We went to Wausau on Friday night to visit Cindy and Pat and then we went to Minocqua early Saturday for a bridal breakfast and then for the party that night.
It was so nice to visit Cindy (and Pat) in the northwoods nest. The girls and Patrick had not been there before.
Pat cooked the most delicious steaks on the grill. Cindy sauteed mushrooms, toasted the french bread and whipped up a fresh tossed salad. Pat made thousand island dressing that was out of the world. So good.
That next morning we adventured to Nancy's very good friend Darcy's house for a delicious breakfast.
Getting to Darcy's was thrilling, harrowing, frightening and memorable. I will wait for Cindy to give me permission to tell the story of the trip down Gresham Rd.
We were able to spend the rest of the day hanging out at a beautiful resort near by. It was so nice to share the cottage because we could relax and visit with all the family coming and going. It was really perfect. Lots of times when you travel for weddings you don't get to spend much time together because you are so spread out....this was the best.
The weather was gorgeous.
I went over early to the airplane hangar to take pictures of the venue for Caroline. They had decorated and set the whole thing up and were very proud of their hard work.
The food was delicious and the music was fantastic.
Nancy asked me to take a family picture because Erik was not able to go to Arizona.
Oh boy. Flash and ISO of 4000.
But they look happy, don't they?
Ashley (my niece) had a baby six weeks ago. Ashley, her husband and two children traveled far to come to the party!
I was thrilled to take their pictures.
***I decided to take Harlee's picture down because Ashley might use it for the baby announcement and I don't want to show it before she get's to show it.**
This is sweet baby Harlee.
This is big brother Gunnar.
So darling!
Such great light!!
The bride.
Northwoods style.
Cake stand made by the groom.
A wedding in an airplane hangar...who'd a thunk it?
If you are married, where was your wedding reception held?
Where is the most unusual place you have attended a wedding?
Patrick and I eloped.
We were married in a church with just the pastor and then a few weeks later my Aunt Dorothy gave us a little reception. Family was invited. All of my siblings were there and Patrick's brother and sister in law came! It was in Aunt Dorothy's apartment on Lake Shore Drive. It was really very lovely. I didn't know she was going to do it, but she even had a very pretty cake with lady fingers on it and flowers on top. I wore my wedding dress, it was a very pretty Albert Nipon dress.
It's funny. I didn't think until just now that we had our 'party' a few weeks after the wedding like Carrie and Pete.
Anyway....
Share your stories. Pretty please.
Donna
We were married at a state park in the mountains of Eastern Oregon where we live. The day of the rehearsal was beautiful, and we were all set to go with our outdoor wedding & reception....and then the next day it absolutely poured ALL.DAY.LONG. So - all of our 150+ guests pitched in, and we threw the ceremony & reception inside a building there at the park....it was pretty tight, but perfect in every way. And they say rain is good luck for a marriage, I hear. :) PS - We had rented little cabins to stay in at the park, and luckily they had little porches...that's where we took ALL of our wedding pictures - it was too wet to take them anywhere else, but they turned out beautifully. :)
ReplyDeleteDarcy,
DeleteThis is a great story. I particularly like wedding pictures on the porch. I have to know which state park. (I live in La Grande.)
Carol
Carol,
DeleteOne of these times Darcy will come back and see your comment to her :o)
Hi Carol - Sorry...and thank you Donna for the prompt. ;)
DeleteWe got married at Meacham at Emigrant Spring State Park....I would recommend it to ANYONE! Rain or shine. :)
PS - We live in Hermiston....but I just drove thru LG this morning. On my way to Baker to have my wisdom teeth pulled....not the best reason to be headed East, but I love the snow in the foothills....your country looks beautiful!
Hi Darcy! Great to see you here!
DeleteWhen we got married in TX in 1958 it rained and stormed all day except when we left the church. rain's good for a marriage; we'll be married 55 years in September.
DeleteWe went to a reception that was held in a band shelter. Small (2nd) wedding; lovely day. The bride and groom were Scottish. He wore a kilt. She wore a plaid wedding gown.
