Melissa Oholendt | Minnesota Wedding & Lifestyle Photography

We have this tradition. Almost every Sunday evening you will find us at the exact same address, sitting at the exact same dining table, with (nearly) the exact same people, sharing a (mouthwatering) meal (so clearly I had nothing to do with it) with our not-blood-but-hey-we’re-still-family Minneapolis family. We often joke about the fact that if a third-party read a transcript of our dinner conversations, they would question if we even liked each other let alone were close enough to share dinner together weekly but the fact is that we truly love each other. All (most?) of the time though the boys will deny it.

The first time I met Brad was the night Jenna first brought him to one of our Sunday Night Family Dinners. A new member – especially a new member dating one of our own – is a big deal and receives it’s own special version of the “do we love or hate each other” brand of razzing so the fact that Jenna deemed Brad special (or tough?) enough to withstand the (mostly) good-natured teasing of one of our rowdy family dinners was a pretty big deal.

Well. Of course. Not only did he survive but he flourished. And by “flourished” I mean, by the end of the night, I am pretty sure he had somehow switched from the receiving to the giving end of the teasing. This is something that I have STILL not accomplished. (Well done, Brad. Well done.)

Fast forward almost exactly a year, they are engaged and if I can speak for our family, we would all say we could not be happier. Watching this beautiful, hilarious, happy couple move from dating to engaged and soon to be married? The best part of being a family.

Love you guys.

melissa