Eleven

Tis the season for weddings...and anniversaries! Today marks eleven years since that extraordinary day when Jeff and I stood before a crowd of people and said, "I do." Jeff had been practicing that famous sentence for months before our wedding. He would tease me by saying it in different ways: bellowing it, saying it in a high and squeaky voice, saying it in his deepest voice, using an accent for it, etc. He did this so often that I was curious about how he would really say it on that official day; but when the time came, he said it just right. It was perfect, as was everything about that day...

It's been so much fun today to let our minds wander back in time, not only to the events surrounding our wedding, but also to the people we were then. We've changed (in lots of good ways, of course!) :), and it's been interesting to share our thoughts about that with each other.

I have never for a moment regretted marrying Jeff. It was truly the second best decision of my life!

For the past few years, we've tried to have an overnight get-away for our anniversary; but this year, it seemed wiser to not attempt that. Instead, we've had a special family day so far, with Jeff only working a few hours this morning, then all of us going out for brunch at IHOP (a favorite of the boys) and then playing at the park for a little bit until the pool opened at noon! The pool was the big excitement of the day, but our decision to go there today wasn't a very original one because there were hundreds of people there. We're in a heat streak here--the temps have been in the high 90s and even a bit over 100--the hottest we ever get around here. (It wasn't that hot when we got married, but it is this year!) So going to the pool was on everybody's mind, it seems. We all had a great time; and despite the vigilance required to make sure three little boys didn't drown, it was even relaxing for Jeff and I! :) Tonight, my parents are going to babysit so Jeff and I can go out for dinner at an Ethiopian restaurant that we've never tried before. I'm looking forward to it!

For memory's sake, some of our wedding photos:

~ we were blessed to have Carla do our flowers...I was supremely happy with how they turned out!...they were--and are--utterly gorgeous in my eyes...the headpiece and veil, by the way, were my sister's
~ one of the songs we included in the ceremony was "Arise, My Love" by Michael Card...the above picture reminds me of that song every time I see it
~ arches were significant for us because of meeting in Israel where there are so many arches...when our relationship turned romantic there (although it was a secret romance), we began the tradition of kissing under every arch...and sometimes Jeff would take my hand and raise our arms over our heads to form an arch so that he would have to kiss me!...we chose to have an arch at the front of the sanctuary for that reason
~ this picture is really special to me because of the four-generation aspect of it...I was extremely grateful that my grandmother was able to come from Pennsylvania for the wedding...beside her is my mother, of course, then me, my sister Donna, and her daughter Sheena

~ I loved the way this cake turned out...I don't remember a bit about how it tasted, but the way it looked with the various layers being on different stands rather than on top of each other and with the real flowers on it (again, by Carla) was EXACTLY what I wanted
~ our get-away was in a horse and buggy; and since the Mennonite culture is such an integral part of where I grew up, I was thrilled to include a piece of that on our wedding day...my dad had arranged with a Mennonite family (that he knows through his medical practice) to take us from the wedding to their farmhouse where our car was parked ahead of time, and we were so grateful that Dad took care of that for us...Dad didn't tell us that, for good measure, he threw in a very talkative Mennonite lady who kept turning around from the front seat to look in the back and chat with us the whole way to the farm...Jeff was understandably interested in a little smooching (and he wasn't the only one!), but she was going to make sure no undue hanky-panky went on in her buggy!!! :)

Ah, funny memories! Speaking of talkative people, Jeff had to deal with a videographer who was waiting backstage with Jeff before the wedding. Jeff really would have liked a little peace and quiet and privacy and time to reflect and pray; but apparently, this guy chattered on and on until the wedding started!

I remember...that I wanted the bridesmaids (and myself) to be at the church building hours and hours before the wedding. I had been part of enough weddings that had rushed preparation times, and I was determined that we would not have to hurry through and feel stressed about being late for the wedding. As a result, I set an absurd amount of extra time into the day's schedule for the women. I think they probably thought I was a little nuts, but they all went along with it. :)

I remember...that I was nervous about the fact that the afternoon was progressing and the arch still wasn't decorated with flowers yet! I'm sure Carla had everything completely under control, but I worried that she wouldn't have enough time to do it. (Did you know that, Carla?) And do you sense a theme here: worry...about time...and being late? :)

I remember...that before the wedding started, I kept yawning and could not stop. The girls who were waiting with me kept teasing me about falling asleep, but it was just because I was nervous. I was afraid I was going to faint--never mind the fact that it RARELY happens--but that's what was in my mind to be nervous about.

I remember...my sister coming into the room where I was waiting, right before she walked down the aisle before me as my matron of honor. She told me that she loved me and was proud of me, and that meant so much to me.

