Summer 2012 - London-Carlson Wedding

Bruce Lillard (62), Joy London (23), Bridget and Bryce Ebadi (7)

Since Uncle Bruce insisted that Joy not put off her wedding for his or the children's sakes, Joy decided to start making plans.  She invited Felicity over for lunch and a day of shopping.  As a nice gesture, she decided to invite Bridget along too.

Bridget was delighted to be included with the big girls' day out.

She gloated about it to Bryce as they left, but he didn't mind.  He'd much rather stay home and play with the puppy than go on a boring, girly shopping trip.

Their first stop was the mall where they looked for dresses to wear to the wedding.

"Wow, Joy!  Look at you, sissy.  You are going to be a beautiful bride!"

After trying on one dress, Bridget was getting bored with shopping.

She spotted her best friend, Kendra, outside running errands with her mom and asked Joy if it was alright if she went outside to talk with her instead.

While Felicity waited on Joy in the dressing room, she noticed a strange man come up and give Bridget a friendly hug.

"Uh, Bridget, honey . . . do you know him?"

"I'm giving out free hugs today.  Would you like one?"

"Uh, no thanks.  I think you'd better go on your way."

After shopping, the girls went out for a nice lunch.

"This looks like a really nice place," Bridget remarked.  "I think I'll order the lobster."

"Lobster? Are you sure you like lobster?" Joy asked. "Maybe you should choose something a little safer . . . and less expensive," she added under her breath.  "Hey, look they have mac n cheese."

Joy was relieved that Bridget decided to go with the mac n cheese.

Felicity was appalled by Joy and Bridget's table manners.  "Hey, watch out!  You're getting your crumbs in my spaghetti.  Gross."

"Joy, I can't believe you're really getting married.  It's hard to believe we're old enough for that already.  It's like you're really a grown-up now."

"Watch out, you'll be next."

"Maybe," Felicity said, twirling the strands of spaghetti on her fork.

"When you were my age, what did you want to be when you grew up?" Bridget asked.

"I don't know.  I think I always wanted to be famous, like as an actress or a model, or maybe a politician."

"You did always want to be in the limelight," Felicity agreed.

"Now, you're going to be on TV."

"If everything goes according to plan . . . I really hope it works out with having my own show.  I really want it to be successful.  Maybe even win a few awards."

Felicity stayed over on the night before the wedding, so she could be there bright and early to help get ready.  They had a light, healthy breakfast, before getting their hair and makeup done and getting dressed for the wedding.

Everything was all set up by the time the guests started to arrive.  Joy was disappointed when she woke up in the morning to gray skies and drizzling rain, but luckily they were able to set up a tent, so they could still have their outdoor wedding.

Maybe they were a little anxious for the ceremony.  Not all of the guests were seated when Alon and Joy started exchanging their vows.

They were so glad to have their friends and family present for their big day.

Surrounded by flowers and rose petals in bright autumn colors, it was just what Joy had dreamed of.

And even more importantly she was standing next to the man of her dreams.  She knew they were going to have a happy future together.

Felicity looked over at Chase, seated next to her, and wondered what he was thinking.  She wondered if he regretted not being in Alon's place at the altar.  He'd always said he wasn't the marrying type, so maybe he thought he had dodged a bullet.  If he had any thoughts about the past, he was keeping them to himself.

After the ceremony, the bride and groom cut the cake.

And very daintily fed each other a bite.

Uncle Bruce seemed to have some choice words for their older brother Jimmy about settling down and getting serious about his life. 

Jimmy wasn't interested in hearing it.  He wasn't sure he wanted to settle down with one woman.

"Okay, I'll get off your back," Bruce conceded.  "I am proud of you for following through with your education and completing your degree."

The guests took their cake inside to eat.  Joy noticed Felicity and Davis standing together is awkward silence as she ended up sitting next to Chase.

He offered his congratulations and assured her that anything between them was in the past.  They were just kids when they were fooling around with each other.  Now she was moving on with her life and he promised he'd never try to stand in the way of her happiness.

After cake, Joy's other older brother, Frank, sat down at the piano and played some music for the guests to dance too.

Despite the fact that the rain had started to come down harder, some of the guests insisted on staying outside.  They panicked when a tree in the yard was struck by lightning and caught on fire, but only momentarily.

Once the fire was out, they went back to what they were doing,

playing in the rain.

Meanwhile the bride and groom were inside, sharing their first dance.

They didn't care that they guests were outside playing in the rain,

they were glad for a few intimate moments alone.

As they danced, the party was winding down.  Felicity and Bridget watched some television in the living room before bedtime.

And Bryce had disappeared upstairs hours ago.

He wasn't at a loss of how to amuse himself.

Joy and Alon Carlson will be remaining on this lot.  There's enough room to build a separate little house for the newlyweds, so they can have their own private space, yet remain close to help Uncle Bruce with the children.