What to Do When You Have The Largest Family in The World

OK, we should probably have a talk before you and I go much further... I don't think I am going to be able to keep this secret for very long, as you might begin to wonder who all of those seemingly unrelated people in my blogs-to-come photos came from....

Every bride and groom has a special set of circumstances that drive how they put together their wedding day. Some couples might have family scattered throughout the globe. Some might have to figure out how to navigate the tricky waters of divorced families. Others have huge budget challenges - the list goes on and on!

My challenge is how to honor everyone when you have the LARGEST FAMILY IN THE WORLD.

You might want to sit down.

Jon and Kate plus 8? Try multiplying that a few times. The Gilbreths of Cheaper by the Dozen fame? NOPE, though I LOVED their books when I was a little kid. The Duggars? Mmmm, STILL not big enough.

I have seven sisters and thirteen brothers. Take a moment to digest, sister.

I never, ever, ever tell people (except for on the world wide web, ack!) Sometimes, you just never know how people are going to react, so I choose to protect myself most of the time. The reason my family is so big is because my parents decided - when I was very little - that they wanted to adopt as a way to build their family. The big thing is, they wanted to adopt the kids who often never get adopted. There is a waiting list a million miles long for healthy newborns, but older and disabled kids... they are extremely lucky when they get adopted, unfortunately.

Many of my siblings are from other countries, and we cover most all of the races and many sorts of disabilities, which to me, is AWESOME! To be honest, I think the best way to combat racism, sexism, and just discrimination in general, is to have a "mixed-up family."

Anyway, as you can imagine, this makes planning the wedding a bit of a challenge because not only do I want to honor all of them in some way, but I also had to find a venue where my family, who is driving up from Texas (!) will be comfortable. Surprise, surprise, many locations don't make accommodations for people with disabilities, and Chicago has many "historic" buildings that were pre-ADA. It also had to be affordable since my family would have to book so many rooms. Luckily, I found such a magical location! More to come on the venue front...

I do have to laugh though, because even though so many of my family members have disabilities, they still tear it up on the dance floor. We are TERRIBLE dancers, but enthusiastic. My baby brother actually took a running start and slid on his knees allllllllllllllllllllllllll the way across the dance floor at my sister's wedding, all while ripping off his tuxedo jacket. He was ten. :)

(whew)

OK, now that that confession's out of the way... what has been your biggest wedding challenge so far?? Is it stressing you, or did the pieces fall into place naturally?

-Miss Snapdragon, she of the really big fambly. ;)