Wedding Memories

Last weekend I took a short road trip to witness the marriage of my youngest sister. We are born of different generations and have only DNA in common. She relates more to my children, because she is of their generation. After my last post Our Memories Fade, I thought it was important that I save my memories of her special day. For privacy reasons, I am withholding the names of the couple and the place of the marriage.

The Rehearsal Dinner

I have never eaten at a vegan restaurant, it is not my thing. I like meat with my meal. I looked at the menu before we went and was happy that I had a big lunch, late in the day. My order was simple, a plate of french fries. They were yummy.

Since the restaurant is on the smaller side, it was hard to be able to move around and talk with everyone there. So, I did not get to meet as many people as I liked. I did have a good conversation with the few people who I did talk with.

When we left, my daughter asked me if I had seen how the groom looks at his bride, I replied that I had not really paid attention to that. She told me that she watched him as he lovingly watched his bride talk to her friend that she had not seen in a long time. She said you could see the love on his face as he just watched and smiled. I was so happy to hear that, to know that she is with someone who truly loves her for who she is.

The Wedding

The whole day had a vintage, yet homey feel to it. The ceremony and reception took place at a historic home, near the residence of the happy couple. To date, I have not looked into the history of this home. To me, it was a normal brick house that happened to be the place my sister was getting married. The home was just off a local river, and gave the whole backyard wedding a beautiful setting for exchanging vows.

The couple asked that no one take pictures during the ceremony, they had three people that they picked to video and capture their special moments with photography. I will be honest, this upset me a bit. I love to take photo’s at a wedding. I always come home with a beautiful photo that I was not expecting to have captured. So, I was a bit out of sorts with this request. The couple wanted everyone to be “present” with their ceremony.

During the ceremony, I still felt a bit peeved at not taking any photos. But, when all was said and done I was extremely happy to have all those moments fresh in my memory bank. If I had been worried about what photo opportunity I was going to catch I would have missed many special moments.

The couple said the normal vows and after that they had a tradition celtic handfasting ceremony. I was familiar with the tradition, but had never seen a ceremony. It was beautiful. They had six colored ropes that each represented a part of their marriage. Each rope was tied onto the couples hands by a different person, each of them a part of the family. With each rope that was tied, a vow was read that pertained to the color of the rope. After the vow was read they each had to reply with  “I will.” Once all six were around the couples hands, the officiant took another rope and tied the top of the ropes that were around the couples hands. This created a full circle once the couple slipped their hands out.

I asked my sister what she planned to do with the ropes because they obviously symbolize their marriage. She plans to put them in a shadow box and hang them in her home.

Then the couple exchanged vows that they had written together, about their future. It was the first time I have heard a couple discuss the community in their wedding. During the vows, the groom was so choked up that the bride reached across and grabbed his hand to steady him and let him know through touch that she is there to support him in all he does. It was so touching to see how he pulled together to finish their ceremony.

The bride seemed to remain calm through the whole ceremony. Even though she had to look at her blubbering sister as she walked down the aisle. I have to admit that I am a sentimental fool.

She looked beautiful in her vintage dress that was off white with a rose coloring. Her bouquet, was amazing. No plastic piece to hold it together. It was a full bouquet of flowers tied together by ribbon.

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