Presenting: Mr. and Mrs. Patrick Wilkins!

- May 25, 2015

They are wed! Knot-tied! Married!

What a wonderful wedding weekend it was! Beaming groom, beautiful bride, handsome wedding party. Nic and Carol, along with the Wilkins family hosted a great event that started with rehearsal on Friday night at my old church, St. Mary's. After rehearsal, we headed over to Patrick's parent's place for a delicious (although chillingly cold ~ what's up with the cold weather?!) picnic, after which we headed back to the hotel and Cam and Alex, Annalisse's beau, went swimming.

We stayed at the Akwesasne Mohawk Casino Hotel (about 10 miles east of Massena), which was really, really nice, with great accommodations and amenities. It really felt a little like a destination wedding with very nice rooms and a nice pool and spa area. Most of our family, and Patrick's as well, stayed right at the hotel, which also played host to the reception, so it was very convenient.

On Saturday morning, we got up bright and early and Annalisse headed up to "Wedding Central," where the bridesmaids and the bride sipped mimosas and had their hair and make-up done. At around 12:30pm, Nic slipped into her dress and was transformed into a bride. So beautiful! Then, it was into the limo and off to St. Mary's for the bridal party.

Nic was walked down the aisle by her Uncle Gary, who stood in for Nic's dad Denny who passed away when she was five months old. It was very touching, and there were several tributes to Denny throughout the day. He would be so proud of her! After the ceremony, which featured a historic kiss planted on Nicole by Patrick, it was time for pictures all around. It was so wonderful to have all of Mom and Dad's grandkids there, especially Anthony who lives in North Carolina as we don't see him as often as we would like.

After pictures, we headed to the reception for dinner and a raucous party [there may have even been some table-top dancing by some of Patrick's relatives...]. It was tons of fun, with a really great DJ who played a little something for everyone, and happily took requests. After dinner, the lights went down and the room turned into a night club. Even Cam got out there dancing! Everyone agreed it was a wonderful night following a very happy and memorable day. Nic and Patrick are now off to Maryland for their honeymoon. I hope they have a great time, and enjoy settling into married life when they return!

A picture is worth a thousand words: