Here's a recap of October 3rd, the day of the wedding in The Smokey Mountains of Tennessee. Hope you enjoy reading it. It's rather long but I've done my best to be concise.
Saturday October 3
Another memorable October day for our family. When I first woke up in the beautiful dawn of a Smokey Mountains morning the first thing I thought about was my parents. This day would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. Knowing that this day will now be my son's anniversary was a comfort to me because it will still be a significant day in our family.
The day began with a breakfast of egg cups, danish, banana bread and coffee (for everyone who wanted or needed it). Our cabin had 3 more residents than it did before we went to bed. James' friends, Derrick, Jarrod, and Nathan, arrived some time during the night. They would be the groomsmen in the wedding. The didn't stay very long though. They left shortly after the reception was over.
After breakfast the family workforce went into action once again. This time we worked together to turn the dinning room and main floor of the cabin into a temporary reception hall. We moved tables and put up decorations. We set up a food table and a special table for the cake. My brother in law, Bob, and his daughter, Teejai, helped Paula with the decorations. Everyone pitched in to help. Within an hour the place was ready. It was a very nice set up for such a relatively small place. Everyone did a great job in getting it ready.
The only "glitch" was that the cake didn't arrive when it was supposed to. It arrived nearly hours late, just before the wedding started.
About noon some of the wedding guests who had driven down from Kentucky arrived. They included James' buddy from the military, Matt. They served together in Iraq. He was the guy James always referred to as "my driver." Matt's wife was with him. It was when James attended Matt's wedding at the same resort earlier in the year that he and Brandi decided they wanted their special day to be held there too. Along with Matt and his wife was a young lady named Bethany. James and Brandi has asked her to come and take pictures for them.
Getting dressed for the wedding was another "personal victory" for me. I was able to wear the black suit I had worn for my wedding 7 years ago. I hadn't been able to wear it for about 3 years. While it didn't fit perfectly, just the fact that I could be comfortable in it again made me proud.
The wedding chapel was within 300 yards of our cabin. It wasn't very far but it was up a rather steep hill. When I walked in the place was abuzz with the business of getting ready for the ceremony. Upstairs the guests were being seated and pre-ceremony pictures were being taken. The same thing was happening down stairs where most of the wedding party was waiting. The place was nicely decorated and there were several video cameras mounted on the walls. Set up to record the ceremony from several angles.
The wedding began about 10 minutes late. James, Michael and the 3 groomsmen looked sharp in their tuxedos and nervously joked with each other as they waited. When the music began the bridesmaids, dressed in pink gowns walked to the front. Everyone stood as Brandi came down the aisle on her father's arm. She was one of the prettiest bride's I'd seen since Paula surprised me by appearing in the back of the church at our wedding in her bridal gown.
The ceremony was nice. The preacher read the 14th chapter of 1st Corinthians (aka "The Love Chapter") and spoke of the love and support they would need to give each other and could get from those who were there as witnesses. James and Brandi exchanged their vows, which although it didn't they contain the traditional "I do"s clearly established a promise of a lifetime commitment between the two of them.
After the ceremony everyone gathered outside the chapel to shower the newlyweds with bubbles. Then came time for the pictures. There were 3 photographers snapping shots. There was the "official" chapel photographer, Bethany, and Brandi's aunt, all snapping away with professional looking cameras and flashes. There was about 30 minutes of picture taking before most everyone headed back over to our cabin.
The main floor of the cabin, now the reception hall, was filled by all the members of my family, about 30 of Brandi's family, and some other guests. It was crowded but not uncomfortable. Paula had prepared food for about 55 people but there weren't that many there.
James and Brandi got to the reception about 15 minutes after everyone else after posing for more pictures and saying "good bye" to some of Brandi's family who couldn't stay for the reception. The first thing they did was cut the cake. Then they shoved it into each other's faces. They made such a mess of each other each of them had to go into the bathroom and wash themselves off. The cake was 3 layers vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate from the bottom up, respectively. Brandi was upset when she realized that the top layer (chocolate) wasn't supposed to be cut but saved for their 1st anniversary. Later she did cut some of it but the majority of it was saved for next year.
I gave a greeting, made some instructional announcements and said a prayer of blessing over the newlyweds and the food. Everyone began to eat and socialize as my sister, Shari, cut the cake.
The reception was nice and everything went smoothly. It only lasted for about 90 minutes. By the time 5 o'clock came it was only my family in the cabin once again. We had done it. With the excellent planning of my wife and the cooperative help of my family, we managed to give James and Brandi the gift of a small but unique and memorable wedding reception.
I will conclude the review of our time in the Smokies (the rest of Saturday and Sunday) in the next post.
