A little less than six months ago she said "yes."
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| Photo credit: Magnified Photography |
And this weekend she said "I do."
This was a marriage made in heaven, and all of the happy couple's friends and family are celebrating along with them!
The ceremony was beautiful and worshipful, with the message being the image of marriage as an example of Christ and His bride, the church. There were hymns, scripture reading, exchanging of vows, exchanging of rings...
...the kiss, of course...
...and our pastor pronouncing them husband and wife.
And then the most perfect recessional music ever to celebrate this awesome event:
And yes, since you're asking, it is a bit quieter around the house. :) I had the rare privilege of having breakfast with Carrie almost every morning during the time she and Josh were dating and through their engagement.
Believe me, a lot of wedding planning got done over a couple cups of yogurt!
But since this is the Cafe, I know you're dying to know what we served at the reception, right?
The wedding was at 1:30, and the reception was very simple and fun.
First there was retro bottled pop on ice (sorry, didn't get a picture!). All of the bride's and groom's favorites: Faygo Red Pop, Vernors, Fanta Orange, Faygo Rock'n'Rye... Do you see a trend? Both Carrie and Josh are proud of their Michigan roots!
Then there was a table full of chips and salsa.
We had three kinds of chips: blue corn, Tostitos Scoops, and On the Border tortilla chips. And then three choices of salsa: verde, peach-mango, and tomato.
And of course, there was the cake!
Carrie's wedding colors were blush and navy blue, and the combination worked perfectly!
But the hit of the reception?
The S'mores Bar!
Guests roasted their marshmallows over the sterno flames using fondue forks. Then they had their choice of crackers: graham, chocolate graham, and cinnamon graham. And then their choice of chocolate: Hershey's chocolate, Hershey's Cookies and Cream, and Reese's peanut butter cups.
The line for this table was long!
And since every wedding needs to have something to make it memorable, Saturday was a day of record-breaking heat. 103° at wedding time!
We were in an air conditioned church, but man. It was hot.
But what does it matter? They are now Mr. and Mrs., and that's the most important thing!
So, share your wedding story! What is the most memorable thing that has happened at a wedding you've attended?
Jan Drexler loves her family, her home, cooking and just about anything made by hand. But she loves her Lord most of all.
Stop by Jan's website to learn more about her books: www.JanDrexler.com.
Love this!! It was such a beautiful wedding and Carrie was such an elegant bride. And Josh a smitten groom! It was perfect :)
ReplyDeleteIf you're asking for memorable stories... my maid of honor at my wedding (my sister) had a BAD bloody nose right before wedding time. My paramedic uncle had to come help her get it stopped, and it just wasn't stopping. The lady that the chapel assigned as our "Wedding Planner" made the executive decision without consulting me to tell my sister that she couldn't be in the wedding and we were going to start without her!
Yeah, that didn't fly.
I told her it wasn't her decision to make and that we would delay as long as we needed to.
30 minutes later my sister walked down the aisle and I followed behind her and got married!
Which is perfect. Austin joked that if the wedding had gone perfectly with no hitches, there'd be nothing to remember in the blur of the excitement :)
Oh, wedding planners. I get the timing thing, and when brides and grooms delay a church full of people because they're busy doing pics before the wedding, shame on them. That's rude. But this.... This was medical. This was family. You did the right thing, and do you think she called you "Bridezilla" when you weren't looking?
DeleteI love Bridezillas!!!!
Meg, what an awesome story! But your poor sister. :( She must have been mortified. It sounds like you handled it with love and grace.
DeleteAnd what is a wedding without a little hiccup somewhere?
We're so glad you and your family could be there on Saturday! Where would we be without you? <3
We were delighted!! But even if we had missed it, Josh and Carrie would still be blissfully married :)
DeleteAnd while I tried hard not to be too much of a Bridezilla, there were a couple of moments it came out - and that was one of them! There was no way I was going to let this lady I didn't know tell me that my sister couldn't be in my wedding! Haha :)
Like I told Kav below, there are some hills you die on. Leaving your sister out of the wedding because of a medical issue? That's one of those hills. :)
DeleteCONGRATULATIONS!!!!
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the Michigan pop and the fun eats! It always makes me smile when the couple makes even the food "their own". It's such a fun touch for a wedding. My college roommate is from Mississippi and the reception had a bunch of Southern food like cheese straws. It was so fun to see the Oregonians picking through it wondering what on earth most of it was. LOL
Dying laughing at this!!!!! From both sides of the spectrum because I know some Southerners... and some Oregonians, LOL! I can totally see this happening, like a scene from "Sweet Home Alabama"!!!
