All that week, we had been preparing for rain. The forecast didn’t look promising for the outdoor ceremony I had been dreaming about for a year, with the chance of “scattered showers” making us prepare to move our plans indoors. A little ahead of schedule that morning, though, we suddenly had an opening – the light rain stopped and the sun started to peek through the clouds – and we quickly seized the moment.
{ the officiant, the groom and the groomsmen }
{ my brother escorting our mom }
{ the parents of the groom }
{ Matthew escorting his mom }
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{ our flower girls, Zoe and Adele }
{ our musicians, Joe & Jacie Sites }
Even though it would begin to rain again soon after, the clouds parted just long enough for Matthew and I to become husband and wife under the wide open sky.
{ his sister, Julia, reading a poem }
{ my brother, Joel, reading a blessing }
{ reading his letter to me }
After Julia and Joel performed two heartfelt readings for us, Matthew and I read letters we had written to each other before saying our vows.
{ reading my letter to him – except I’m a crier… and so are all my bridesmaids }
“…even though sometimes I accuse you of being a ‘stick in the mud’…”
{ handfasting }
Of all the many different rituals used in weddings to symbolize the joining of two people and their families, Matthew and I chose to perform a handfasting. For me, there couldn’t have been a more unaffected, elegantly simple way to represent these promises we were making. Most importantly, this traditional Celtic ritual of joining hands emphasizes mutual consent and a union of equals.
{ leaning in for the kiss }
We received a lot of generous compliments from the guests at our wedding, especially from the kids who loved the photo booth at the reception. The best compliment I heard, though, was from my Aunt Merry: I was talking to her and my Uncle Tim about how pleased we were with our officiant, when I described his speech as “genuine.” She stopped and said, “Genuine – that’s the word I would use to describe your wedding.”
