Billstown Bash

After the Alaska trip, Dave and I did a overnight stay at home before flying into Dallas and driving to Delight. Despite the terrible rental car troubles (don't ever rent from Advantage), we had a great trip at home and it was great to see our family and to see Kala and Josh get married.

As with any small town wedding, there's a load of work before the ordeal and a good portion of work afterwards. In true fashion, Delight family and friends made it happen. It was great to tape up tablecloths and put up chairs while visiting with some of my schoolmates.

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The wedding took place in a field in Billstown, not far from the Campbell cemetery. The land on the banks of Saline Creek isn't exactly sacred ground, but it's pretty darn important. Kala, Luke, and I have many memories of the swimming hole at Saline Creek. The Campbells still swim there, hold family reunions there, and even have held a few baptisms there. The history and the scenery made it a perfect backdrop for the event.

June 21st was hot, but not miserable. The temperature didn't get above 90 and the humidity took a small break. Most all of the bridal party were former Delight Bulldogs, which made for a few jokes. It was easy to see the love in this family, and when the bride walked down the aisle, it was a poignant scene for everyone.

The wedding feast was appropriate and tasty--barbeque, coleslaw, fruits, vegetables, and sweet stuff besides the buttercream flavored cake. Of course, in the South at these things it is paramount for the wedding punch to match wedding color. Much ado is made over this. You should have heard the discussion once when a bride picked teal for a color. It was near cookbook chaos before the hostesses decided to go with a gold option. This punch, however, was the perfect shade of green, kudos of Aunt Peg. The beer, however, flowed a honey gold.

Despite music difficulties, the dance under the stars was nice. Kala, Brandi, and I are acting like gangsters in the photo above. One of the best moments came when they played the anniversary dance, and all the grandkids ran to push our grandparents out to the dance floor. Coming in at a strong 59 years, we knew they had this game won. My grandfather said he'd only go if we all did--and we went and danced. It was pretty special to see them dancing alone on the dance floor, even if the DJ announced them as "Ly-mon and Joy Rhee Slat" instead of Lyman and Joy Rhea Slatton. A full moon rose over the creek bank behind everyone.

Here's a few more family photos:

The bride and groom left around 11, we left shortly thereafter. But, I'm told the party lasted beyond 1 am.... and that the DJ slept in his car...