She worried about the weather forecast; which was cold and rainy for both Friday--the rehearsal with outdoor cookout for dinner, and Saturday--the wedding which was indoors but she didn't want to get wet walking from car to church and church to car and car to reception hall.
She worried about packing everything she would need for the rehearsal dinner, the wedding, and of course for her honeymoon. Once she left this little place here, she wouldn't be coming back for eleven days. So it was important not to forget anything vital. Especially her brand new passport, since she and Honorary Son will be honeymooning in Cancun (our gift to them, courtesy of accumulated hotel points).
She worried if the road back to the family cabin, where the outdoor cookout for rehearsal dinner was to take place, would be navigable by car. It has been a cold wet spring up there, and as of three weeks ago they still had snow on the ground. Two weeks ago, the road was pretty much impassible without four wheel drive, and even with it there was a chance of sliding into the ditch in a few spots.
DH worried about that road also. A week before the wedding, he hauled our tractor up there, and with the help of his mother and his brother-in-law, installed three culverts in that road; one in each of the worst spots (this road is approximately a mile long two-track). In the more dry areas he graded the road, smoothing out ruts and filling in low spots that have been worsening over the last handful of years. Even with all that, he wasn't positive the road would be dry and firm enough for two wheel drive vehicles of low clearance. Especially with rain in the forecast.
DD1 worried if she would have to carry a bouquet of fake flowers--which we'd made as her throwing bouquet for the bouquet toss, instead of the lilacs she so wanted to carry. Lilacs are her favorite flower, and come to find out she'd chosen this particular date to get married because typically my lilac bushes are in full bloom at that time. This year, however, they are behind schedule, still being very tiny and undeveloped the weekend before the wedding.
She worried about being sick the day of the wedding, as Honorary Son came down with a cold on Monday, and on Tuesday she herself was ill.
I worried about DH and K2 how they would get along (they have blatantly avoided each other all year) and what effect that might have on the reception, where alcohol most definitely would be consumed by both.
I worried about flowers as I daily checked those lilac blossoms and watched them reach full size on Wednesday and begin, slowly, to have a few bottom buds unfurl. How to transport them, how to keep them hydrated so as to not be a wilted mess on Saturday afternoon, and how I was going to trim, arrange, and secure them into the bouquet of DD1's dreams.
All our worries were for naught. Not only did God hear our prayers, know our worries both spoken and unspoken, but He handed DD1 and Honorary Son a great gift.
The cabin road was dry and easily passable. The weather Friday was cool and overcast, but stayed dry. DD1 only forgot one item, and she remembered in time for me to bring it up with me on Friday. Both she and Honorary Son were over their colds by Thursday afternoon. The lilacs were open enough Friday morning that I cut a great armful (in hope they would continue to open even after being separated from the bush), wrapped the stems in wet cloths, and transported them in a cooler so they wouldn't get crushed. DH and K2 were passingly civil to each other, enough that no one caught on there has been family trouble for months and months.
Saturday, Wedding Day, had beautiful clear blue skies, a very light breeze, and sunshine making the air feel warmer than the 54 degrees on the thermometer. Very cheerful weather, and great for outdoor pictures.
Runaway bride?
No, hurrying down to the lake for pre-wedding pictures.
DD1 got to carry a huge bouquet of live flowers. Thanks to having the heat on in our suite, and keeping the ends of the stems in a sinkful of water all night, the lilacs opened about halfway, which gave a lovely effect of different shades of purple and different textures in the bouquet. I had also cut eight tulips from my flowerbeds, four each of a vibrant solid purple and a white with purple markings, and incorporated those into the front of the bouquet.
Soaking the bouquet until the last minute.
The wedding service was amazing, and standing room only at the small quaint church that DHs great-grandparents had helped build; where his grandparents had gotten married, where his parents had gotten married, and where DH & I had gotten married. The minister was Biblical without being turn-off preachy, kept everyone's wrapt attention, and helped the bride and groom through their jitters. Literally; you could see DD1 shaking as she walked up the aisle and stopped at the front of the church, but by the time the minister got to the part where DH placed her hand in Honorary Son's she was rock steady.
Giving her away.
The reception hall was beautifully decorated, tasteful without being over the top (another of DH's worries as he'd feared this was going to be very foo-foo based on all the decorations Honorary Son's mother seemed to be accumulating for the wedding). The food was delicious and plentiful. The bar offerings seemed to suit everyone's taste, no matter how far apart their beverage styles. The music was a wide variety designed by Honorary Son and DD1 to appeal to the very old as well as the twenty-something crowd. It ranged from jazz and Sinatra-style dinner music, to classic rock, to country, to polka, to current favorites, and even included the Limbo!
All the guests seemed to enjoy themselves. Those who had to leave early in the night (because they were driving back home several hours), were genuinely regretful at having to go so soon. Everyone I talked to raved about what a wonderful wedding, a wonderful party, we had put on. And I honestly told them that it had been planned by DD1 and Honorary Son, I was merely a consultant and a laborer (and partial financier, but the grand total was no where near as expensive as people thought).
Simply elegant.
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