Saturday October 3
Another memorable October day for our family. When I first woke up in the beautiful dawn of a Smokey Mountains morning the first thing I thought about was my parents. This day would have been their 50th wedding anniversary. Knowing that this day will now be my son's anniversary was a comfort to me because it will still be a significant day in our family.
The day began with a breakfast of egg cups, danish, banana bread and coffee (for everyone who wanted or needed it). Our cabin had 3 more residents than it did before we went to bed. James' friends, Derrick, Jarrod, and Nathan, arrived some time during the night. They would be the groomsmen in the wedding. The didn't stay very long though. They left shortly after the reception was over.
After breakfast the family workforce went into action once again. This time we worked together to turn the dinning room and main floor of the cabin into a temporary reception hall. We moved tables and put up decorations. We set up a food table and a special table for the cake. My brother in law, Bob, and his daughter, Teejai, helped Paula with the decorations. Everyone pitched in to help. Within an hour the place was ready. It was a very nice set up for such a relatively small place. Everyone did a great job in getting it ready.
The only "glitch" was that the cake didn't arrive when it was supposed to. It arrived nearly hours late, just before the wedding started.
About noon some of the wedding guests who had driven down from Kentucky arrived. They included James' buddy from the military, Matt. They served together in Iraq. He was the guy James always referred to as "my driver." Matt's wife was with him. It was when James attended Matt's wedding at the same resort earlier in the year that he and Brandi decided they wanted their special day to be held there too. Along with Matt and his wife was a young lady named Bethany. James and Brandi has asked her to come and take pictures for them.
Getting dressed for the wedding was another "personal victory" for me. I was able to wear the black suit I had worn for my wedding 7 years ago. I hadn't been able to wear it for about 3 years. While it didn't fit perfectly, just the fact that I could be comfortable in it again made me proud.
The wedding chapel was within 300 yards of our cabin. It wasn't very far but it was up a rather steep hill. When I walked in the place was abuzz with the business of getting ready for the ceremony. Upstairs the guests were being seated and pre-ceremony pictures were being taken. The same thing was happening down stairs where most of the wedding party was waiting. The place was nicely decorated and there were several video cameras mounted on the walls. Set up to record the ceremony from several angles.
The wedding began about 10 minutes late. James, Michael and the 3 groomsmen looked sharp in their tuxedos and nervously joked with each other as they waited. When the music began the bridesmaids, dressed in pink gowns walked to the front. Everyone stood as Brandi came down the aisle on her father's arm. She was one of the prettiest bride's I'd seen since Paula surprised me by appearing in the back of the church at our wedding in her bridal gown.
The ceremony was nice. The preacher read the 14th chapter of 1st Corinthians (aka "The Love Chapter") and spoke of the love and support they would need to give each other and could get from those who were there as witnesses. James and Brandi exchanged their vows, which although it didn't they contain the traditional "I do"s clearly established a promise of a lifetime commitment between the two of them.
After the ceremony everyone gathered outside the chapel to shower the newlyweds with bubbles. Then came time for the pictures. There were 3 photographers snapping shots. There was the "official" chapel photographer, Bethany, and Brandi's aunt, all snapping away with professional looking cameras and flashes. There was about 30 minutes of picture taking before most everyone headed back over to our cabin.
The main floor of the cabin, now the reception hall, was filled by all the members of my family, about 30 of Brandi's family, and some other guests. It was crowded but not uncomfortable. Paula had prepared food for about 55 people but there weren't that many there.
James and Brandi got to the reception about 15 minutes after everyone else after posing for more pictures and saying "good bye" to some of Brandi's family who couldn't stay for the reception. The first thing they did was cut the cake. Then they shoved it into each other's faces. They made such a mess of each other each of them had to go into the bathroom and wash themselves off. The cake was 3 layers vanilla, strawberry, and chocolate from the bottom up, respectively. Brandi was upset when she realized that the top layer (chocolate) wasn't supposed to be cut but saved for their 1st anniversary. Later she did cut some of it but the majority of it was saved for next year.
I gave a greeting, made some instructional announcements and said a prayer of blessing over the newlyweds and the food. Everyone began to eat and socialize as my sister, Shari, cut the cake.
The reception was nice and everything went smoothly. It only lasted for about 90 minutes. By the time 5 o'clock came it was only my family in the cabin once again. We had done it. With the excellent planning of my wife and the cooperative help of my family, we managed to give James and Brandi the gift of a small but unique and memorable wedding reception.
I will conclude the review of our time in the Smokies (the rest of Saturday and Sunday) in the next post.
No comments:
Post a Comment