Keeping up with the Joneses

This past weekend, I was in New York. New York is always a hustling and busy place and sometimes I dislike being there. Too many people -- too many cool people, to be exact. But being around cool people also means you have a high chance of seeing someone famous. Last time I was in New York, I saw Condoleezza Rice. She was pretty. This time, I saw Peter Dinklage. You might not know the name, but you know the man. He's currently in Game of Thrones, but he's perhaps best known for playing the great dwarf-like editor of Miles Finch in the holiday classic, ELF (He's an angry elf). My sister-in-law Elizabeth thought I was staring at him because he was a dwarf. In actuality, I was staring at him because he's famous, and you don't see people like Peter Dinklage in Savannah. Paula Deen, yes. But famous dwarfs, no.

The more notable and exciting thing that happened in New York this past weekend was that my eldest sister-in-law, Rachel, got married. Weddings are always fun: a chance to see family, to momentarily bask in someone else's romance, to eat free food and drink sangria, and dance to Beyonce in public. This wedding had been a milestone for me during Andrew's deployment. When I thought about the long months ahead, I often thought about Rachel's wedding, and how once I got there, once I was able to spend a few family-packed days celebrating, the few months left until Andrew returned wouldn't seem so long. It was also a milestone because as everyone gets older, it becomes increasingly difficult to all get together. On the Brown side of the family, my in-laws are still in Spain, Andrew is in Afghanistan, one sister just returned from Israel, one lives in New York, and the other is in Ohio. So I think we all treasured this wedding as a blip on the Brown family timeline -- an event that existed outside of Christmas -- that allowed us to all be in the same place at the same time. Needless to say, I loved it. Weddings are always busy, but at the end of all the work, you basically get to enjoy one giant party. And in this instance, we partied, New-York style.

Here are some pictures from the day.

Location: The Barn in Tivoli (about 2 hours upstate)




The decor:






The day:
 








The ceremony:






Mr. and Mrs. Jones




Congratulations to Rachel and Adam. Rachel didn't have far to jump on the boring and common last name train, but at least she didn't exchange Brown for something awkward or offensive, like Gorda or Kardashian. From a Brown to a Jones, at least you're in safe territory.

The good news is, we get to do it all again in Ohio in September when Amanda is going to adopt the last name of Mazzola (there better be meatballs at this wedding!). And the best news, perhaps, is that a certain other Brown will be back in time for that one. And hopefully all the weddings to come.

Cheers!