ReplyDeleteHello! These are wonderful photos, Donna. The wedding, the lovely countryside. Thank you for sharing with us. I thought of you over the weekend and said a prayer too.
ReplyDeleteAs far as weddings go, mine was traditional and sort of big, since I grew up in the same town I was born in, my parents have lived there for years. Basically the whole church came. We had cake for 500 and had barely any left. Back in 1978 it was a big deal to have little sandwiches to pass around - we got rave reviews! (Receptions were strictly cake and punch, mints and nuts. Period).
I was 19 and a HALF so didn't have a lot of opinions about our wedding -- good thing my Mom had great taste. I did have the red & white wedding I always wanted. With red and white roses, lots of them.
As for interesting venues, my niece got married at Mt. Hood, outside of Portland Oregon 6 years ago and it was gorgeous. The scenery, the flowers, the food, the smaller size (about 75 guests came from all over). Naturally it was an outdoor wedding on a bluebird sky day. You can imagine the wonderful photos.
Thanks for asking about weddings :-) What a lovely topic.
Our wedding was held at the church on my college campus at St. Mary-of-the-Woods college in Terre Haute, IN and our reception was held in the 100 year-old dining room. Perfect June day...rainy and overcast in the morning, but bright blue skies and about 80 degrees for the wedding. It was gorgeous!!
ReplyDeleteProbably the most exotic place I've been to a wedding/reception was on top of a mountain somewhere between Vail and Leadville, CO. Thankfully, it was in July and not in January!
My hubs went to Rose-Hulmann and dated a gal from St. MoftheW. Glad he didn't marry her!!!!
DeleteToo funny! My hubs was a Rose guy, too! Graduated in 1998. And yours?
DeleteMarried in my church, officiated by both of his pastors, reception held too far away at a golf club (of which neither of us nor any of our guests were members) and a lot of people were ready to leave just after it all got started. It was a nice wedding and reception but there is so much I'd do over again. I really had hoped for a big yankee type wedding but got more of a compromise between big party complete with the hokey pokey and chicken dance and southern stand-around and nibble on finger foods: Booooring but sweet ceremony, nice dinner, a little dancing and plenty of love and warm wishes.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures are lovely. You have a beautiful family. That sounds like a fun weekend!
ReplyDeleteKris and I had a traditional Catholic wedding at our church in town. I love everything about our wedding ceremony. I was calm, relaxed and it was beautiful. Our reception followed the ceremony at the American Legion. The Legion is kind of a dark place so I brightened it up with lots of white lights and balloons. My colors were red with pink, green and white accents. A local lady made our wedding cake which had fresh flowers on it. The cake was divine. Whenever I throw a shower for a friend/family I always order a cake from Gloria because her cakes are always so dang good. Since we live in a small town and we are related to half of it we had a big wedding. I think there was around 300-400 people. That is a normal thing around here. A lot of cake, food, mints, beer, dancing. A lot of fun!
Sarah P. from Iowa
On a completely different note....Donna, I tried your Italian Beef crock pot recipe yesterday. It was fantastic and so easy!!
DeleteSarah P. from Iowa
Did you think it was spicy or not?
DeleteSometimes it's real spicy for me...I think the pepperoncimi can be hot or not.
It had a little bit of a kick to it, but wasn't spicy. :)
DeleteThat's just right!! Weeee
DeleteMy husband and I got married in a small old brick church in the mountains of VA almost 11 years ago. He actually planned it all since it was just the 2 of us and we didn't want anything big. I just had to find a dress and pick up flowers. He secretly had my parents be there at the church as a surprise to me. We had dinner that night -just the 2 of us and off to our honeymoon at the beach. Then had a small reception a couple of weeks later. It's been a fantastic 11 years! So glad he never stopped following me around for 8 years and waited until I finally realized he was the one. HA!
ReplyDeleteDonna, I've been thinking about your Aunt Dorothy having a wedding party for you - that is so sweet. So glad she had a celebration for you.