I didn't know...but was later told...that when the song "Sunrise, Sunset" began to be sung (before the actual start of the wedding), my mother was so overcome with emotion that she had to walk down one of the hallways of the church to get herself together so she could be ready to enter when it was her turn. Someone--a good family friend, although I don't remember who--went to her there and helped to console her. I'll have to ask my mother later who that woman was, and I'll also have to ask my mother if she got teary-eyed just reading this blog post. :)

I remember...that my bouquet was SO HEAVY! I've already mentioned that I was completely delighted with the flowers! But I didn't expect my bouquet to weigh so much. My arm got so tired of holding it that I wanted to ask Jeff to hold it for me while we were standing together, listening to our minister. I refrained from that rather unusual request though, but was I ever glad when it was time to hand off my bouquet to my sister and move under the arch for the vows, lighting of the unity candle, communion, and all that good stuff! :)

I remember...that I kept blinking non-stop. I had always dreamed of having the veil over my face until the moment that my groom lifted it back and kissed me. But I didn't realize that it's a strange sensation to have a veil over one's face, and my eyes kept blinking and blinking because of how different that felt!

I remember...being surprised by the suit our minister chose to wear. He was one of my college professors--a man we admired and respected highly--but it was obvious we didn't choose him for his expensive clothing tastes. The suit he wore was blue--baby blue--and I'm not sure exactly what era it came from, but it certainly was not considered the height of fashion in the year 1997! :)

I remember...how I felt like Jeff and I were the only people in the world when we were standing under the arch and a song was being sung. We were able to talk and laugh and smile and connect and love; and although I don't remember what we said to each other, I do remember sincerely enjoying those moments so much. I was the happiest woman in the world!

I remember...how my cheeks ached from smiling. There's a picture in our wedding album that was taken at the end of the formal picture-taking time. In the photo, I'm seated at the grand piano in the sanctuary and Jeff is standing behind me, and my forced smile and weary eyes make it clear that I'm ready to be done with all the pictures!

I remember...enjoying immensely the fact that so many people from so many different phases of my life were all together in one place. From folks who had known me ever since I was a little girl with my hair in long braids...to friends we had made from our semester in Israel when we met each other...and all the way in between.

I remember...that my grandmother, when she heard of our plans to leave in a horse and buggy, warned us about that because of the risk of the horse bolting. In my head, I'm sure I said, "Pshaw!" because who ever heard of these staid Mennonite horses running like that? Well, I didn't know very much, did I? When we came out of the church building to get into the buggy, the crowd broke into spontaneous cheers and applause, and guess what the horse did? Yep, he got scared and started running. Fortunately, we weren't close enough to the buggy to actually be trying to get into it at that point...fortunately, no one was hurt...and fortunately, the talkative Mennonite lady and her daughter who accompanied her were able to get the horse (Chester was his name, if I remember correctly) calmed down eventually and we made it safely to the farmhouse. But it taught me a valuable lesson: to pay attention to the warnings of my elders!

I remember...that some kind soul packed a bunch of food for Jeff and I to take with us as we left the reception. We didn't have a sit-down reception so Jeff and I had not really eaten, and later we were hungry!

I remember...that there were some things that we needed to take with us as we began our honeymoon but for some reason, we didn't take them in the buggy. So my parents drove their car to the farmhouse to put those things into our car which was waiting there. My parents were the only ones who knew where our car was; and since we knew they were not about to decorate our car (just ask them their wedding-car-decorating story!), we felt certain that we wouldn't have to worry about that! Well, my brother and a couple of my friends figured out that my parents were heading to our waiting car, so my brother and "friends" (just kidding...) followed my parents. My parents tried to lose them but didn't succeed; and as we pulled in the long lane to the farmhouse, we could see our car being decorated up ahead of us. We just couldn't urge that horse to go as quickly as we would have liked so that we could hop in our car and drive off before much decorating was done. In the end, I know that Oreo cookies were put on our back window to spell "Mr. and Mrs." (such a waste of good Oreos!) :) and I think balloons were tied onto the antenna and I also know that a lot of saran wrap was put around the car, holding the doors shut and preventing us from getting in...and I can't remember what else. If my memory serves me well, Jeff had a pocketknife in his pants which he whipped out and quickly cut through the saran wrap. We were so glad to finally be alone in the car together, ready to set off on our new life!

I remember...how special it felt to walk through the downstairs of the Joshua Wilton House during the busy dinner hour and have everyone look at us. :)

I remember...how happy I was when Jeff swept me up and carried me across the threshold to our room.

And that's all I'll say about that... :)