DeleteCheese straws...I'd be lost!
DeleteBut you're right about the fun eats. It seemed that when my husband and I got married, the food was so predictable. If you had a sit-down dinner, it was chicken or beef. If you had finger foods, it was a veggie tray, nuts, pillow mints and some kind of cheese and crackers.
Carrie and Josh wanted fun, and that's what we did!
Jan, yes!!!! This is so much better!!!
DeleteWe were married in Mexico and they roasted a calf underground for three days to make birria, a super spicy meat dish which they served from (new, of course, but still) metal garbage cans. My relatives got past the garbage can part but it was so darn hot. Honestly... I couldn't eat it. And the music... so, SO loud. But that's all part of their tradition so I just smiled and nodded. (I really can do that when I need to. Once a decade is my max, I think.)
DeleteOur American reception was more my style! I had a baked potato bar, dessert bar, and the normal chicken/beef/ham and trimmings. It was in an outdoor gazebo at a state park so we thought it was better for people to choose their own, eat at the tables, and the kids could play. :)
Both of your wedding receptions sound fun and memorable!
DeleteAnd yes, there are definitely some situations that call for the smile and nod tactic. :)
Oh, so much fun!!! This is wonderful.It looks so serene and blissful! CONGRATULATIONS!!
ReplyDeleteIt was such a beautiful wedding. *sigh*
DeleteAnd what made it so precious was the look on their faces. When my husband was escorting Carrie up the aisle, my sister-in-law took a picture of Josh. His expression...the anticipation, the joy, the acceptance of the responsibility of building something wonderful together...it made me cry all over again. :)
Our pastor did his bulletin "musings" on simpler, God-centered weddings and it was delightful. This follows that idea, and I love it, Jan! S'mores table! Pop bottles!!! YES!!!! Laughing and celebrating while I write about Christmas and babies!!! God is certainly good!
ReplyDeleteAnd Carrie is just a glowing bride.
WONDERFUL. :)
Oh yes, God-centered. Definitely. That was their first priority, and I love it. :)
DeleteI'm not even looking at the piles of leftover wedding stuff scattered around the house. I just keep remembering their happiness!
We had two weddings at our Easter vigil and I was teary-eyed just thinking of how simple God-focused the whole thing was. LOVE.
DeleteFaygo Red Pop and Vernors. Ah, Jan, you're bringing back memories.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful couple, beautiful bride. Love hearing about weddings. Danielle really wanted to do a s'mores bar at her reception, but I told her it probably wasn't a good idea, that the Texas heat would have the marshmallows sticking together. Turned out to be a good call since it was 107 the day of her wedding. Unlike Carrie's nuptials, though, theirs were outside. At least it was an evening wedding.
So where will the happy couple be honeymooning?
I am SO GLAD Carrie and Josh chose an indoor venue! Back in January when we were discussing it, we knew that June could throw anything at us here in the Black Hills - snow, rain, wind...but heat? It didn't even cross our radar!
DeleteThe honeymoon plans are as much fun as the wedding! They drove to our nearest Amtrack station this morning (North Dakota) and caught the train that will take them through Montana to Glacier National Park. They've rented a renovated caboose at the Izaak Walton Inn on the west end of Glacier, and they'll spend a few days hiking, touring the park, and enjoying the mountains.
Doesn't that sound fabulous? I'm trying to talk my husband into a similar trip for our anniversary next year. I don't think I'll have to talk very hard. :)
A funny thing happened at our own wedding.
DeleteTom and I were still in college when we married. We had the wedding on campus. The president of the college married us. He was a Baptist minister. His wife set up the reception for us, using her beautiful punch bowl, glasses, and flowers from her garden. It was amazing.
We had everything planned so well. We were sure that we had not forgotten anything. After all the wedding took place on a Friday evening before we began finals on Monday morning. We had to have EVERYTHING planned.
Tom rode to campus with his parents. I lived on campus. Everything was great.
The wedding was sweet. The cake was so good. Everything was just as planned.
People began to leave. We stayed to see everyone off.
And then it happened!
We did not have a ride to our little apartment!!!
After all Tom had mono and finals were in a couple of days and we were not going on a honeymoon (that came later).
Soooooooo, Tom had to call his father and have him come back to campus and get us to take us home.
What a way to start married life!
However, all was well. We did absolutely no studying for finals. We both managed to do well on them.
