My Brother's Big Day!

August 8, 2009

We woke up to a glorious sunny day, perfect for an outdoor wedding.  But before heading into Yosemite Valley, my brother had given us a task.  He needed large branches to form tripods from which the wedding flowers would be placed on.  Luckily this cabin's surrounded by woods, so we tromped through the wilderness, looking for the branches.  It took us a while, but we finally found some good ones.  We used a rotary saw (which my brother had provided the night before) to cut the branches to good lengths for the tripod.

Dad hacking away at the wooden posts

After making sure we had everything for the wedding, since it'd be an hour round trip if we had forgotten anything, we headed back into Yosemite.  Our destination was the Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite's top hotel.  We couldn't check in yet although plans were made ahead to let us check in early so we could get ready for the wedding.  The front desk said we could check in soon so while waiting we had a nice lunch at the hotel restaurant.  We went back to check in and they said we still couldn't check in, even though the wedding hour was getting close.  My brother was able to check into his room, but we still needed two more rooms to get ready.  Eventually, they released the extra two rooms and we were able to get ready with plenty of time before the start of the wedding.

The wedding took place on the outside lawn of the Ahwahnee, with the sun shining and a cool breeze keeping things comfortable.  I'll let the photos tell the rest of the story.

Everyone mingling before the ceremony

The tripods we helped build

Jeff and my parents waiting for the ceremony to start

Waiting for the bride

Jayne reciting her vows

Mr. and Mrs. Hayashida

Name cards

Origami crane tree

Cruising before the reception

Jenn and myself before the reception

Mom making a toast

Wedding sign

The buffet - yum!

Best man's speech

The beautiful wedding cake

First dance

The Hayashidas

After a nice ceremony and fun reception, we headed back to our room to recuperate from the busy day and to rest up for brunch.

Brunch at the Ahwanee Dining Room