A Wedding In Pittsburgh - Part 3

The Main Event was here and we were ready.

Blurry, but ready and excited

St. Paul's Cathedral was breathtaking and brought a tear to my eye with it's beauty.

St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburgh, PA

The program asked us to keep phones and cameras away and that was the best advice.  We took it all in without worrying about taking pictures.  We were in the moment.

Everyone looked beautiful, of course.  But the ceremony was so much more than that.  One thing I like to do when the bride is about to come down the aisle is turn around and look at the groom and the mother of the bride.  I just love watching their reactions to the joy about to take place and imagine what might be going through their minds.  So much depth in the perception.

Mass was wonderful.  The priest, the music, the cantor, even the altar servers made it a reverent, beautiful sacrament.  The love in that church - both the human and Divine - was palpable.

After mass, I got a quick hello in with Billie Jo!!  And then we were off to the reception.  It all took place in the lobby of the hotel and the adjoining rooms.  It was transformed from what we had seen the night before at check-in.  There was a pianist and a violinist to welcome us there.

Before dinner, many in Madison's and Nicolas' immediate family gave little speeches.  This was one of my favorite parts of the evening.  Standing there listening to the two families and their heartfelt memories along with their wishes for the couple, you couldn't help but realize this marriage had a strong foundation that it was going to build upon. 

My first order of business, however, was to find and meet Danielle, another blog friend of Billie Jo's who I had heard was going to be there. (you can find her sweet blog here ) She and her husband and son were so nice to get to know in the short time we had together before dinner.  Such nice people!!  Next, I just had to meet BJ's mom and of course, Marian!!! She is so nice and easy to talk to; no wonder she's BJ's BFF. How wonderful it was to meet all of these people I had read about for years on BJ's blog.

My one and only pic of Billie Jo 🙄...2nd from right. She looked amazing!!

At dinner, we sat with Madison's Aunt and Uncle who, as luck God would have it, introduced us to their daughter and son in law, who are also foster parents. We met Nicole and Andrew soon after dinner and it is a gift to find new friends who understand our journey.  We have since gotten together and met each others kids....it was wonderful.  Lovely, lovely people.  Ironically, they were the family we had seen the night before when we checked in.

Here is the gorgeous happy couple.

And this is how nice Madison is....after we took her picture, she insisted on taking one of me and Bill on my camera just so we'd have one together.

Billie Jo and Steve made us feel so welcome. And all of their children-- The Newlyweds, Peyton, Rhett, and Flynn all greeted us with open arms and smiles galore. Considering we had only met once before, they made us feel like a part of their family.  It takes some really special people to make someone feel like that.

The circumstances that brought us there was nothing short of divine intervention, I believe.  A wish on my heart became a reality thanks to a feeling placed on BJ's heart.  And now, we have new friends because of this.  Friends who have already brought us inspiration and strength on this journey called foster care.  It is truly amazing.

Sunday we left bright and early to head back home.  One last picture.

I wish Madison and Nicolas much love and happiness and a very big thank you for allowing us to share your special day with you.

For more amazing pictures, check out Billie Jo's blog here and Madison's blog here.