Mitch and Maria's Wedding

The day started off really early for me because my flight Left at 6:45 that morning. Driving up to the airport was not the most fun experience because when I left the apartment it was raining and by the time I got to the point of the mountain it was snowing so hard it was almost whiteout conditions. It was very difficult to see and it didn't help that my windshield wiper wasn't working very well. But I made it there with plenty of time to spare. I had a lay over in Las Vegas where I met a couple of very nice old ladies. The had stopped to take a breather and they told me that they were on there way to the Panama Canal for a cruise. I thought that is was really cool that they were able to do that and that maybe someday when me and maria get old and grey we can take a couple trips together too. Any way after leaving Vegas I flew into Sacramento where I literally got off the plane, waited for about 5 min and then my parents were there to pick me up. It really worked out well. From there we drove down to Fresno.

When we got to Fresno, we went to Maria's apartment, where the girls helped put the finishing touches on a few things and the boys went to where the reception was going to be held to prep the for the reception. After working for a little bit, everyone left to go get ready for dinner and the wedding. I stayed behind to shower and spend some girl time with my sister. After we were ready we went to Costco to pick up some pictures that Maria needed for the reception. When we got to Costco they couldn't find the pictures under Maria Austin so we left in frustration that they weren't there. Although Maria was a bit stressed at the time, it turned out to be a funny story because when they had submitted the pictures to be processed, Maria had put it under the name Maria Baroni. So when she told them it was under Maria Austin they couldn't find them even tho they were there the whole time.

After going to Costco we headed to Mitch's Uncles house where they were having a pre-wedding dinner. It was fun to relax just a little bit and plus the food was amazing! They had tri-tip steak there and the is salad that was to die for! Just writing about it makes my mouth water! Here are a few pictures of the dinner:

(Aunt Lesley, Uncle Danny, Maria's friend Shauna and Julia, the back of Maria's head, and then some of Mitch's friends)

Mitch's Mother, Papa and Mom.

Everyone digging in.

I really like this picture! Papa and Nonna playing with Aaron.

The Fresno Temple before the sealing.

Scott took this picture while waiting and was very proud of it, so I thought I would put it on here.

Aaron being reverent on the temple grounds.

Aaron loves his Uncle Cory

Uncle Danny entertaining as we waited for Mitch and Maria Baroni to come out of the Temple.

The Temple after the sealing ceremony.

Aaron being silly.

Mitch's Dad, Ben and Papa.

The parents of the Bride.

On April 30th 2010, Maria and Mitch were sealed in the Fresno California temple at around 8:15 that night

The happy couple. Maria is beaming and Mitch is doing his happy dance.

Together for Ever!

The Reception.

The Reception May 1st:

Pre-Reception
So Maria and Mitch decided to have there reception at this really nice pavilion located right next to the temple. The day before, all the boys removed the picnic tables that in the pavilion so that we could set up the tables for the reception the next day. Here are a few pictures of the setting up process:

The flowers used for the reception were down right gorgeous!

These were the florists who designed the flower bouquets for the receiving line.

What the pavilion looked like after we were done setting up the tables and everything.

The Wedding Cake

(This picture above is my favorite picture of the cake)

(This is a close second favourite)

Picture time:

Aaron had gotten his shirt completely soaked by playing in the drinking fountain so I took his shirt off and he didn't like not having a shirt on. So I found the nearest dry thing and gave it to him to wear. It was one of my sweaters and made for a funny picture.)

Since Maria and Mitch got married the night before, they took there wedding pictures before the reception. this is a picture of Maria and Mitch and the flower girls.

Aaron doing what boys do best: destroying things.

Not the best picture because Mitch's just had to scratch his forehead but from left to right you have Mom, Maria, Mitch and Papa.

Dan and Lesley, what more can you say?

The couple with there photographer

The happy couple

The family that came to the wedding. Left-right: Dan, Lesley, Uncle Greg, Aunt Jill, Uncle Harvey, Aunt Kathryn, Mom and Papa.

A nice picture of Papa and Mom

The Fresno Temple

The Reception

This is where the food was put. At first everyone was trying to get the food from the side closest to the camera and they were reaching around the cake to get at the food. So we switched things around so people were on the other side of the cake and think it was much safer!

I love the look on every one's face in this one; Ben and Uncle Harvey are shoving their faces, Uncle Greg and Aunt Kill are just starring off into space, and Aunt Kathryn is giving me the evil eye.

Ben

The receiving line: Looks like Mitch is about to do a dance and Papa wants to see it ;)

Just a cute picture

The flowers in the receiving line.

Cutting the Cake

They both were very nice to each other when they fed each other cake.

Fun pictures

You have to have a picture of one of the boys holding the bouquet. Cory just happened to be it.

Mom, Ben, Aaron and Lesley enjoying the shade.

Aaron and I just having a little bit of fun.

I thought this was a very nice picture of my Mom, Aunt Jill and Aunt Kathryn.

Father and Daughter Dance

Mom and Papa dancing

The curtains were beautiful and hid the food prep area very well but it was a pain to keep up. The wind kept blowing it over. Finally we wired the bottom down, put rocks on the bases and roped the the top down so it wouldn't fly away. I'm glad it worked out because it looked great!

After the Reception

Aaron after the reception. You can tell he got a little bit of sun, along with the rest of us.

That evening before opening gifts. Can you see Maria's tan line?

On the drive home the next morning. Poor Cory had gotten his wisdom teeth out the Tuesday of this week. As you can tell his face was still a bit swollen and I don't think he was feeling very good at this point in time.

After the reception and opening gifts, we drove down to Visalia CA to see where Aunt Kathryn lives and to visit with them for a brief moment. Aunt Kathryn is my mothers aunt (sister to her dad). This was the first time that many of us had ever been down there. On the drive think everyone took a little nap at some point because we were all exhausted from the day and the weekend.

The day after the reception was Sunday and we got up and left Fresno at around 8:30. We stopped somewhere down the road for church and then it was off to the airport to drop me off. Since I flew in they picked me up on there way down to Fresno and dropped me off, which was really nice of them and worked out perfectly.

All in all it was a very good week end and I really enjoyed being able to spend time with my family and to see Maria so incredibly happy. She deserves all the happiness in the world and think she has found someone who will try his hardest to give that to her.