Our First 2022 Trip to America: The Cooperstown, NY, Wedding

Following the Part I post in Maine with sister, Ruth, and her Don, here's Part II covering the 3 days we were in Cooperstown, NY, for the wedding of our niece, Jennifer, on September 4th.

It's actually a pretty amazing story that gets more amazing the more I think about it!  And I have permission to share it!

Back in Pasadena, CA, when husband Bill and I were living there in 1981 with Amy and Mark, ages 9 and 6, my sister, Nancy, in Michigan was getting ready to birth a baby she was giving up for adoption.  The short version of the story is that in our Pasadena church we knew a couple, Georgia and Jonathan, who wanted to adopt a baby and who, when I connected them with Nancy, said YES!  They even flew to Michigan on the 5th day after the birth to receive the girl they named Jennifer, straight from Nancy's arms.

That was almost 41 years ago:  She was born on December 1, 1981. 

When Jennifer turned 18, Nancy was able to have "legal" contact with her, which she has had ever since, of course, connecting her to her larger Hart family.  In fact, in 2009, at Ruth's daughter's wedding, Jennifer, age 28, was there for this lineup of the 4 Hart sisters with their daughters:

SUSAN-Shari; GINNIE-Amy; RUTH-Lesley; NANCY-Jennifer.

Each of us sisters just happened to have one daughter each.  What a coinkydink!

Now, fast forward to September 2022 when said Jennifer gets married to Josh and when both biological and adoptive families get together for the celebration.

How's this for the venue:  The Barn on Hyder Creek!

[photo credit:  Nancy's DIL, Kathy]

Out in the middle of nowhere.  Don't you love it!

[photo credit:  Nancy's DIL, Kathy]

The wedding was on Sunday but we had access to the barn on Saturday to start the decorating.

Did I mention that that (the decorating) was Nancy's wedding gift to her daughter?!

But there was no way she could do it all by herself, so Ruth, Don, Astrid and I helped her all day,

Saturday and Sunday.  Wait till you see what her mind envisioned and then created!

(Nancy, btw, is the one in black, one year my junior.)

By late morning others of the Michigan family started arriving and checked us out.

(Our drive from Searsport, ME, was 450 miles on Friday; Michiganders had more like 640 miles!)

[photo credit:  Nancy's DIL, Kathy]

My main task on Saturday and Sunday, after the centers of the 10 tables were decorated, was to 

set all the 87 plates on the tables, according to the seating charts, with their adorable favors on top,

 created by Nancy.  The caterers would finish the table-setting before the 4:30 wedding on Sunday.

Before the 4:30 ceremony on Sunday, we gathered outside on the back porch,

and again afterwards, we did the same, with a fabulous spread of hors-d'oeuvres and drinks.

(Jonathan, the father, is center-right; Georgia, the mother, is bottom row in blue.)

[photo credit:  Astrid]

It was also a good time to hang our wishes for the couple on the Wish Tree inside.

Astrid's and my wish was the Dutch saying:  "A day not laughed is a day not lived."

The ceremony was "closed" to photography except for the official photographer,

but here's what it looked like beforehand.  When Nancy was walked to her seat up front, 

after which Georgia was seated next to her, I almost lost it.  How often does that happen...

the biological and adoptive mothers sitting next to each other at their daughter's wedding?!

My eyes brim with tears as I remember it!

After the ceremony and hors-d'oeuvres, we sat down at our designated tables for the meal.

In the same spot Jennifer and Josh had spoken their vows, they sat at their own special table.

And ate.  And danced.  And cut their cake.

[photo credit:  Nancy's DIL, Kathy, top and bottom-center; Paul Hart, nephew, bottom-left]

And we, too, ate.  And Watched.  And enjoyed the Hart Clan.

There were 18 of us from the Hart side of the family, filling 2 of the 10 tables.

Five of our 7 living sibs, with spouses, were present!  

Standing top-left is brother, Nelson, and top-right is brother, Jim.

Part of the Hart clan, btw, was Eric and Kathy,

Nancy's second son and daughter-in-law.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

And Jennifer is their half-sister!

[photo credit:  Astrid]

What a day, from beginning to end!

[video credit:  Ruth]

And YES, Astrid and I also danced!

And like so many others did, we sat on the wedding love-seat for our own photo.

The morning after, Monday, Don, Ruth, Astrid and I helped Nancy tear down the barn.

It took only 1.5 hours to do the major work, leaving the rest for Nancy and hubby Juan.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

Do you think Nancy was ready to crash?????

She's done many weddings in her decorating life but this was obviously her grandest.

Ruth and I, as 2 of her sisters, were so privileged and glad we could help.

[photo credit:  Astrid]

By 10:30 a.m., brother, Nelson, and his Elizabeth, came to depart with us back to Maine.

We rode with Don and Ruth until we stopped outside Portland to say good-bye.

From then till our flight back home on Wednesday, we stayed with N & E in Portland.

But it's the memory of Nancy and hubby Juan

as we left, on a rainy day, that stays with me.

Well done, dear sister.

(And now I'm tearing up again!)