A Cowgirls' Dream

On Saturday at 9:30 am Monica and I pulled out of the driveway in our Expedition along with 5 other people. We were all headed about 3 hours away to the wedding of a friend, Lavonne Labrier. Not only is she a graduate of CBI, but she also went on a trip to Chile with us in November of 2007, where she outworked every guy in the group. What a treat it was to see this incredible young lady find the man of her dreams and enjoy a beautiful day becoming his bride.

The wedding was held in a valley where her family's ranch is located in central South Dakota. Every step of the way it was very obvious that this was a cowboy wedding. The parking attendants on horse back told us where to park and then the men in cowboy hats told us where to sit....
among the hay bales=)
The groomsmen and bridesmaids arrived at the wedding in the back of a horse drawn wagon. Once the family branding irons ("candles") had been lit by the mothers, and the wedding party was standing at the front the big moment arrived. We all looked around....searching for Lavonne. And then she appeared - at the top of a hill overlooking the place where the ceremony was beginning. She and her father rode along slowly, side by side, as all the rest of us 'oohed' and 'aawed'!
Among the wedding party was Lavonne's sister, Lashea, who was the maid of honor. Earlier this summer Monica spent a week at their house and was glad to see her good friend again. (In actuality Monica knew 5 times as many people at the wedding as I did and I hardly saw her all day - she went from one group of people to the next and was always welcomed with big smiles and hugs....guess she's related to her father=)
Taking their vows....
And when they were pronounced man and wife, Kelly took Lavonne's hand and kissed it, then he leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, then he took off his hat and gave her their first kiss.
Mr. and Mrs. Kelly Kinsley~
Once the ceremony was over the bride and groom came and dismissed each row, personally greeting and thanking each person that came. After that it was time for their family pictures and the rest of the 350+ people took this opportunity to visit and enjoy the beautiful day. The day before, during their rehearsal, the temperature had hovered around freezing....but Saturday was in the 60's and sunny! PTL!

Here is the wagon that brought the wedding party in, at this time they started offering free hayrides to anyone that wanted to go!
After a couple hours everyone went over to the local gymnasium which had been turned into a reception hall. There was a musical group, I never found out the name, that played throughout most of the meal. They were definitely country and definitely talented!
Another 'cowboy touch' at this wedding was the boot pinata they had hanging in the corner for all the kids 8 and under - how fun!
As we were leaving we saw the vehicle that the bride and groom would be leaving in....full, FULL of balloons and saran wrapped all the way around!
We had a great time and enjoyed sharing this day with Lavonne....I'll close with this blurry picture of our group minus one, Grant, the only guy to brave 3 hours in a vehicle with all us girls=)
Holly, Monica, Rachel, Jenna, me, and Jodie - thanks guys, for the fun day and for keeping me awake on the road!