Evan + Joanna... (extremely belated)

I'll admit it:  I was discouraged about this blog post.  Not because the subject is not wonderful - it is - but because I was silly enough to close down the tab where I had written the wordy part of the original post without saving it.  Yes, I know that is a really bad reason to put off sharing these pictures until three months after the wedding, but - well, I just let other stuff get in my way.  Sorry about that!  Anyway, I don't have time to write a long description now, so I will basically just be sharing the photos.  Enjoy a (very belated) review of a very special day!
(Oh, yes - I will confess right now that these pictures (and some captions) are the same ones Savana used on the family blog, so sorry, only the text is new...)

December 12th, 2016

Thanks to our friend Anna, there are many precious moments captured for us all to enjoy!

Happy groom=)

Beaming bride!

So cute:)

This is a really neat picture, I think.  They weren't allowed to hold hands yet, and of course, Evan wanted to not see Joanna's dress until she came down the aisle, so this is how they prayed before the wedding.  How special!

Pre-wedding bridal party pictures.
(And yes, that is real snow on the ground...)

I think Elizabeth was cold, and Anna-Frances was trying to stare down the camera...

Sweet sisters... 

When your wedding is 8 days before Christmas... you've just got to have a Christmas theme.

(Didn't Mama do a good job decorating?  The wheels went perfectly with the Western Christmas theme.)

Live classical played so well! {{especially when musicians are thrown together last minute to get a little practice...}

Mrs. Siefka and Evan

Mama and Evan

Pastor Brad and Evan

Poor guy; there aren't too many men who walk half a mile down the aisle to get married...  I'm not sure how long the aisles really were, but after going there and back twice, then back to the front again, it was quite a distance.

Mr. Seidel and Glory 

Benjamin and Mrs. Heather

Ivan and Savana

Jonathan and Alayna  (And yes, he is afflicted with Seven-League-Boot syndrome too, just like Bo at the last wedding.  Wait - maybe I just walk too slow?)

Bo and LilyAnn

Stephen and Juibilee

William and Sara

Justice

Joshua and Michael rolling out the aisle runner!...

Then this joyful little quad start making their way down...

Well, that is, they started out joyful...
Halfway down, the "Battle of Flower Girl Run" occurred...

All went well until Anna-Frances tripped and got stage fright.  Then, there was an absolute necessity, perceived by Elizabeth, that she and Anna-Frances should trade baskets.  Charity and Emaline, the big girls, had to arbitrate the trade, and Emaline had to hoist Anna-Frances to her feet and practically drag her down to where Mama and Daddy were sitting.
Oh, and about half of this "battle" was executed in dead silence as the musicians had finished the flower girl's music, and we who were already on display on the stage were strangling our laughter.
But, although unplanned, the Battle of the Flower Girls certainly added some humor to the wedding!

Russell loved his own personal necklace that always made Evan smile, for some reason=)

The unforgettable moment had finally come...

It was so beautiful...  And for some reason, quite a few of us were suddenly afflicted with colds - or something - that caused runny noses and watery eyes.

Saying their vows...  (The colds became noticeably worse at this point.)

The moment when they pledged their lives to each other was so special.  Marriage truly is a giving up of oneself to another for the rest of the life, and that is the commitment made here.

Lighting the Unity Candle.

(We had a problem with the candlesticks wanting to fall out the day before, and someone suggested hot-gluing them in place.  This seemed like a grand solution to the problem of them coming out of the holder, until someone pointed out that Evan and Joanna needed to be able to take them out of the holders to light the big candle.  Now that would have been a really interesting sight...  the bride and groom wrestling glued candles out of their sockets to light the Unity Candle!)

Asking God's blessing on this precious couple...

Singing "Household of Faith"

Announced MR, AND MRS. EVAN FELDMAN!!!

"Ya' coming William?" =)

Outside getting some amazing wedding party pictures in the snow.
"Cold? No, of course we aren't cold.  Who looks cold around here?"



Feldman + Siefka clans


Feldman clan.

After the wedding party pictures were taken, we all headed in to warm up with a chili buffet reception.






The table decorations were beautiful (and tasty), but created two problems:
1.  Someone had the brilliant idea to start throwing Hershey kisses at people and immediately the "Battle of Kisses" was waged with great vigor by about 50 or 60 people;
 and
2.  I love Hershey kisses, and so do all my siblings, so I think we all probably ate way too many.
:)


Amateur babysitting...

Now comes what Evan eloquently styled "The Getaway":

(I wonder if Joshua and Farrah (far right, white shirts) are having flashbacks to a certain Saturday just five weeks earlier...)

Yeehaw!  They have some speed!

"Bring her back!  Bring her back!"

(Mrs. Siefka is missing her daughter already...  Oh well, now they are moving to Michigan, so she will have her back.  :) )

Commit thy way unto the Lord;

Trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.

Psalm 37:5