Soulful Weddings: When Plan B is better than A-OK

I spent last weekend in Brooklyn with my best friend and her daughter whose wedding I officiated last October. Helene and her husband, Zach, were celebrating six months of marriage by going on their honeymoon. Both have such busy lives and would we want it any other way!

Helene and Zach wed in Indiana on a beautiful homestead complete with a rustic charming barn.

Helene's Plan A dream had been to have a Maine seaside ceremony but for a number of reasons the wedding was moved to Hoosier Land. It made sense.  Zach and Helene met in Bloomington when they were attending University of Indiana. Zach was photograhing the Women's Cross Country and Helene literally caught his eye as she ran by.

Both Helene and Zach have roots in Indiana- deep roots. So the dreamy seaside summer wedding was replaced with the Autumnal October rustic wedding on the lush grounds of Zach's father's home. 

 Plan B was to have a garden ceremony, cocktails on the deck, dinner in the tent and dancing in the barn. But Hurricane Joquin wasn't cooperating with plan B. It was rainy and cold even in Indiana far from where Joquin was doing his damage.

The day before the wedding Plan C emerged with much consternation and concern. Luckily, the bride was in her bubble swept away by her sister to have fun with her bridesmaids on a scavenger hunt in Indianapolis. When she did arrive the bubble persisted as flowers were being arranged by the moms and friends.

I highly recommend 'the bridal bubble.'  At this point it is best to keep her majesty in her ivory tower far from the madness of the crowd. 

As for where the ceremony would take place, it was a game day call. The barn was ready. Strung with fairy lights and adorned with flowers. The bridal party was to process down from the hayloft to be met by the groomsmen at the bottom of the steps.

Those who needed a seat sat on hay bales. It was intimate and enchanting. Everyone was bathed in a warm golden light chatting up a storm before the proceedings.  Plan C was even better than B. 

Helene says she is now the go-to- gal when her friends get engaged. They bring their worries to her. Those plan A wedding dreams that may be thwarted by forces beyond the control of even the most determined brides and grooms.

Helene reassures them with all of her six months of wifely wisdom,

"What a great metaphor for marriage. By letting go of expectations plan B or even C can be better than your wildest dreams."

 Happy six months anniversary! 

Keep those wildest dreams coming!

Weddings on Cape Cod: Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall......

                                    The Prowers Pretty Little Winter Wedding at Chatham Bars Inn

 The winter wind has abated. It's breath warmng even though the branches are still bare and will remain so until well after any threat of snow. Most springs on Cape Cod the winter holds on tenaciously. This has been a gentle fallow season. It seems like life itself is percolating right beneath our feet; earth softening;crocuses peaking.We all say, "Yes!"

 Ceremonies in draft form like seedlings sprouting line my desktop. Today I will print out one so it takes form. Onto pretty paper words will form. The paper is from Thompson's Printing a local business in Orleans. One ream is called 'Blooming Pink' the other entitled, 'Botanical.'

Weddings are about beauty. Close to Summer Solstice, Sarah and Justin wed at Wequassett Resort on Round Cove.

And wedding ceremonies are about words of truth and fidelity.

 The Meaning of Marriage- Wendell Berry The meaning of marriage begins by giving our word. We cannot join ourselves to one another without giving our word….

  Consent:   Have you come here today of your own free will to give each other your word in Marriage?    “We Have.”  Please turn and take each other’s hands and share the vows of marriage.

 A marriage of words and images, symbols and rituals that make the ancient rite of marriage like the rite of spring; a testimony of hope and love that renews and transfoms everything it touches

"For love is matchless in majesty, it has no parallel in power and there is no darkness it cannot dispel."

Meher Baba

 Happy New Moon Eclipse and St. Patrick's Day.  Enjoy these last days of winter before the busy as a bee days of Spring sweep in.

Isn't it Romantic

Roses and hearts, red and pink, don't overthink, celebrate chance, dance, take a leap,

become each other's kind fate. Isn't it romantic. Isn't love great!  Happy Valentines' Day

A Bounty of Blessings: When one blessing leads to another

 As the sun reflects on the snow I am reminded of the pure love I feel when one blessing leads to another. Last June I had the joy to preside over the nuptials of two wonderful women.Looking out this same window where I now sit, Lisa noted all the birds at the bath and feeder. Rita went on about how her Italian family had welcomed Lisa as their own. At their wedding on Cape Cod Bay they vowed their love and celebrated in a big way.The following October I traveled to Connecticut. I was so touched to be asked to bless their baby girl. Held by her Godfather, with Godmother close by, all the famiy joined in the blessing. Rita's mother, Maria, also joined us as we blessed the house, calling on the archangels in each corner of their home. A bounty of blessings indeed! This family has such a big, bright, beautiful heart! The light of their love still radiates on this midwinter day.

The True Love
by David Whyte

There's a faith in loving fiercely the one who is rightfully yours
especially if you have waited years and especially if part of you never believed you could deserve this loved and beckoning hand held out to you this way.

                                                       WE ARE FAMILY! 

 

Rhonwen Churchill Photography 

This Cape Cod Wedding Minister/Officiant /Celebrant wishes

all you merrily married couples a Happy New Year. At this threshold time of year here are a few beautiful entrances into a New Life of Marriage. Bride Helene floats down from the loft on her father's arm to meet her groom, Zach.     "Soon you will say words that will carry you over a threshold in life, where you now say to the world........  

                            "..... This is my husband, this is my wife."

May your new resolution be to Keep Happy, Stay Content and be grateful to have found the kind of love for which all men and women yearn. So may it be for all of you! Stay keen in 2016

Damian and Amy from 2014 

Lacy and Jeff exchange vows by the sea with happy tears and tender glee.