ReplyDeleteI agree, Aunt Dorothy deserves "a star in her crown" as my grandmother would say. jep
DeleteOur wedding was held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas. We married on a private balcony looking over the fountains and the Paris hotel across the street. 40 people traveled with us and we had a wonderful time. The weekend after our Wednesday wedding we flew home to MD and held a formal reception for 250. A blizzard hit but the reception still went well with at least 175 in attendance, even our vendors all arrived ready to celebrate. It was very memorable indeed.
ReplyDeleteHow pretty to get married on a balcony!
DeleteThat sounds so beautiful, Tawny! Love those fountains.
DeleteIt was magical. We got married in a busy city and never even noticed the activity around us. We decided to marry at that location when we were told the fountains erupt the moment you kiss as man and wife. SOLD!
DeleteI've never heard that, Tawny. How wonderful :
Delete(and I love the glass ceiling installation in the lobby area)
I have been a wedding planner (back in the day) and just feel this incredible connection to couples beginning their lives together. Having lived overseas, I have become a huge advocate for small, intimate, meaningful weddings. Here in the US, weddings are outrageously expensive, formal affairs that often put the couple in debt and cause a lot of unnecessary conflict amongst the joining families.
ReplyDeleteI have since worked with couples who are interested in small, memorable, and uniquely reflective weddings. Wouldn't do it any other way. And our teen daughter thinks it's a great way to do it as well, so that hopefully bodes well for the future!
I got married very young (23) and had about 200 people. It wasn't what I wanted, but I didn't have the maturity and confidence to disagree with people. If I had to do it again, it wouldn't even remotely resemble the original day. All that to say, I'm grateful to my parents for the day, and I married the man that has stood by me 'for better or worse, in sickness and in health'. THAT's the real meaning of a wedding.
I am blessed, indeed.
Mary from Wheaton
{{{LIKE}}}
DeleteActually I love this, Mary.
If I had to do it again, these 35 years later, I would have a smaller, more intimate wedding. For sure.
I think destination weddings are the HUGE
How amazing that you were a planner!!! Small sounds so good to me.
DeleteWhat a fun job; it would be fun to "go to work" every day. :)
Delete{{{LIKE}}}
Deletejep
Mary,
DeleteYou're like Mary the wedding planner in the movie The Wedding Planner! (Did you see that Jennifer Lopez movie?) :)
Mary Z
We were married at the courthouse. Just my parents and sisters were there. His family.... well, they've come around. I wore a blue dress. Afterwards we all went to brunch at a pancake house. Not exactly what little girls dream of, but it was perfect for me.
ReplyDeleteI think I can guess who this is....
DeleteWe had a traditional Southern Baptist wedding, 35 1/2 years ago. Married in church, reception in fellowship hall after. Punch and cake, nuts and mints. Our cake was almost dropped, and you could see a big thumbprint in the frosting where my soon-to-be-brother-in-law saved the day. :)
ReplyDeleteI did have one of my bridal showers in a very unusual location, however. I was hospitalized the day before the planned shower. I was on IV's, so I was not getting out. It was a small hospital, and I worked there at the time - so the staff bent the rules and let my best friend, who was hosting, have it in my hospital room. Ahh, memories! :)
Jody, our weddings sound very similar, except mine was non-denominational :-) And we had no close calls with the cake - whew! my husband and I will celebrate our 35th anniversary this coming June.
DeleteWhat a memorable shower you had!
I fell and hit my head trying to turn off my alarm clock. I sliced my head right below the eyebrow on a french provincial night table and had to go the emergency room a week before my bridal shower - I think people were concerned when I showed up with a black eye! it made for an interesting story ;-)
Oh Jody, it would take so much pressure off if we were only expected to serve punch, cake, nuts and mints.
DeleteYour hospital story is really special :o)
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DeleteI was in the 12th grade! My fiance' was a new private in the Army. This was in 1966, in the throes of the Viet Nam war. He knew he would get shipped over, and asked me to marry him that Christmas during my break and his 2 weeks off. I was 17.10 years old. He was 19. My grandparents had come for the holidays and I just laid it on the line. A marriage or we elope !! Everyone threw together a lovely wedding, including the neighbors. We married the day after Christmas at my church, and had the reception at Mama's. The house was so beautiful with all the decorations for the holidays. The food, the cake, and friends and family. I went back and graduated with my class, and God spared him during the war. We just celebrated 46 years of "wedded bliss" !! I love him so.........
