What a wonderful wedding day!
While Joseph and I have, to-date, have a wedding ceremony to start our new marriage, we don’t usually have a party. However, over the summer a few things happened that were either sad, or made us stop and think. They made us realize that we haven’t been celebrating the good stuff – at least not the way we used to…
When we were dating, and in our first marriage, Joseph and I celebrated even the smallest things. But, over time, the celebrations have gotten chewed up by the normal busyness and pressures of life.
So the decision to celebrate this way was important to both of us. And everything came together in such a perfect way, and with relative ease…thanks to Lori at Faunbrook and the fabulous Merrill, who did the catering.
I made these programs so people would know how the day was going and who was who. Joseph and I worked on adding the filigree and ribbon. The back side included the poem, Blessings for a Wedding, by James Dillet Freeman. It’s one of my favorites…and Dr. Freeman was an important figure in my life during a very difficult time.
Joseph and I started the day by delivering the alcohol and programs to Faunbrook. Then we had breakfast in West Chester. Then there wasn’t much else to do, so we had time to gather pictures of our other weddings. Because of The Five-Year Marriage®, I had them “around” but not in frames. We framed and boxed them. By then it was time to get ready. We were excited. I think I might have been more than excited because, when I was trying to put makeup on, the sweat was pouring down my face. And, you know, trying to put powder on sweaty skin is yucky. Joseph clicked on the air conditioning and set up a table fan. They helped…
We arrived at Faunbrook just after Kim, our florist, had decorated the tables. They looked beautiful! I loved the lavender roses and white hydrangeas. They looked fabulous with the navy blue tablecloths and purple napkins.
Vincent and his spouse, Joann, got there just before us and were setting up the music. Vincent was doing some of the music on keyboard (he’s fabulous!) and some as a DJ. We put our past wedding pictures on the fireplace mantle in the charming Victorian living room.
Our guests started arriving at 3pm, and for the next hour, we enjoyed their company – and the awesome horsd’oeuvres. As soon as we were ready, we invited everyone to gather on the patio. Vincent started some music and our Vows of the Heart celebrant, Pattie Painter, began the ceremony. Pattie wrote the ceremony and Joseph and I picked our readings and we loved it all.
The ceremony was followed by a toast given by Harry, brother of Joseph’s best friend, Dan, who was the best man at our first wedding. Dan passed away just after his fiftieth birthday. It was a real treat to have most of Dan’s family at our wedding, and especially for Harry to do the toast.
Actually, while waiting for everyone to get a drink for the toast, I looked around at the twenty or so people who were there and felt such joy. Every person there had an important place in our lives and I loved everyone who was at the wedding.
Then it was time to eat. Fabulous food, a beautiful wedding cake, lots of love and laughter with the some of the beautiful people of my life…what more could anyone want?
Oh, wait…pictures! Photographer Jayne Tooey was busy snapping everyone and taking great shots of Joseph and me. I can’t wait to see them! I’ll post a wedding page on the website.
In the meantime, for this post, I’m thanking author Doreen McGettigan for taking the ones on this post!
#FiveYearMarriage #Wedding #AnnmarieKelly
