We arrived back in Hood River, OR three days after our amazingly personal, special and gorgeous wedding. The wedding wasn't anything I'd planned since birth. I'd never visualized myself walking down the aisle in a frothy, white concoction. I climbed trees, dug holes, and terrorized my brother, Patrick. I like that our day resulted from mutual planning because that aspect made it more meaningful for us, our families, and our friends. All in all, the "contentious" items barely crossed the radar screen when the day came around. Most of this ease came from the fact that my Mom & Dad did some fancy, labor-intensive footwork in the months that lead up to August 18th.
We were married by my Dad at the head of an idyllic, red barn in rural Bristol, Vermont. The ceremony was personal and memorable. We were supposed to be married under a rustic, beautiful birch arch on the grounds of the Inn at Baldwin Creek. But, as they say, the best laid plans...
During the wee hours of our wedding morning, it rained torrentially for approximately two hours. We greeted a day that was overcast with a temperature that was stalled at a balmy 60 degrees. Not part of the script. And funny because Peter deliberately bought a suit that was appropriate for tropical conditions thinking of the sticky, humid Augusts we'd experienced in Vermont. With the skies threatening and Peter off for a hike with friends, I decided (thanks to careful cajoling from Minner, Mom, Linda (Inn Owner) and Gwen) to commit us to a good, old Vermont red barn hoedown, I mean wedding. I figured that was better than wading through the swamp that had magically appeared at the foot of birch arbor overnight! Although, I'm sure hip boots go great with wedding dresses!
As I mentioned, my father was the officiant at our ceremony. Our close family friend, Fr. Jim Walsh, S.J. supported us through the planning process since he had about 120+ weddings in his repertoire. Fr. Jim was slated to do a short blessing at the end of the ceremony. We successfully completed the practice run on Friday and everything seemed spot on!
At 3:50pm on the "big day", as my maidens were helping me achieve the "me but gussied up a little with some lipstick" look that I was going for, we got a call at the Inn. As the phone was brought in, I thought "Wow! The classical quartet sounds so elegant and beautiful." Fr. Jim was on the line. Strange, I thought, there wasn't any superstition that he couldn't see me before the ceremony, was there?! Why was he calling instead of just heading up the stairs? I never read the ENTIRE Emily Post tome, but, I didn't remember that advice. Fr. Jim was still at my folks house about 45 minutes from the event. Did he remember the ceremony started at 4:00? Fr. Jim asked if my Dad was going to pick him up like they'd set up the night before?
I think the answer was obvious. Dad was not.
Dad forgot.
Dad won his golf game handily this morning and then sped back to the Inn to attend to his officiant duties. Dad was high off his golf win and looking ahead to his next, quite large agenda item. Apparently, picking up Fr. Jim failed to make his mental "to-do" list today.
All worked out in the end. It gave us some fodder for further ribbing of my Dad and Fr. Jim gave a wonderful blessing prior to our wedding feast.
I know that our wedding day wasn't born from 30 odd years of dreaming , but, I couldn't be happier and feel more as if my dreams were answered. As Peter & I walked down the aisle as husband and wife, I felt so surrounded by love, joy, support, hope and the peace that comes with being married to your best friend.
We are so lucky and blessed. Thanks to all of you who were there on our day - in person and in spirit - we appreciate you and look forward making many more memories with you.
To check out photos from the wedding, go to http://www.davidseaver.com/ then you need to select the "Lake/Niedermeier Wedding" when it asks you for a password, enter niedermeier (all lowercase).
Caution: there are LOTS of amazing shots. It may take a few separate viewings to make it through or just pick and choose a few that look interesting in thumbnail form!
More soon...
K & P
We were married by my Dad at the head of an idyllic, red barn in rural Bristol, Vermont. The ceremony was personal and memorable. We were supposed to be married under a rustic, beautiful birch arch on the grounds of the Inn at Baldwin Creek. But, as they say, the best laid plans...
During the wee hours of our wedding morning, it rained torrentially for approximately two hours. We greeted a day that was overcast with a temperature that was stalled at a balmy 60 degrees. Not part of the script. And funny because Peter deliberately bought a suit that was appropriate for tropical conditions thinking of the sticky, humid Augusts we'd experienced in Vermont. With the skies threatening and Peter off for a hike with friends, I decided (thanks to careful cajoling from Minner, Mom, Linda (Inn Owner) and Gwen) to commit us to a good, old Vermont red barn hoedown, I mean wedding. I figured that was better than wading through the swamp that had magically appeared at the foot of birch arbor overnight! Although, I'm sure hip boots go great with wedding dresses!
As I mentioned, my father was the officiant at our ceremony. Our close family friend, Fr. Jim Walsh, S.J. supported us through the planning process since he had about 120+ weddings in his repertoire. Fr. Jim was slated to do a short blessing at the end of the ceremony. We successfully completed the practice run on Friday and everything seemed spot on!
At 3:50pm on the "big day", as my maidens were helping me achieve the "me but gussied up a little with some lipstick" look that I was going for, we got a call at the Inn. As the phone was brought in, I thought "Wow! The classical quartet sounds so elegant and beautiful." Fr. Jim was on the line. Strange, I thought, there wasn't any superstition that he couldn't see me before the ceremony, was there?! Why was he calling instead of just heading up the stairs? I never read the ENTIRE Emily Post tome, but, I didn't remember that advice. Fr. Jim was still at my folks house about 45 minutes from the event. Did he remember the ceremony started at 4:00? Fr. Jim asked if my Dad was going to pick him up like they'd set up the night before?
I think the answer was obvious. Dad was not.
Dad forgot.
Dad won his golf game handily this morning and then sped back to the Inn to attend to his officiant duties. Dad was high off his golf win and looking ahead to his next, quite large agenda item. Apparently, picking up Fr. Jim failed to make his mental "to-do" list today.
All worked out in the end. It gave us some fodder for further ribbing of my Dad and Fr. Jim gave a wonderful blessing prior to our wedding feast.
I know that our wedding day wasn't born from 30 odd years of dreaming , but, I couldn't be happier and feel more as if my dreams were answered. As Peter & I walked down the aisle as husband and wife, I felt so surrounded by love, joy, support, hope and the peace that comes with being married to your best friend.
We are so lucky and blessed. Thanks to all of you who were there on our day - in person and in spirit - we appreciate you and look forward making many more memories with you.
To check out photos from the wedding, go to http://www.davidseaver.com/ then you need to select the "Lake/Niedermeier Wedding" when it asks you for a password, enter niedermeier (all lowercase).
Caution: there are LOTS of amazing shots. It may take a few separate viewings to make it through or just pick and choose a few that look interesting in thumbnail form!
More soon...
K & P
No comments:
Post a Comment