ReplyDeleteCece, you should write a book. This is a great story.
Delete{{{LIKE}}} Ah, Cece your story make me cry. jep
DeleteThank you for all the sweet comments about my marriage story. I may not have accomplished a lot in my life, according to the standards of society, but my marriage and faith in God have stood as my testimony, low these many years. I have loved every story I have read from all of you. There is a fine line between being nosy and truly interested in people. I am a people person, and that is one reason why I LOVE Donna's blog so much.
Delete(((LOVE))) this story!
DeleteMary Z
I love your story Cece. <3 It's beautiful.
DeleteThis is so beautiful, Cece. Congratulations on 46 years!
DeleteThis is such a sweet and enduring story. Congratulations.
Deletehmbalison
Oh Cece!!!!! What a great and touching story!!!
ReplyDeleteCongratulations!!'
LOVE this
DeleteWe have a bunch of lucky romantics here at Quiet Life. I love reading all your stories.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was a child, one of my favorite places to go was my gradfather's rambling white stucco house with a red-tiled roof. It was located on a college campus where he was a professor. It had rose gardens, a rolling front lawn, olive trees, and abundant garden--and even a secret glen of redwood trees he called "The Angel's Forest" after his five granddaughers, His Five Angels.
When I was planning my wedding, I knew I wanted to get married at my grandfather's house. It was a gorgeous April day. We had the ceremony on the rolling front lawn, and had the reception among old roses on the back patio. It was just the perfect way to celebrate with family and friends.
My dad said a lovely toast about the setting, all the family, how much he loved me and my husband. And then my father in law got up and said, "Ditto." to huge laughs.
The house had to be sold to another college professor after my grandfather died just a few years later. There was no way we could keep it in the family. I am so happy for my wedding memories. The house never looked prettier than it did on that day.
HMBalison
LOVE this. wonderful story.
DeleteWhat a lovely story. I can just picture your grandfather's house. jep
Delete(((LOVE))) button!
DeleteMary Z
My son's December wedding in Seattle was the most dramatic series of events. Three nights before the wedding a massive wind storm took out electricity to all but downtown Seattle. We had to find a new venue for the wedding, find a place for the rehearsal, grab food from the one open Costco for the rehearsal dinner, find rooms for guests, rearrange siblings' flights.
ReplyDeleteTrees, draped in power lines, were down across roads; it looked like a war scene. Lines for gas were a mile long. I think that my adrenalin supply was permanently depleted that weekend.
But. When the harpist started playing O Holy Night and Taryn walked towards Carson in the candle lit room, it was all good.
Nice weekend! It looks like having a wedding in an airplane hanger is fun and festive... and pretty! I love the "northwoods" nuances.
ReplyDeleteFirst time we were married in a little chapel beside the "big church" and had an intimate reception on my in-laws' Florida patio (poolside/waterfront) with family and closest friends.
A couple of decades later, we renewed vows at sunset on the beach and had an intimate family dinner at the resort restaurant.
Our wedding was held on the beautiful Leelanau Peninsula in northern Michigan. We got married at St. Mary's in Lake Leelanau and the reception was at the Leland Lodge in delightful Leland, Michigan.
ReplyDeleteIm gonna need to google all of that :o)
DeleteOur wedding was very traditional, but our engagement party was unusual! It was at a little restaurant called Peanut Butter & Ellie's in Portland, OR (I don't think it's still open). They cater to children and the menu is packed with all different varieties of pb&J sandwiches. A good friend surprised us by renting the place out, and it was a hoot!
ReplyDeleteI have heard of PB&J restaurants...what a good friend to rent that place. jep
DeleteI went there with my sister who lives in Portland. What a unique venue.
DeleteMarried in a chapel with 700 of our closest friends - we both had worked at churches so we referred to the ceremony as 'the great free-for-all'. Thirteen songs, 5 bridesmaids, 4 pastors, 2 receptions - it was a great day....but it would be so, so, SO different if we were planning it now!!
