Thursday afternoon I received a call from my mother informing me that my Uncle Roger had passed away in his sleep that morning. Uncle Roger was my Dad's younger brother and this was not expected. With the party just 3 days away, I wasn't sure how to proceed. Will my Dad be in any mood to celebrate? Would it be disrespectiful to go forward with the party? Most everything had been ordered, paid for and we were ready to go. I didn't know at that point when services for my Uncle would be either...and would that interfere with anything?? All I could do was wait and see what was going to happen.
On Friday I heard from my Uncle's daughter who said she and her husband weren't going to be able to attend the anniversary party because they had to go to Canada to accompany her fathers body through Customs. We spoke for a bit and she told me that her father would not be happy if we cancelled the party...60 years of marriage was something to celebrate and we should proceed. So with a heavy heart we did...and it was just what the family needed to get through the tough times ahead. To honor my Uncle, I had the DJ pause the music and request a moment of silence before lunch was served. It didn't seem like enough but somehow I felt he was smiling down at us all and making sure everyone had a good time. My parents enjoyed their day and that's all that mattered to me. So here are a few pictures from the afternoon to enjoy.
Centerpiece
Wrist Corsage
Boutinneer
Gifts and Guest Book
Eric, Dad, Sara and sister in law Diane
Mom, Sara and Me
My brother Dave, Diane, brother in law Ray, the back of my nephew Jason and my Dad
Cutting the cake
Dancing to their wedding song Because of You by Tony Bennett (and our awesome DJ Joe in the background)
The Cake
My Niece Crystal and Sara singing to my parents
About a third of the family
My Dad dancing with 2 of his favorite girls
5 comments:
I'm so glad the party went well! Very unfortunate that his younger brother passed away right before, to somber the mood a bit. But I think his kids were right; Having the party go on anyway is what he would have wanted. 60 years is a long time, and it should be celebrated!
I agree; he would have wanted the party to go ahead; I believe that when people die they don't want to think that their death causes us to stop celebrating life. And 60 years together is definitely a part of life that should be celebrated.
I'm glad the party went well! :)
I'm so glad everything went off so well. I'm sure your Uncle was definitely smiling down on all of you. It was definitely the right thing to do to go ahead with the party.
Everything looked absolutely beautiful.
I think the three ladies above me have said it well, so I won't need to add too much to that. I will say, I'm glad your parents had such a nice party (you did a great job) and it looks like they enjoyed it very much.
My condolences to you and your family on the passing of your uncle.
Thank you all for the condolences and for the compliments. I have been to many weddings and parties but never thrown one of my own so I was pretty nervous. I know my parents enjoyed themselves and were very happy which is all I could ask for.
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