That happened in July of 1965. Next month we will celebrate 51 years of marriage.
I can just see you and Tom standing there, looking at each other, wondering how you were going to get home!
DeleteBut I'm so glad the two of you got married. I can't imagine either one of you without the other! And where would all of those beautiful grandchildren be???
Love you, Sharon!
I am in love with this story!!!! Sharon, that is priceless!
DeleteWe attended three weddings this last month: the rainy one (outside and drenching), the hot one (outside and 100), and this one (inside and lovely)! Yeah for indoor weddings!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely, Yay for indoor weddings! Although I know the settings for the other two were beautiful, if you don't count the weather. :)
DeleteI'm so glad you were able to be there on Saturday, and your guests were so cute! Such a lovely couple.
I'm with Vonda!!! I'd handle the rain way better than the heat. #northerngirl #dontdoheat
DeleteA Jan. How exciting and lovely. Thanks for sharing with us. At my wedding it was pouring down rain. But just when it was time for my dad to take me down out of the car and down into the church and down the aisle the sun came out and shown inside our church which was the glass Wayfarers Chapel in California.
ReplyDeleteThe sun came out just for you! What a beautiful image!
DeleteOhhh....I was so hoping we would get the wedding scoop. Fabulous! I only recognized Fanta Orange pop -- we had that up here in Ontario when I was a kid. I love that everything reflected the personalities of the bride and groom.
ReplyDeleteThe most memorable wedding I ever attended was something that should be written into a romance novel. It was a second marriage for both bride and groom. He had a son and she had two daughters. Their biggest concern was creating a solid blended family so they made the children front and centre for the wedding -- including the planning.
The kids (along with some aunties and friends) made all the decorations.) And the kids got to choose the venue and theme of the wedding. So they got married in a rustic barn in the country -- attached to a petting zoo and pick your own veggie farm. So rustic is an understatement. The bride wore denim with hints of white eyelet peeking out here and there. The groom and his son waited at the front of the barn while the bride and her daughters walked up to them and then the pastor married them all, including the children in committing to love and honour each other. It was soooooo sweet.
The reception was in the same place -- everyone went outside to see the animals and have a hayride or pony ride (kids were especially invited) while the staff put back benches and serving tables and then it was barbecue and strawberry shortcake and lots of ice cream.
It was such a fun, no-fuss but filled to overflowing with love kind of day. However, some family members were so disappointed that they refused to attend...including the bride's mother and grandmother. Such a shame.
Now this wedding is going in a Ruthy book! For certain! Wait... I kind of did this for Piper and Zach in Rainey's book, I think! In the gazebo by the lake, with the cows and goats up above! And the ice cream store!!!
DeleteIt totally belongs in a Ruthy book. You can't have too many alternative weddings in the romance fiction world. I think if I ever got married again (not!) I'd just invited dogs and we'd go to a dog park. LOL
DeleteThat sounds like a wonderful wedding, full of celebration and hope for the future!
DeleteAnd I can just hear it told in Ruthy's voice - it definitely has to go in one of her books!
And such a shame that some family members didn't want to attend. There are hills you die on, but this isn't one of them.
Congratulations and best wishes to the newlyweds! Thanks for sharing the beautiful event with us, Jan. Love, love, love the s'mores! As a mother of sons, my favorite wedding memory is the groom's expression as his bride walked toward him....yes, the anticipation and joy......always priceless.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sherida! For the rest of the family weddings, I'll be the mother of the groom. I know each of their weddings will be just as precious!
DeleteFor all the times I sang along to that Beach Boys song, I never paid attention to the lyrics. LOL Wonderful!!!
ReplyDeleteMy most memorable wedding was one I worked as a college student. It was horrible. A completely elegant country club setting, and then the bride and groom got into such a cake fight when they went to feed each other cake, that we actually had to get out vacuum cleaners in the middle of the reception to clean up the mess.
Congratulations to the newlyweds! It looks like it was such a wonderful celebrations.
Congratulations to the beautiful couple!! and to the mother of the bride. :) Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteWe realized as our service started that no one had lit the candles...which was important as we were supposed to each take a candle to light a unity candle during the ceremony. We had an impromptu game of "telephone" where the groomsmen "passed it down" that we needed a lighter. This went all the way through the church, as we didn't seem to have any smokers attending our wedding. Finally, someone in the back had one and passed it up. My brother (a groomsman) calmly flicked the Bic and and lit each candle in the candelabra.
ReplyDelete