Sailing Through Life Together

There’s something about your youngest getting married that turns the page on a generation. My grandsons were groomsmen and were amazing sentinels who ushered their uncle into his new life. Darren and Kensley were blessed to have the most perfect day and evening for their nuptials. The weather set the perfect stage for a venue that was spectacular in its simplicity and beauty.

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I had very limited knowledge of the part of Virginia’s Northern Neck known as Northumberland County before Darren met Kensley. Kensley’s family are original descendants of Tangier Island. Tangier Island is now on the verge of extinction as it is disappearing into the Bay. A ferry service and charters will transport you there now and depart from the same marina where Kensley’s Dad moors his boat. This was the setting for our festivities.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tangier,_Virginia

The family started arriving Friday afternoon in preparation for the rehearsal. The closest hotel to the marina was 25 minutes away in the quaint town of Kilmarnock. The hotel was full as there were numerous events occuring in the area.

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Once everyone was clear as to how the event was set to unfold we enjoyed some pizza, beer and soda together. The kids were skipping stones into the river when my youngest grandson, Dan the Man, lost his athletic slide shoe during his wind up. The shoe was drifting further away from the shore much to the dismay of his father. An all out effort to retrieve the shoe ensued and after it floated closer to one of the docks but still was unreachable, Zachary stripped down and dove in for it becoming the hero of the day.

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We transported the party back to our hotel and sent Zack to the showers while the adults took inventory of the alcohol: 1 bottle of apple pie moonshine, 1 bottle of salted caramel whisky, 1 bottle of Jack Daniels, 8 bottles of wine and assorted beers. Yup, we had enough for the night.

The morning dawned and Eric and Natalie departed for a 5 mile run, the wrestlers hit the gym and the rest of us parked ourselves poolside. We were anticipating the arrival of the rest of the clan (The Marables) later in the afternoon. Darren stopped by between running last minute errands and we all agreed to leave by 4:30 pm so we could be in place for the processional.
It is worth mentioning that Darren’s best man, Tyler, is the brother of Eric’s best man, TJ. Those brothers were the first friends my kids met when we moved to Fauquier County and the friendship between them and our families has endured through all these years.

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Final preparations were taking place when we arrived for the ceremony. Kensley’s family is a talented bunch and what they can’t do themselves, they have a connection to get it done.

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Seats were taken and the ceremony went perfectly. Mr. & Mrs. Russo led the revelers and the party began!

We ate, drank, danced and made merry into the night. There was a cool breeze gently blowing which seemed to keep away any bugs. Kensley’s cousin, our DJ, did a great job and was very accommodating when it became time for a Russo tradition: Drunken Disney Karaoke! Yes folks Aladdin, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, Frozen and Moana came to life as various Russos took up their parts! The highlight was Zachary re-creating his Aladdin role with Eric singing Jasmine’s part on A Whole New World. (It certainly was!)

Reluctantly, it was time to leave as we said good night to the few folks who outstayed us. (#PartylikeaRusso) The Strawberry Moon shone bright over the boats and water and was a perfect end to a perfect day. Congratulations Darren & Kensley!