A Family Wedding

Last weekend I had the honor of officiating my sister-in-law's wedding in Tahoe. While the details of the wedding itself are private to the family, I'm glad to retell the story of the weekend, which was a grand affair.

We flew into Reno Wednesday and made our way to Fjeldheim, a Norwegian family lodge up in the mountains of the southeastern shore that had been rented out for the entire weekend. After stockup trips to Costco and Trader Joe's, we arrived at Fjeldheim and were thrilled with what we found. It's a huge multistory, multiacre estate with enough room to sleep 30+ people. Gorgeous lake views, an outdoor hot tub, a massive kitchen, the closest family of the bride and groom - we were ready for an epic weekend!

Thursday morning we woke up early and went hiking up to the summit of Maggies Peak. The high altitude immediately made itself apparent to me, as did the steep inclines of the hike! Huffing and puffing as I was, though, we were all rewarded with gorgeous views of Emerald Bay. After taking some time (and food!) to recover, we then spent the afternoon wine tasting on the California side of the lake.

Friday morning I took the opportunity to do something I can't do very well in Houston: hill sprints! The bride, who is a yogi, then helped me warm down with some light yoga. Friday afternoon then we all headed to the beach for the groom's dinner. Under cloudless skies we grilled out, played on the sand, and engaged in [freezing] water sports. The best part, though, came when the bride and sister of the groom busted out a guitar and began to serenade the groom. The guitar stayed out all night and it turned into hours and hours of sing-a-long - what fun!

The day of the wedding couldn't have been more perfect. We were blessed with our third straight day of awesome weather. The bride started the day by leading us in the full Ashtanga Yoga primary series. I then joined the groom for a trail run along the Lake Tahoe Rim Trail. All this led up to the main event: the wedding itself.

The ceremony was short and sweet and I was privileged to have a front row seat. After the bride and groom were pronounced husband and wife we spent a glorious afternoon sipping on champagne, playing yard games, and dining outside. This, of course, was followed by hours and hours of dancing until the wee hours of the morning - I couldn't have imagined anything better for the happy couple.

Sunday we lazily breakfasted and said sad, fond goodbyes. It had been a wonderful, joyous celebration in an amazing location but eventually it was time to return to reality. For Katie and me, however, reality was delayed by another day. Our flight back to Houston wasn't until Monday so we had to spend the night at a hotel/casino in Reno. Let me tell you, that was one classy place! After an evening of smoky gaming tables, poolside dancers, and comped all-you-can-eat buffets, we finally returned to Houston.

What a weekend! We are so, so happy for Kelly and Mike and we were thrilled to be party of their new union! We were especially thrilled that the way they wanted to celebrate happened to be a LOT of fun!