Why are you getting married in Vermont?

Those who know, know. And for those who don't, allow us to take you back in time...

Mary Louise (Mary Lou, MLDC, Hawkeye, etc.) and James (Jim) Connelly lived in Garden City New York with eight (yes that would be 8) children. The amazing parents that they were, they would take their children North to Vermont to vacation- teaching the kids to ski and taking turns sneaking in to indoor hotel pools with various arrangements of children.

Well, the eight kids grew up and the family grew. Mary Lou and Jim decided that they wanted to recreate the family holidays in Vermont. With Kathleen, second oldest, they found two houses to rent each summer from July 1-31. If you were a Connelly, you were expected to be there each year. If you were a husband, well, you were welcome to join if you wanted to.

Because of the generosity of her grandparents, Mimi had 20 summers spent in southern Vermont. Londonderry, Winhall, Jamaica, Stratton, Peru, and, yes, Manchester, are the backdrops for her most precious memories. Summer nights with her mom and aunties in the kitchen while she ran around with ice pops and fireflies with her cousins. Helping her grandparents in, and then out, of swimming ponds. Running Vermont hills and cemeteries. Grandmother and Grandpa reading their paper in their chairs at Hapgood. Indeed, most of the memories involve Mary Louise and Jim, Mimi's grandparents.

To say thank you for those summers, and to have them and her Aunt Kathleen close at her wedding, that is "Why Vermont."