ReplyDeleteJill Briscoe wrote and read us a poem, and Stuart did the benediction... Great, great memories.
Deleteoh steph. i don't think i even know 700 people.
DeleteYour wedding made me smile...all the songs, the bridesmaids, the pastors and 2 receptions! What a day to remember. jep
DeleteOh Steph, you will the crazy prize. LOL 700!!!! 13 SONGS. Just wow. :) I'm glad it was a great day.
Delete*win
DeleteWe had a great worship team, and a phenomenal organist. Three separate sets of music. It was magical in the BEST possible sense.
Delete**AND, the organ that was played at our wedding is the one I get to play every Sunday now at the church 2 hours away from where we married. :) SUCH a joy!
Wow, Steph, that would have been 1/4 of the town I grew up in! Sounds like it was a wonderful event.
DeleteSteph, so cool about the organ! Would love to know how you decided on your 13 songs...and what they were. Mary Z
DeleteDitto about the music. O I love lots of music at a wedding. :-)
DeleteI agree. I want to know the songs/music. I had a few contemporary Christian songs sung. "I will be here" by Steven Curtis Chapman. ;)
DeleteBeautiful pictures (as usual) Donna! We got married 17 1/2 years ago at the Marriott Frenchman's Reef in St Thomas. They had a gazebo on a cliff overlooking the ocean...I'd do it again in a heartbeat! AND to the same guy! ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing your weekend with us, Donna, and for following Katie's lead in asking us to answer another question. I've loved reading everyone else's stories here!
ReplyDeleteWe got married in our church and the reception was held in the attached school gymnasium. Between rehearsal Saturday night and the wedding Sunday afternoon it snowed 13" and wind chills were way below zero. Slick, barely plowed streets meant a small turnout, but the memories are ours just the same. The thing I'll cherish most is that (very talented) friends of ours provided music for the ceremony and even wrote a song for my new husband to sing to me at the reception--I still have the sheet music they gifted to me. :) Thanks for bringing those good memories back!
This really isn't unusual, but I have attended a very small wedding at The Little Brown Church.
The Little Brown Church in the Dale? The real one, WOW! jep
DeleteWe had our reception at the Milwaukee County Zoo! And it was in the monkey house, though technically the monkeys were in the back part of the building and there is a reception area in the front. It was pretty cool. Our guests could have walked around the zoo a bit, but most didn't since it was only about 40 degrees, despite it being June 2! Ah, Wisconsin weather! I think our reception was the most unusual location we've ever been!
ReplyDeleteThat is very cool!! I've thought the zoo would be cool here in Madison. They have a spot for a white tent near the polar bears.
ReplyDeleteour zoo has great reception locations, outside, inside, formals, meetings, it is very cool.
Deleteugh. you know how i feel about our wedding... it was the loveliest, cheapest, wedding of all time... but all i cared about was being matthew's wife, the rest were just details. details that we couldn't afford, and wanted a different way...
ReplyDeletein my head we were going to get married in the winter, with a pastor and our immediate families and then go out for a nice dinner together. but matthew waited until the spring to ask me, and my parents thought i would regret not having a wedding... no one thought perhaps i would regret having a wedding. i kind of do.
everyone i know says they would do it differently if they could do it again... except for those that eloped.
Melinda, I think your wedding sounds perfect. I was an older first-time bride and so once we got engaged, as you said, all I really cared about was being married and not so much the details of a wedding (I was definitely on the side of eloping but my husband really wanted a church wedding). I'm so glad you found the right fit.
DeleteMelinda,
DeleteHave the non-wedding that you wanted then by celebrating your next anniversary doing it your way. Renew your vows (we did this at year 10) and have the dinner that you dreamed of. You won't regret it.
hmbalison
p.s. I loved my wedding just the way it turned out--but then I didn't come back to the town where I attended high school and where my parents lived at the time in Southern CA, which was where my husband is from too. If we had, we would have been married in a country club and had 400 people there. As I mentioned above, I got married at my grandfather's house (in No CA) and we had 80 people. Perfect day.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good question and I have also enjoyed reading the replies.
