pulled it off. My dad and I and Lee and his mom then danced to "You are So Beautiful" and then the party was off to a roaring start. At no point for the next 3 hours was the dance floor vacant. The band we had did an excellent job of playing songs that everyone enjoyed. We had some special moments with the Hokey Pokey (again in honor of my gram), the limbo, Zander singing "Born to be Wild" and Adrian showed both my mom AND my dad some pretty great dance moves. We also got to see my Uncle show us how it's done when the band played Honkey Tonk Woman. No one dances better to the Stones than he does. We danced and danced all night - even after the band's time was up. Kyle and Ayrowyn had put together a killer after-party mix and the dancing continued for the strongest until nearly 3am.

Sunday morning came awfully quickly and we all gathered for a light breakfast and a chance to say goodbye. We loved hearing how much fun everyone had and that it was definitely worth the trip. Some of the best comments we heard were that it was the "funnest wedding" people had ever been to, that people were glad they weren't getting married next after we set the bar so high and that this was the best "Mormon wedding" they have ever attended. Some of our friends even want to invite my family to their future weddings. Who can blame them? My family knows how to party (and dance!)

The weekend was absolutely wonderful. We are so grateful for the family and friends who traveled so far to celebrate with us. (A special thanks to the Lovelands that drove ALL the way from Rollins, Wyoming! We love you!)