Occasionally, I mean to write a blog post about this or that life event, but then it slips through the cracks. Something or other happens to delay me and the photos just sit there in the folder on my desktop getting less and less timely. Sometimes I let them sit there so long that they dry up, turn to dust, and blow away (metaphorically speaking). But sometimes I feel compelled to share, even if the sharing is late.

A few weeks ago, we drove down to Fayetteville for a few days to be present for the marriage of my brother Alex to my recently-minted sister-in-law Megan.

This is my brother Alex. And this is my mother. And this is me.

My brother Alex, being of the Special Forces variety of brother, wore evidence of his many accomplishments on his smart and official-looking jacket.

The kids were impressed. As was I. My brother is eleven kinds of amazing.

If you will endure more portraiture here at the outset, here is my sister Lindsay, too. And her daughter Ilea. And a sleeping August (from back before before his hair disappeared).

The wedding was remarkable for various reasons, not the least of which was the candy table.

I had to work hard to keep Robbi from drinking all the blue gummi bears before the ceremony even began.

I will refrain from showing you the next slide in this sequence in which a rightfully shamed Robbi slinks off with her tail between her legs.

I will not show you because it did not happen. She did not eat the gummi bears. But she was not happy about it.

The wedding was on the grounds of an arboretum. August found the loveliness of the surroundings too dull to contemplate.

Alden was pleased, however. There were various low walls to walk along.

And various lovely arbors to walk beneath.

If you happen to be planning a wedding in Fayetteville, you could do far worse.

I already mentioned the candy bar, but did I yet describe the gratuitous cupcake display? Cousin Orin was stunned into silence. We had to give the kids strict orders about the cupcakes and the rules regarding their consumption. Looking was ok. Looking suggestively was not ok (we figured that it could lead to poking, licking, and even biting).

August’s stupor continued as the wedding party prepared to process.

My brother came in first, flanked by a best man that was, improbably, even more decorated than my brother. I had never felt safer than at that wedding.

Megan, looking even more beautiful than she usually does, came next, in the company of Baby Anna, whose arrival preceded the wedding by some months.

While the minister engaged in preliminary small-talk, Baby Anna had some liquid lunch.

As various resonant words were exchanged by the parental units, she happily grazed on fallen cheerios.

Eventually there was a jewelry exchange.

After the official business was taken care of, the kids were free to roam, so they set off for the far side of the pond, to peer into the water that was teeming with fish and frogs.

Finally, August had something worth being conscious for.

For a few fleeting moments, the candy and cupcakes were forgotten.

Back inside, we did some dancing.

Some watching of dancing.

And yes, some candy consumption.

Evidence.

More evidence.

While Alden and Robbi cut the rug, I looked around the room and saw how many people love my brother and how much joy there was surrounding this moment in his life.

My brother is easy to love. And in Megan, he’s found a wonderful partner.

I wish them all the best, and am so glad that I was able to be there for them on that day.

For the record, we left the arboretum with no fewer than three bags of candy.

For the record, it was gone before we hit Richmond.