ReplyDeleteWe were married 35 and a half years ago in June in a Baptist church in Wheaton. I was not quite 21 and like many had very few opinions on my own wedding, but weddings were much less of an event, so we had a reception in the church fellowship hall -- a luncheon w/a classical trio made up of women I had known for years. It was lovely.
We have had four daughters get married and have had the last three receptions in our yard. The first daughter did the legwork finding the cheapest place to rent tables, chairs, tents ... and the others have just gone to the same place. Sisters have done flowers, baked cakes, cut fabric for table decorations, hung paper lanterns and strung little white lights. It has been great fun and relatively cheap. We have two more daughters to go ... and I can't wait for their weddings!
Six daughters! Yikes :-) I love that the sisters have started a back yard tradition
DeleteCyndi,
DeleteMy parents have seen 5 daughters get married--2 twice. Each wedding was different. I bet each one of your girls has had her own style just like me and my sisters.
hmbalison
Thank you Donna, it was such fun to read the wedding stories. I love to hear about weddings and see the pictures. Our wedding was small at my church with the reception in the Fellowship Hall. We invited everyone at church, and there were about 90-100 people there. My husband's family came, but it was far enough away that not many of their friends came. You are so right, it is great to all be together like you were this weekend in one spot. All my family came to stay at our house and I ended up sleeping on a cot in my parent's bedroom the night before the wedding. For our honeymoon we moved into our apartment off base where my husband reported almost immediately. Thankfully he missed the action and we have been together now 41 years. I would do it all again, but would have eloped if we could. Being an only child, my mother would not let us do that and my MIL would have been very unhappy, too. The wedding was for them and the marriage has been for us! We do have some pretty photographs to help us remember it all. ;-) love and prayers, jep
ReplyDelete"The wedding was for them and the marriage had been for us " {{{LOVE}}} this jep :-)
Delete*has*
DeleteI've loved reading all these wedding stories! We got married in the church at the same parish where my husband and I had attended grade school. I wore my mom's wedding dress, which was pretty special. Our reception was at a local golf club for about 150 people and our friend's band supplied the music. We'll celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary in October. I truly can't believe it's been that long! Of course everything hasn't been easy, but I do feel blessed to be with a guy who is a hard worker, a wonderful dad to our kids and who makes me laugh everyday.
ReplyDeleteMary Z
I have loved reading the wedding stories. :) We've been married almost 23 years. Got married at a very pretty resort in Scottsdale AZ. I only have a few regrets; I should have had professional hair and make-up done and should have confirmed that my photographer actually knew what he was doing...;) I would do a few things differently but I loved our day. Two funny things happened during the lovely, outdoor ceremony. While we were saying vows etc the people down by the pool grill decided to start up the grill so a huge poof of smoke went up and all I could smell were grilled hamburgers. LOL Also, because we were near a huge area of pools there were ladies waltzing around in bikini's, the groomsmen liked that. ;)
ReplyDeleteAnd I was feeling romantic BEFORE I came on here and read the stories. Phew. I'm much closer to the eloping side of things than the steph side of things ;) (700 people...) Of course, I'm not close to either of them at the moment. But, in my head, you know.
ReplyDeleteYeah, it kinda got away from us. :) We had cake and coffee for the 700... but then we had a small dinner reception for 120. And it was all served by my InterVarsity colleagues, and ordered for cost, so it ended up at like $3.50/head. Awesome.
DeleteI missed all these stories yesterday, but it is wonderful to have so many memories to read this morning. My mom was engaged to a loser and had a big wedding planned, had a wedding shower, and planned a big church wedding. The invitations had already gone out. Then she got wise and dumped him. Six weeks later she met my dad. A few weeks after that she married him in my grandparents' home in a very small ceremony. Crazy story, but they are still married 56 years later. I'm very glad she was brave enough to make the right decision.
ReplyDeleteOne of my students recently got married at an aquarium near the Atlantic in South Carolina. It was a wonderful venue. Fun, colorful, different.
