Erik and Casey's wedding - Dec. 22, 2009

The wedding was wonderful! There were 12 of us in attendance....Casey's parents and two sisters, as well as Kyle and Jamie who flew in from Minnesota, and my parents (the only surviving grandparents on both sides).

Erik and Casey were full of joy and couldn't stop smiling all day. We started the wedding day with a lovely brunch at Casey's parents' home in Evergreen where we took lots of photos and spent time laughing together. (The first picture was taken in their home.)

Casey's sisters surprised us all with a fifteen person limousine to take everyone from Evergreen to the Jefferson County Courthouse in Golden for the wedding. (The second picture is of our family and was taken in the courthouse just after they were married at noon on 12-22-08 by Judge Randall C. Arp.)

The third picture was taken in the atrium of the building and includes the entire wedding party. The huge Christmas tree behind us is at least two stories tall!

Erik and Casey made it safely to Belize and have emailed that they are enjoying relaxing on their honeymoon in the warm weather.

Cheers,
Karyn :-)

Kyle & Jamie Wed In Estes

Kyle Pedersen, son of David and Karyn Pedersen, married Jamie Lowe on June 21, 2008 outside on the picnic grounds of John's and Dagmar's Estes cabin.

The wedding was so much fun and a huge success!! Everybody loved the cabin and surrounding land. The weather was perfect, and Jamie and Kyle had everything planned so well and were calm and organized which set the tone for all of us.

We had help and support from the surrounding Estes family which made it extra fun. Warren is so helpful with everything, Phil and Donna very friendly and supportive, Dean and Glenda also helped a lot (Dave and I stayed there a few nights too), and JoAnne also opened her home up for several of my out of state single friends to stay there. Debbie Devore and kids are always very helpful too! Jamie's mom & dad, two brothers/spouses, extended family and friends were "worker bees" too, so with Erik, Casey, Dave, me and everyone else, the saying, "Many hands make light work," applied to the entire weekend.

The tent for 156 people fit perfect on the picnic grounds, and there was seating at tables under the tent for dinner. The "Royal Toilet" trailer was tucked into the trees (it was brand new and a huge hit with everyone...it even had sinks, flush toilets (men & women), lights, pictures, rugs...fancy!!)

The ceremony was outside by the rock outcropping and you could see Estes Lake in the background. There were 20 baskets of hanging wildflower type flowers sitting on white birdbaths and overhead twinkling lights that led people down the road to the ceremony seating. Gordon drove Kyle and Jamie close to the ceremony in his amazing 1939 Rolls Royce.

Jamie was married in her grandmother's (and her mom's) wedding dress which is over 60 years old. Her lace bustle in the back of her dress was made by her mom, Diane, and is made from the lace from the train from my wedding dress (her new mom-in-law!) which my sister, Kristin (Kyle's god-mother), was also married in 36 years ago. So Jamie's wedding dress (and the lace bustle in the back) was a combination of wedding dresses from her grandma, mom, mother-in-law (Karyn) and Kyle's god-mother (my sis Kristin.) How special for all five of us women!! Jamie made her pearl hair ornament from her grandma's veil. All five women were in attendance at the wedding.

Interesting info on Gordon's 1939 Rolls Royce. It only has 7,000 miles on it! It was kept hidden in Austria (?) for 50+ years before Gordon bought it. Hitler was confiscating all the Rolls Royces that he could find during his time in power, but this one was hidden before he could get his hands on it. No wonder it looks so nice and new for a 70 year old car!!

Jamie and Kyle reside in Minnesota.

The Lutheran pastor (retired) was a family friend of the Lowe's (Jamie's family) from Minnesota and really personalized the service after meeting with Jamie and Kyle several times. He began the service with bringing the two families (grandparents, parents, sibs) to the front to join hands to symbolize the joining of the families and then we all hugged Jamie and Kyle and welcomed them.

He honored the land and our ancestors on both sides, and had Dave bless the circle by sprinkling sage in a circle on the ground that we had collected from several Native American sacred sites where we like to hike and visit. He also included a couple of Native American blessings/prayers in the ceremony per Jamie and Kyle's request. He included stories, humor and joy in the service and everyone loved it.

After photos, drinks, horsd'oeuvres, dinner (catered by "A Spice of Life" out of Boulder), cake cutting, toasts, dances (bride/groom;mother/son; father/daughter), we just enjoyed an evening of visiting and laughing.

Submitted by: Karyn Pedersen 7/2/2008