The Wedding Part Three

There were quite a few things that didn't quite go off as originally planned...the Greek Wedding Dance should have had the traditional props to go along with it.  The Gazebo wasn't fully painted or wired or even screened.  The person responsible for making the signs that would point the way to the wedding would forget to do them and we'd have people getting lost and arriving a few minutes late (even though we held off starting for an additional five minutes to try to accommodate this.)

But when making all those initial plans, we hadn't factored in such a thing as a Tornado two weeks before the wedding.  We'd not factored in that the storm would thin out our "covered" property because the topped and thinned trees would allow the sun to shine so brightly into our guests (and the Bride's) faces during the ceremony.  

In the end, the setting was beautiful; the ceremony was moving; the reception was filled with laughter and dancing; in the end, our daughter married the man of her dreams and started her new life.  How could we ask for anything more than that?

In the end, the Tornado is part of the story.  Friends and family members are a larger part of our story than they would have been without that storm.  Nikki and J.C. had their relationship tested in the days before the wedding and learned that together they can weather any storm : )  In the end, just as I whispered to David after he gave our daughter away in marriage....despite all the obstacles that blew into our path...We Did It.

The "We did it" shot taken just after Nikki and J.C. drove away in their taxi!  And just seconds before the sky opened up and showers of blessing rained down upon us!

"Mama's Song" ~ The Wedding Part Two

David sat down beside me after giving our daughter away.  I grabbed his hand and whispered "we did it".   In the video, you can see him throw his head back and rest it on the chair before quickly sitting back up.

In the days since the Wedding, many have asked us (including our daughter) if we ever even thought about canceling it after the Tornado basically made our home look like a war zone just 14 days before the big date.  My answer? "No!".  David's is a bit slower in coming.  

Before friends and family arrived to help us begin to dig our way out that Sunday morning, he stood in the middle of the fallen pecan tree yelling.  While I can't repeat his exact words here (!), basically they were "where do we start?".  He'd later tell me that he couldn't see how we'd get the place safe for 100 guests in the time we had available.

We've been married 31 years.  We've been together for 33 years.  We have what I wish every couple had and what I've counseled my children to look for in a partner...a relationship where we balance each other.  When I am being pessimistic, David is optimistic and the table turns as needed.  In this case, I was the optimist - relying on faith that we could and would pull this one out.  While David concentrated on the physical aspects of cleaning up and building (and rebuilding) what we could before the wedding (as well as working 12 hour shifts at his job) I dug in and got the contractors we needed and dealt with the insurance claims and the power, water, phone and TV folks.

We didn't pull this Wedding off on our own.  Nikki and J.C. were there in the midst of all the stress and exhaustion and fear that sometimes made even me think we might not make it.  But what I saw in my daughter's relationship through those two weeks, I see in my own relationship with her father.  It reaffirmed what I already thought I knew about J.C. and why I asked for "Mama's Song" to be sung at the Wedding.

Photography by Alvarez Imaging - I would love to be able to play the audio on this slideshow but due to copyright issues, I cannot.  If you'd like to hear the song, press play on the video just below and then begin the slideshow....!  It won't quite line up correctly, but you'll get the idea!

We did it! ~The Wedding Part One

  Photography by Alvarez Imaging

Transformation....

Rehearsal Day 

Mystie and J.C. set up the chairs.  

The Dance Floor was ready. 

Mom and David began decorating the porch...

Other family began arriving and were quickly put on various tasks.  Dallas and Mystie familiarized themselves with both the sound system and the plans for the Ceremony and Reception.  Once they'd done that, they provided a bit of entertainment for the children as we finished it all up.

David and I, exhausted by the past 12 days of insurance claims and contractors, making the trees and lawn safe for 100 plus guests and handling most of the last minute details for the device, were operating on sheer adrenaline.  The sounds of laughter and music were wonderful things; this was going to be not only a celebration of marriage but one of triumph over adversity and a celebration of life itself.

We made it!

We'd spent Thursday night with our daughter and soon to be family decorating the fences, stringing lights and going over last minute plans.  

On Friday morning, David and Dallas headed up to get the Sound System while Mystie and I completed all the inside tasks for the arriving family while we waited for the delivery of the dance floor and the chairs.  That night, we'd have the rehearsal dinner!

As I prepared for the mad rush to come, I pondered all the little things that didn't get done; the Gazebo was 90% screened; the lights would go up but with a temporary rigging job rather than with the wiring hidden.  The half walls were supposed to have been painted white but would be the yellow of concrete board. 

The paving stone pathway that led from the front porch to the back patio had been badly damaged from the dragging of all the debris after the storm.  I was concerned that someone would twist an ankle, but there was no time left to relay those stones.   And the lawn was full of holes where limbs had gone straight into them driven deep by the wind.  The newly laid sod had been pushed a full six inches over the barn slab and there were now gaps between many of the individual pieces. 

We still didn't have shoes and slacks for David to wear with the shirt and tie that Nikki had gotten for him to wear.  

But we were out of time.  What didn't get done just would have to be ignored.

It was time to Party!  

We made it.