I married my handsome military man in the 4th Infantry Division Chapel at Fort Hood, TX. We had lots of music. I arranged the Pachelbel Canon for a french horn Quartet. There was also a vocal duet, trumpet, flute (Jesu Joy), and organ. Our reception was at a restaurant overlooking a lake. We had some raccoon visitors try to get in the back door. Then we went to Mackinac Island for our honeymoon. It was very romantic, no motorized vehicles are allowed there in the summer, only horses and bicycles. I was so impressed with the beauty of Lake Michigan and my first encounters with peonies. I wouldn't change a thing, except maybe eat more delicious food at the reception.
Oh a Northwoods Reception, how WONDERFUL!!!
ReplyDeleteI loved the cake stand. I loved the family picture you took!!
THE outside images of your girls is AWESOME.
MY father had Christmas ornaments made for our guests. IT was a clear Christmas tree with our wedding date and the COUPLE's name on it. So so so many people comment 30 years later , that they still hang that ornament yearly and think of us...
The ornament idea is fab!!! I'm going to remember that for my kids! mary z
DeleteThis has been so fun reading all these stories!! Wish there was an easy way to share each other's wedding pictures!
ReplyDeleteI forgot to comment on your pictures, which are beautiful. The cake stand is very cool!
I found myself thinking about our ceremony and reception all last evening. :) Our first dance was to the Beatles' "I Will". Great memories.
Mary Z
Love your song choice.
DeleteWhat a fun wedding! Your pictures are lovely. I like Emma's comment about all the blondes!
ReplyDeleteWe got married in the Baptist Church that I grew up in, in a small town in Mass. It was drizzling out that morning, and it managed to clear up just in time for my Grampa to take out his Model A Ford that he had restored so we could ride from the wedding to the reception in the rumble seat. We invited 225 people, which makes me shudder today. We wanted it to be small and immediate family only, our parents said we had to invite all the distant relatives and they just had to invite all "their" friends. Our reception was at our favorite restaurant and my mom paid for 185 people that day at $9.95 a person. Back then, in 1982, that was a lot of money!
I made my dress and all the bridesmaid dresses. We went on a 5 day trip to the Poconos in PA.
If we had to do it all over again, knowing what we know today, we would have a small wedding, with our immediate family and a few close friends.
Our oldest daughter got married 6 years ago. We had a very small wedding with just family and a few friends. 65 people total. It was very nice and to this day she is really glad we did it that way. We had a few people from our church, who told us they were offended that they didn't get invited. I thought that was really rude!
I have 5 more children to get married and I will encourage them to keep it small.
I have enjoyed reading all your wedding stories!
It's Wednesday morning and I'm popping in here to read more wedding stories - I love them all!
DeleteOUR older daughter got married 6 years ago - we invited around 200 to their wedding. Mostly our closest friends and relatives, but we gave a thumbs up for them to invite many of their college friends. It was a fun reception and the best tip I can give is to choose a great DJ or live band because the dancing was fabulous. Except of course for me, the chair dancer - but I had fun watching!
The only song that got me out on the floor forgetting about my two left feet was "We are Family!" that was fun :-)
reading all these makes me want Wedding Cake real bad.
We were married forty-three years ago. I flew from Kansas to South Carolina where my husband-to-be was in basic training in the Army. He was able to get a weekend pass to be off post - that means twenty-four hours in Army speak! We were married in the chapel on post by the Catholic chaplain. The people were waiting to go to confession which was held after the wedding ceremony. I do not know who the witnesses were - some men who were functioning as altar "boys".
ReplyDeleteWe had to ride the bus through town to the motel, which I had scouted out on a bus ride the day before. My husband was sick with some sort of stomach virus, and the bed came with body hairs still in it. I am ashamed to say that at that young age (I was twenty-one and he was nineteen), we did not have guts to complain about the room. We have since grown up and are much more bold, thank heavens.
From basic training, my husband went directly on to advanced training. Then he was home about seven days before before shipping overseas to Viet Nam. During that leave, he purchased a car for us. I had been bumming rides to work, and walking to the grocery store. Eleven months later he came home from Viet Nam and was in good shape, considering that he had run over a IED (road bomb). God protected him that day as he had no injuries.
