Wedding out on the Farm

A short walk to the back pasture, greeted by a lovely photo collage....

baskets, wire fences, and the guest book....

good ol' fashioned fun for young 'uns.....

details to feast the eyes upon ..... every fence decorated with flowers or candles.....

a lot of supportive groomsmen....ties all handmade by a friend....

the ceremony took place under "Bilbo's party tree".....lit by candles in mason jar lanterns....

the hurricane blew a tree down right in the middle of the seating area, but the gals at church turned it into a flowering focal point......

and the tree trunk made a great place for kids to sit!

The reception tables were laden with flowers, home baked breads, and homemade preserves.

A quilt - hand-pieced by the groom's grandmother, quilted & finished by so many ladies from church - will be a cherished heirloom for the new couple.

This wedding, like the one last spring, was the 100% creation of the good folks in our congregation. I like to think of it as something like a barn-raising: it takes a community of people to make it happen! Many ladies worked to decorate, cook ALL the food, and keep things organized. The bride made her veil and stenciled the border of every tablecloth. A friend hand-sewed every groomsman's tie. Several others sewed the bridesmaids' and flower girls' dresses. A brother-in-law painted all the vases. An aunt baked hundreds of cupcakes. Several families worked to clean the farm of the damage left by Hurricane Irene - several trees needed to be buzzed up and hauled away and countless sticks raked and cleared. I know I'm forgetting some other major details, but I want to show you what the body of Christ loving each other selflessly looks like. Oh, and I should mention this farm was a good hour to hour and a half drive (or more) for most of the people who helped.

But most of all, I need to introduce you to the Frau of the farm. This is no ordinary human being. She opened her house and home on Providence Farm with graceful and warm hospitality to so many and helped plan and pull off this wedding all while maintaining her own family of 7 kids PLUS 5 extra children who are staying with them for a month. She made sure everyone was well fed, well loved, and stayed on task with their farm chores. Her barn was turned into a wedding staging area - gallons of fresh milk and eggs shared cooler space with salads and sweet tea. Her kitchen was overrun with helping hands. Her kids' bedrooms turned into dressing rooms. Oh, and did I mention that her dear husband was travelling with work duties much of the month leading up to the wedding?!

She's Wonder Woman, I tell ya! I wasn't able to get a decent picture of her, mostly because she never stands still long enough to click the shutter! But this is the perfect picture of her - just as ready to give a big hug to someone as well as giving well-planned directions. I commend this Godly woman as an example of selfless giving and Christ's love.

Now, life isn't perfect and everyone had rough spots to deal with (earthquake, hurricane, bride sick the day before the wedding, plus countless other hiccups), but God is gracious. Oh, He is good! This wedding was a wonderful picture of heaven - on so many levels!