This weekend we had the opportunity to celebrate my parents' 50th wedding anniversary. These two are pretty amazing and a true inspiration — we felt so honored to get to spend this special time with them.
We all (myself and Mary, my brother and sister-in-law) wanted to do something really special, and a little fancy, so we decided on Richmond's famous brunch at the Jefferson Hotel. We planned for 14 of my parents' family and friends to meet up and brunch together in celebration of their amazing marriage. The great part is, my brother and I only told my parents that immediate family members were coming, so there was a really great surprise element to the day when they arrived and realized that it was such a big group.
Stephanie and Brandon made a special trip back from JMU and we got a chance to get a little dressed up for the occasion. Mary, Stephanie and Brandon had never been to the famous brunch at the Jefferson before, and were looking forward to trying out the local legend.
We tried to personalize the tables by framing a photo from their wedding back in 1963, next to a larger photo of the two of them from our own wedding this year. We had our local flower market design two floral centerpieces that mimicked the arrangement in the photo from 1963 and had the Jefferson create a specialized cake to bring out at the end of the meal.
I think (and hope) they felt pleasantly surprised, a little spoiled and most of all felt all of the love and family in the room that their relationship has nurtured.
We were able to get a shot of the entire group on the stairs of the Jefferson after brunch:
Mary and I love that our own wedding fell into the 50 year timeline of my parents' anniversary. We wish we could claim it was planned, but it turned out to be one of those happy accidents.
We joked throughout the brunch that we'd be able to have a joint celebration for our 50th and their 100th down the line. We also had fun figuring out the math — I'll be 97 and Mary will be 80 on our 50th wedding anniversary. She might have to wheel me in, but I'll be there and want to know what's on the menu!
Here's a favorite shot from the day I swiped from my daughter, Stephanie's, Facebook page:
I think the collage sums up the day pretty nicely.
Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!
Post a Comment