My Happy Face
Scenes From a Librarian's Wedding.
There was a period in my life when I went to a wedding every few weeks. But since my early thirties, I haven’t gone to any weddings at all. Everyone I know has been married for at least a decade, sometimes more. My husband and I will be married twenty years in 2026. Life goes in a clip!
So I was extra excited when I received the invitation for my cousin’s wedding last summer. The invite was VERY unique since it was laid out like a movie premiere poster, and I immediately pencilled it in. An excuse to wear a pretty dress and get my hair blown out? A chance to see my cousins? Yes, please.
Fast forward to this past weekend!
My baby cousin Stefany walked down the aisle at the Woolen Mill, a super bright and modern industrial former factory on the Rhappahanock River in Virginia. I dabbed my eyes when she floated down the chapel on the arm of her father, inhaling a breath to steady myself, as if she was on my own child.
Even though she’s thirty-six with a career and a full adult life, I still remember her as a toddler barreling through my aunt and uncle’s house. It doesn’t matter that she now works as a middle school librarian getting important books into the hands of tweens in one Washington, DC suburb. I still remember holding her, tickling and chasing her, playing and laughing with her. It’s funny like that with cousins. You get older, but you kind of don’t expect them to.
Her wedding was in historic Fredericksburg, and the reception was so culture-cool that I had to share some of the details! She married the cutest groom ever, Joe, who is a smarty pants aerospace engineer; the two of them are major book and movie fanatics so their wedding most certainly had a theme.
One of my favorite elements? There was a printed newspaper at the beginning of the wedding for guests to peruse articles about how the couple met (OK Cupid!), where they went on their first date (Bar Taco) and what they’d be serving at the wedding (vegetarian options + chicken). The seating chart was especially unique. My family and I were seated at a table labeled: “Indiana Jones.” My mother was with her sister, Carol Ann, at “The Godfather” table; the bride’s father (my uncle) Steven is a Brooklyn Italian and loves to claim distant relatives had ties to the mob. He’s a character.
Anyway, Stefany and Joe added the cutest touches. The wedding party walked down the aisle to a song from the Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. They even made handmade succulent greenhouses with Lego miniatures of their favorite movie scenes featured inside. If I can get my hands on a photo of one, I’ll insert it here. Another creative touch: An oversized crossword puzzle that guests could come up and try to solve. Each clue was something from their lives. One asked what was Stefany’s favorite genre in literature. That was easy: Science Fiction. Smile. Also, their honeymoon sounds epic. The happy couple is headed to New Zealand to go on The Lord of the Rings tour.
When the groom danced with his mother, my son, Harper, turned to me. “That’s going to be you and me someday, mom.” He’s such a charmer, and he loved that he got me to tear up once more.
During the reception, my 9-year-old kept taking photos of me to occupy herself while everyone else ate. She made this embarrassing slideshow called: The Many Faces of Mom. (Kids love to torture their mothers.) Most of them were these terrible pictures of me with my teeth jutting out or a wrinkle in my neck. You know how kids are. But then she also captured some of my happiest faces, and it touched me. Years ago my friend Laura Fenton of Living Small posted a photo of herself, calling it her “happy face,” and I always loved seeing that. It made me smile just to see her joy.
So I’ve decided this photo captures my happy face. Age and imperfections and all, this is me. I’m sure you can see that emotion in my expression. Pure, unadulterated joy.
xo
Looks like a beautiful day, Brooke. This was such a fun, joyful read, and I'm so glad you included that lovely photo of yourself. This whole post made me smile!
I bought several books you advertised in your email to me. Looking forward to reading them. I normally like thrillers, such as serial killers. Sometimes though I will read a love story, a fantasy novel, or even a biography or a book about what is going on in our world. Can't wait to read these. I have been so busy I haven't had time to read. Congratulations on the new book.
The wedding looked beautiful. Congratulations to your cousin on this too.You will hear back from me after I read the books. I usually place a review on Goodreads.