To have and to hold.

This evening my niece Sharisse got married beside a lake in Georgetown, Colorado with the Rocky Mountains as the backdrop.

She and her dad circled the lake in a horse-drawn carriage before she walked down the aisle.

Then, after saying their I do's, Sharisse and her new husband Tyler walked onto a floating platform that was rowed out into the lake gondolier-style. They then had their first dance together floating on the lake.

Once back on solid ground the two of them left the ceremony in the horse and carriage.

The ceremony was sweet and touching and it was a privilege to witness it. It was hard to not ask Eric twenty-five times how it was possible that our three-year old flower girl, who refused to walk down the aisle because she was tired of everyone telling her what not to do, was now joyfully walking down the aisle as a bride.

Kenna and Michal were elated to be at a wedding. They thought Sharisse was beautiful, which she was, and they told me breathlessly again and again, "I got to dance with the bride!"