Here is the beaming bride shortly after she put on her dress.
Here she is checking out the dress.
Even before the wedding began, we were inside taking pics. The groom was situated safely out of view in the side yard. Here is me, the proud mommy with the bride to be.
Tara and her bridesmaid, Barb. Their dresses looked beautiful from behind too.
Here is my brother Dave with us. He gave away the bride since her bio father is not in her life and her former step-father who was the only father she ever knew was unable to make the trip from Texas to Ohio.
Here is the happy bride to be with her brothers Jared and Sean.
This is a fantastic picture of my brother Rich.
And here is his wife Debi with the blushing bride to be.
Tara said that she was nervous before the ceremony, but a "good nervous." Her brother was a little nervous too as he was going to be performing a song for her. I thought it was darling that they were holding hands!
Tara and her Uncle Dave prepared to begin the walk to the ceremony.
The wedding took place in the yard of Mike's Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bill near Toledo, Ohio. It was a perfect day for a wedding! They had a tent set up and to me, it looked just like a little chapel.
They were married under this arch.
The guests soon gathered and were seated.
The groom waited outside. He was overcome by emotion and shaking and in tears.
He had to sit.
Bridesmaid Barb made her way to the tent, starting the ceremony.
Tara and her Uncle Dave emerged from the house.
You should have seen the look on Mike's face when he saw his bride to be so beautiful in her wedding dress looking like a princess!
After the wedding prayer, Sean sang "God Bless the Broken Road" by Rascal Flatts.
Mike calmed right down after Tara joined him at the altar. They both had tears of joy during the vows.
They were pronounced husband and wife, and Mike kissed his new bride!
They are just glowing as they head back down the aisle.
There was much joy in the receiving line.
(If you have a cigarette tucked behind your ear in your wedding pics, YOU might be a redneck! lol)
This is my favorite pick of my daughter and I. We are both so happy!
Here is the happy couple with Mike's mom and dad and grandma.
Here they are again with Tara's brothers (my sons).
Here I am with my brothers Dave and Rich and Rich's wife Debi.
I like this of my children and new son, and my brothers and I.
It was a warm day, and this big tree made a beautiful backdrop for some pictures.
Tara and her bridesmaid Barb.
Tara and Barb look distracted here. I call this photo "Squirrel!"
Mike's Aunt Debbie also made the bouquets. She did such a wonderful job!
Here is the wedding party under the tree, Barb, Tara, Mike, and Mike's best man Mike.
These beautiful purple mums were the centerpieces for the tables.
Even the food table was decorated. Too cute!
There were three wedding cakes set in tiers. Here was Tara's cake topper.
There was also a cake topper from Aunt Debbie and Uncle Bill's silver wedding anniversary cake. The decorations also came from that celebration and they were all lovely.
A closeup of the wedding cakes. Mike's Great-Aunt Dubby made these. Not only were they beautiful, they were delicious!
Here is the happy couple getting ready to cut the cake.
Cake slices are in hand.
I was so proud of them for not smashing the cake in each others' faces. I hate that! Mike did get just a bit of frosting on his finger and put a dab Tara's nose, which was just so cute.
The happy couple at the table after a good meal.
Two hands, two hearts joined in love.
It was time for the tossing of the garter and bouquet. Here Mike fetches the garter. They managed to keep this pretty G-rated.
And guess who caught the bouquet? How often do you hear of the mother of the bride catching it? The guy who caught the garter was young enough to be my son, so he didn't put the garter on me. Not that I would have wanted that!
The couple had their first dance to Louis Armstrong's "It's a Wonderful World."
What a look of love and joy! They are just beaming.
The next dance was to Billy Idol's "White Wedding." Not exactly your traditional song, despite the name. The bride and groom thought it was hilarious. I love this look on my brother's face. Looks like he just stepped in something.
Tara also danced with her Uncle Rich.
And her brothers Jared...
...and Sean.
Since their reception was alcohol free, they couple decided to stop at a sports bar before retiring to their hotel room. I even stood up and announced them, but do you think anyone would buy them drinks? Nope. What a snooty place!
Except for that, they had a perfect wedding day! It was filled with love and joy and family. It wasn't a big wedding. They didn't have much money, but everything came together so well and everyone contributed. Even a big fancy wedding would not have felt so perfect.
Please join me in congratulating the new Mr.& Mrs. Mike and Tara Shiflett!