God had been with us making this marriage work. We were young, different faiths, uneducated. We had two children within three years of his return from Viet Nam, He earneds his bachelor's degree and I earned my bachelor's and my master's degree. We are now retired. It hasn't all been easy. There are times we are very frustrated with each other. But we love each other and have each other's backs. I would do anything for him and he for me, but at the same time, we have very independent interests in life.
I would say to anyone getting married that the ceremony itself doesn't represent the degree you love each other. Each of my three siblings had traditional wedding ceremonies, and none of their marriages lasted.
I have no regrets for eloping and would do it again the same way.
lovely to read of God's protection. A long lasting marriage is a beautiful thing and a true sign of grace. Grace with each other, and the Grace of God leading you forward.
DeleteWe were married 32 years ago in a fall wedding at my home church. It was short and sweet. A reception was held at an historic home across town. Someone spiked the punch. We were young - 17 and 19, so most of our friends were not of drinking age. It's a good thing someone found it before things got too out of hand. There was a huge college football game that night so the reception was short and sweet, too. That's why we married at two o'clock in the afternoon. ;)
ReplyDeleteMy daughter married at an old, historic church in the country with a reception across the street at a cottage. Every detailed was so much my daughter. Just lovely. Even with pouring rain later during the reception, it was one of the best weddings I've ever attended. Of course, we danced to the Electric Slide. ;)
DeleteMy wedding story... my husband and I were married at the Museum of the Oregon Territory, in a banquet-type room that was quite nice. We had about 100 people, good friends and family. My father was very ill with cancer, and when the ceremony had started and he wasn't there, I got scared that the worst had happened.(My father did not raise me, and so I had my step-dad walk me down the aisle and shared the father/daughter dance with my bio-dad) We lit our unity candle and as our harpist and flutist played beautiful, heavenly music, I got teary eyed and whispered to my husband that I was worried about my dad. My husband began to cry and couldn't stop. All the way through the ceremony, down the aisle after we kissed, on the elevator to the reception line, he cried and cried. And my Dad showed up...he had gotten lost on the way but he made it in time for the dance.
ReplyDeleteMy worry was the catalyst for his tears but my poor guy was just overwhelmed with the emotion of all of his family being in one place, our marriage, and, I think, because he was working and going to school full time, once the tears began, all of the pressures and stress just came out that day. But it was a great wedding. Our best man and maid of honor gave terrible, lame speeches! It's funny now, but honestly, they were bad. Then my husband's brothers spoke about how DH took care of them as kids and looked after them so much, and the tears started again! Those were GOOD speeches. And the food was so simple and tasty; it far exceeded our expectations.
It was a great wedding without spending a fortune. I was very happy with it all...EXCEPT for the wedding pictures! DH's mom would. not. smile. Not in even one photo does she look remotely happy. It was a dark June day, not a good place for outdoor photos anyway, and while the venue was nice, it wasn't the best backdrop for pictures somehow. I wish that could have been different.
By the way, it was the first we had seen either of our dads in quite a while, and both of them passed away within 3 months of our marriage.
DeleteMiz Boo, love your pictures and the wedding hangar was a great location...different, but they did great things with it. That cake stand is fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI would love a tutorial someday about the mathematical aspects of photography. I think I guess too much about focal distances/depth of field and often blow a potentially good photo by not having a solid sense of the technical aspects of focus. Does that make sense?
Andrea,
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean....and I know people like all that technical stuff...but I don't know about it....
I'm very unmathematical.
This looks like such great fun!! :)
ReplyDeleteWe eloped to Williamsburg, VA (a favorite place of ours) and were married by a minister under a gazebo on a plantation nearby ... just us. Stayed at a quaint B&B in historic Williamsburg and about 8 weeks later had a brunch reception at the Deerpath Inn in Lake Forest, IL for our immediate family. It was EXACTLY what we wanted and if possible I love him more now than I did the day we married. It just keeps getting better ....
ReplyDeleteLinda
So sweet Linda!!
ReplyDeleteI know the Deerpath Inn. :)