To Have and To Hold, From This Day Forward....

This is the day for which Keith and I have prayed for from the time Jessica was a little baby.  We have prayed that she would grow up to love the Lord her God with all her heart and love others.  The Lord has certainly blessed and answered several of our prayers.  He has provided a husband for Jess that loves the Lord and has a desire to serve Him along side Jess.  There is no doubt in our minds that he loves Jessica dearly.

Keith and I always have felt so blessed from the time we were dating/engaged until after being married for many years, our parents have always been dear friends.  From the first time Keith mentioned me to his mom, she said she already loved me.  For me, that was a hard concept to understand.  How could someone love me without even meeting me first?!?  Their love was a genuine love for me ever since that time.  What a blessing it was that our parents got along so well with each other.  That is hardly the case these days with all the in-law jokes and split marriages, etc. 

However, it does happen this day and age.  From before Jess and Andy were even officially engaged, we have been either emailing, making phone calls and now even Skyping with Jim and Barbara, Andy's parents.  What a sweet family!  Little did we know what a wonderful gift of new friends with each others parents our kids would give us!  We are all so blessed and feel so thankful that Jessica will also experience the same love from her in-laws that I did with mine.  We have become friends through the last year.

With all this said, hence the marriage of Jessica to Andy commenced.

 

 Floral arrangement in memory of Carl and Vivian Wittebols and Virginia Walton Baird

Wedding photographs of parents and grandparents

 Who gives this woman...."Her Mother and I.."

 To have and to hold, from this day forward...

 Exchanging rings

 Lighting the Unity Candle

 Prayer

  It is my pleasure to introduce to you, 

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew Baird Rogers.

Two families uniting their children

 Jessica now has siblings!  What a wonderful family!

The Reception ~ at the Top of the B.O.B., downtown Grand Rapids

Welcome sign made by Veronica Rogers, new sister-in-law

 Dad and Mom (Jess' grandparents) Allen and Wilma

 Denise and Mark (Jess' Aunt and Uncle)

 Aunt Dianne and Uncle Bill (Jess' great aunt and uncle)

 Cheryl and Dianne

 Emmett and Jen

 Chad and Courtney

Mr. and Mrs. Andrew B. Rogers arrive at the reception.

Keith ~ Welcome and Prayer

Mother and Son dance

High School friends all married now

 Picture display above the gift table

 Jess' Uncle Mark all ready to chauffeur them to their 

destination, J.W. Marriott, after a drive around town

AWAY THEY GO!!!!  Hawaii bound, Honeymooners!

*I just want to make a note, these pictures are a preview of the wedding pictures.  Thanks to Lori, Jennifer, and Barbara for sharing them with me.  In looking back, I sure wish I would have taken more pictures, but as would happen, I forgot to recharge my camera battery on Friday and it was not going to last me through the wedding and reception.  Therefore, I was not able to get pictures that I would have liked to have.  So, if you don't see someone's picture in here that should be here, that is why!  :(   Frustrating! 

The Big Day has finally arrived!

 Jessica "Wittebols" left the house at 8:15 am for the last time.  She and Jennifer were taken downtown to the Courtyard Marriott Downtown to meet the rest of the bridesmaids to prepare for the wedding.  They were all pampered with pedicures and breakfast and hairstyles.

 The Invitation

 The Beautiful Dress!

 Karley and Jennifer getting their hair done

 The Mother of the Bride, Marsha and the Mother of the Groom, Barbara

 Time for make up!

 Our view from the hotel suite

 Carey, making sure everyone was taken care of; a very creative and talented young lady.  She was also Jess' former roomie for the last 3 years in Virginia.

 As you can see, the room was a hub of various activities!

Father of the Bride loving on Addison

 Jess getting her dress on

Both Moms trying to hook the dress.  It was hard to see, but Barbara found the right place.

Thanks Barbara!  

Beautiful bride and beautiful bridesmaids!

Ready for our limo ride to the church!

Here comes the radiant-looking bride!

Beautiful bride and beautiful Maid of Honor

 Beautiful Bridesmaids:  Jennifer, Carey, and Courtney

Father of the Groom and Father of the Bride

 MOB and MOG

 Bridesmaids bouquet

 Karley has the wedding band

Jess and Andy decided it would work out better if they had their first look before the wedding and have most of their photographs taken before the wedding as well.  That way, they wouldn't be so rushed after the wedding to get to the reception.  So, immediately after the wedding, the whole wedding party took a limo downtown to finish pictures there at various sites where they wanted them taken.

Wedding Rehearsal and Dinner ~ September 15, 2011

At last the long-awaited wedding weekend had arrived.  On Thursday evening, the wedding rehearsal took place at Calvary Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan.  Everyone was so pleased the way everything was very organized and in order.  Many thanks to Pastor Jeff Halsted and Jessica's wedding coordinator, Sarah Blocher!

Best Man #1, Ben and Maid of Honor, Karley

Little Addison, flower girl (Just turned 1 year old!)

Aw...here comes the bride!

Just practicing...giving her away...

 The Happy Couple

Following the rehearsal at church, Jim and Barbara Rogers hosted a wonderful dinner at Mangiamo! for family and friends of the wedding couple in East Grand Rapids.  The food was delicious and the fellowship was great as well.  The groomsmen gave their toasts to the bride and groom, as well as Father of the Groom and Father of the Bride, which provided some humor for the evening.  Father of the Bride had a special toast for Barbara Rogers.  He brought in Slurpees for his toast, as after her first visit to Grand Rapids in July, she experienced her first one.  She loved it!  He really surprised her with that.  : )

 Dining room (The Library Room) all ready for dinner guests to arrive

The lovely centerpieces that graced each table

 Mom, Keith, Ilene, Jim, Marsha, Dad

Jen, Ben, Veronica, Chad

Karley, Sam, Easton, Courtney

 Carey, Andy, Addison, Candice

Emmett, Jess, Andy

 Charlie, Denise

 Rich, Suzie

 Bill, Lori

 Jeff, Robin, Jim

Barbara, Chip, Sharon

 John, Taylor, Kirby

Barbara and Keith with their Slurpees

Less than one week....

With less than one week away, there are many feelings which we are experiencing as parents of the bride.  Of course, we are feeling happiness!  Happiness for Jessica and Andy.  Thankfulness.  Thankfulness to the Lord that He allowed them to meet and fall in love and decide they are meant to spend the rest of their lives together as husband and wife.

Yes, some tears.  Tears as we go back through old pictures and bring back memories of fun times together.  We remember those big blue eyes and long blonde pigtails blowing in the wind as she rides her bike down the sidewalk.  What a wonderful gift we have been blessed with the last years!  One like none other!  We aren't losing a daughter, but gaining a son!  She'll always be our daughter; just in a different way.

 As we look back at when Jessica was given to us from the Lord, she wasn't given to us permanently, but on loan for a time.  When she was little and school age, we did our best to raise her for the Lord.  We give Him all the glory for how she has turned out.  He gave us His wisdom and strength to do what we felt the best way to teach her about the things of the Lord.  As she marries Andy, he will now be her protector, provider, and life-time mate. Our prayer for them is they will also carry on and teach their children, should the Lord bless them, all about the things of the Lord; to grow up in the nurture of His love and care. 

To God Be the Glory Great Things He Has Done!