The Reception

Part 5 of 5
For Part 1 go to In Wyoming for the Wedding. For Part 2 go to New Year's Eve/Wedding Rehearsal . For Part 3 go to Pre-Wedding. For Part 4 go to Chet and Priscilla's Wedding.

All the responsibility is over and Don and Mary look so relaxed!


It's not too often that the father of the bride is the one to perform the marriage ceremony. It's even more rare to find a father who is responsible for making the wedding cake! What started as a joke, then became a dare, turned into a reality and, after weeks and months of samples and reading Cake Decorating magazines, the wedding cake was produced by Don Thomas himself!


The bridal party making their entrance


Huddling before moving out to the center of the room


The attendants moved to the center in pairs in various styles of dance, struts, or other moves.



Notice Julia holding her 3-year-old son Elijah, who ran onto the floor after her


Instead of coming in the front entrance, Chet and Priscilla came in the opposite end of the room via a huge garage door opening up for them. It definitely made an impression! Then they danced (more like polka-ed) their way to the rest of the group.


The guys gave speeches and roasted Chet


Jared told the story of his first impression of Chet during freshman football "hazing" where the new players are called on to perform. Keith actually did a little reinactment of the ritual at his wedding reception and Travis called on him to sing "I'm a Little Teapot".


When Chet was on the stool in front of the team and they asked him what he could do he responded, "I sing and dance." So they cleared the floor and told him to perform. He had been in the high school show choir just weeks before and the song and dance to Bon Jovi's "Shot Through the Heart" was still fresh in his mind and he did it. Well, we got him to get up for us and do it again despite his claims of "not remembering" the dance. It's possible that some of it was ad-libbed, but he remembered an awful lot of it and was a good sport to do it. I think we all enjoyed it as much as the team did 2 1/2 years ago.



There were also some serious moments and times of reflection. Joey created a slide/video presentation for Chet and Priscilla with pictures from their separate lives and then together. Seeing that little Chetly was the most emotional part of the day for me. Paul also said "good-bye" to his sister and shared with us the story of how they used to be asked if they were twins and would try to stand close together and be "siamese twins". He asked Priscilla to stand with him one last time and be his "siamese twin".


I think everyone was touched by the letter that Chet read from Priscilla. She had it given to him on the morning of their wedding, 1-1-10. It had a personal note and then there were some pages torn from a journal dated 1-1-05. It was Priscilla's prayer, exaclty five years ago, that God would give her a husband, a godly man with whom to share her life. She confessed that her greatest desire, however, was that she would be completely satisfied in Christ and that He alone would be able to satisfy her every need.


Cake cutting


No, they didn't smash it into their faces


Pictures from the dancing







These two were good, and Gabe knew it!



Tossing the bouquet, Gabe wanted to get in on the action




Diving for the garter



I think they should have said "all ELIGIBLE" singles! Owen and Lisa are hardly in the marriagable category.

Keith and I with Sharon Ann and Dorm Land


Farewell and off to Florida for Chet....who's missing someone