With about a week before the wedding, Molly emailed us expressing her concern about the weather. We had been watching the forecast, as well. Previously, about 10 days out, it was smooth sailing. Now, a few days away, it seems that we were due for some actual weather. Here in Las Vegas, the only usual weather we have is sunshine. But not this week. This week, we were looking at stiff winds of 20-30 mph, with gusts up to 50 mph. (Which, for those of you unfamiliar with wind, is pretty steep.)  And blowing red desert sand and gravel does great things for low cost skin dermabrasion, but it’s not so great for an outdoor wedding.

So we were all a little concerned. Except me. I knew that that wind was going to fade. No doubt about it. I was so sure everything would be o.k., I felt positively calm. Well, the day loomed, the weather report kept reporting wind advisories and told us to batten down the hatches, figuratively.  Obviously, my calm nature did not prevail. But as luck would have it, (and actually luck had nothing to do with it) we had planned, just in case, to switch our wedding location to the Cabins, at Valley of Fire, where Rachel had the great idea to put the table inside. So I thought, we can put the wedding arch in another little cabin. And we did!

The more we planned and had thought about it in the days prior, the more excited we became, because all of a sudden – we had a wedding with the picturesque look of a rustic old French Villa.  Molly had picked a lovely silver blue as an accent color, which combined with the red hand carved sandstone blocks of the Cabins, along with our vintage silver accents, and French provincial furniture, was absolutely breath taking. And her  choice of flowers in lovely arrangements of blue hydrangea and David Austen roses, in white, created by our favorite florists at the Front Porch Flowers was stunning inside those small red walled sandstone rooms. So elegantly rustic. Serendipity. This wedding was really adding up to something even more amazing, and we thought it was pretty lovely to begin with. And as the wedding began, and Molly and Patrick stood together to take their vows, our officiant, Judy Irving of Wedding Vows of Las Vegas,  did a lovely, and thoughtful job of the ceremony.

We do have to say, this wedding was sure full of the awesome Irish heritage. The Irish are culturally, great story tellers, and this group was no different. What a fun group they were too! Molly and Patrick had both sets of parents present and the siblings on both sides as well. All kinds of stories about Molly and Patrick were being told. Add a little bit of the sparkling champagne with fresh blackberries in the flutes, and the stories really began to fly about. It was such great fun, being in such a wonderful loving family environment. We were constantly laughing with them, as one story ended, and another began. So much fun! We felt like we were at home.

We got to hear that Molly met Patrick when she was 19 years old. Such a young thing. Well, actually, Molly’s mom met Patrick first, although she had no idea at the time that he would become her new son-in-law. After dropping Molly off at college at the dorm, Molly’s mom asked out loud as she was leaving the dorm, if anyone needed anything, as she was going to run to the store. Patrick piped up and asked for a case of water. So according to Mom, she met Patrick by chance. They figured that out much later.

They began to date and as those things go, Molly and Patrick became a pair. We asked,”So Patrick, when did you know she was the one?” According to Patrick, it happened this way. She was moving out of her dorm, and he happened to be moving out of his place too. He told her he was moving, and she said ” Well, I am coming with you, aren’t I?” And the rest is history.

(And yes,  the silver cat statues is an whole other story by itself.)

The wind did blow like the dickens. Our hair did look like Supermodels under the big fan, and Molly, how did she do in the stiff wind in her gown and beautifully done hair? Well, we think she looked amazingly lovely. And the wind could not change that one bit.  Molly’s hair and makeup were lovely, natural, understated – and held up through 50 mph wind gusts! Great job Ruby Finch Salon! Great job Molly, Patrick and family for your great ability to roll with those winds and tumbleweeds and come out wonderfully! It will be a day to remember!

Congratulations Patrick and Molly! Our very best wishes to you for a wonderful and loving life together. Add congratulations  also, on the 30th wedding anniversary this year of both sets of your parents. What a feat! The best is yet to come!