Wedding Ceremony

Several of our friends and family who couldn't be at the wedding, asked if I'd be willing to post our ceremony on the blog. It makes me smile to re-read it as it was a perfect moment in our day. Despite having to change the venue somewhat last minute because of weather and having to cram everyone indoors, the ceremony was just what we wanted.

We wanted the feeling of a traditional ceremony, but we were clear that we wanted something secular and very personal. We wrote it ourselves using bits and pieces from a number of services that I found online (Union by Robert Fulgham, vows). (Patrick is a good friend and served as our officiant). In the hopes that this is useful to others searching for ceremony ideas, here goes...



Prelude & Procession - I walked in to Beach Boys Wouldn't it be nice and Ron and I walked up the aisle together.

Welcome & Opening - written by Patrick

Remembrances & Moment of Reflection

Patrick : Please take a few moments for silent reflection on the significance of marriage, the importance of this day in the lives of Ron & Kate, and to give thanks for those of us who are present and to honor the memory of those who are not with us today, but are here in spirit. [Allow about 30 seconds for silence]

Reading #1 Love Autumnal by Oliver Jenkins - read by Kate's brother

Statement of Community Support

Patrick : Family and friends, you have been invited here because you have shared and contributed to the lives of Kate and Ron in the past and by witnessing their marriage ceremony today, they ask you to share in their future.

The intimate, yet public, nature of this ceremony reminds us that we are social beings. Our identities, even our very existence, come about because our family and friends are the relationships that nurture and define us. So it is that marriage cannot exist in isolation from family, friends, community.

To all of you here, we ask you to nurture this union with your love and understanding. Do you promise to pledge your support to this new shared life? Will you promise to help them keep their hearts open and tender, full of forgiveness and compassion? Will you promise to keep them accountable to the promises that they make each other in front of you today? If so, please answer “We do”.

[Guests: We do.]

Reading #2 Excerpts from I Like You by Sandol Stoddard Warburg - read by R&K's friend Andrea

Exchange of Vows

Patrick: Ron and Kate - You have known each other for many years, through your first acquaintance to this moment of commitment. At some moment, you decided to marry. From that moment of yes to this moment of yes, you have been making promises and agreements in an informal way. All those conversations that were held riding in a car or over a meal or during long walks – all those sentences that began with “When we’re married” and continued with “I will” and “You will” and “We will” – those late night talks that included “someday” and “somehow” and “maybe” – and all those promises that are unspoken matters of the heart. Just two people working out what they want, what they believe, what they hope for each other.

All these common things and more are the real process of a wedding. The symbolic vows that you are about to make are a way of saying to each other, “You know all those things we’ve promised and hoped and dreamed? Well, I meant it, every word.”

Look at one another and remember this moment in time. Before this moment you have been many things to one another – acquaintance, friend, companion, lover, teacher, for you have learned much from one another in these last few years. Now you shall say a few words that take you across the threshold of life and things will never quite be the same between you. For after these vows, you will say to the world, This – is my husband ; This – is my wife.

Are you free and ready to enter into full commitment of marriage?

Ron & Kate – We are.

Instead of traditional vows, Ron & Kate have opted to write one another letters to be opened and read out loud to one another, in front of all of these witnesses, for the first time now.
Ron read letter to Kate
Kate read letter to Ron

Patrick: Please each repeat after me in unison:

* I promise to turn to you when I am in need and to care for you when you need me.
* I will take strength from who you are, accept who you are not, and remind you who you want to be.
* I will try to remember, whether sunk in sorrow or distracted by the day-to-day, what I feel at this moment – my sense of good fortune and my sheer joy at being with you.
* Knowing that my family and friends surround me, knowing who I am and who I want to be – with this strength and certainty I say to you – I have only one life and it is only so long and I choose to spend it with you.

Ring Exchange

Patrick : May I have the rings, please? [take from Scott, best man]

These rings have no beginning and no ending, which symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. Placed on your fingers, it is a visible sign of the vows which have made you husband and wife.

Ron – take Kate’s ring and place it on her finger and repeat after me :
I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and our family.

Kate – take Ron’s ring and place it on his finger and repeat after me :
I give you this ring as a symbol of my commitment to you and our family.

Pronouncement

Patrick :
By the power of your love and commitment, and the power vested in me by the state of Massachusetts (the best state in the union!), I now pronounce you husband and wife! You may kiss each other!

[Kiss]

I present to you the happily married couple, Ron & Kate Wells.

TA DA!!!

Status Update : 11 days out

No new pictures to post. No new crafting projects happening. Mostly because my time has been taken with organizing. For the past month, I've spent my lunch hours running errands and making phone calls and my evenings trying to fit in conversations with future hubby and calls to family and friends as well as keeping up with regular life responsibilities. All in the hopes that this wedding will come off with as few hitches as possible.

We're 11 days away. Not long now. And everyone keeps asking if I'm excited. Yes, I am. I'm thrilled to be marrying my sweetheart and stoked to get to see my family and friends and psyched to feel the fall weather in Massachusetts. But I'm also really really tired.

Is it bad that in addition to everything else I'm looking forward to, I can't wait for our 17 hour drive up north because it's a day and half that I literally can not do any wedding planning?

Savannah Shower (and awesome craftacular project)

So my Savannah lady friends threw me a wedding shower last weekend. Can you ask for more than a potluck of delicious homemade dishes and crafting? I couldn't. It was perfect - no embarrassing drunken nights out wearing silly bridal gear - and time with my friends laughing and getting creative.

Brilliant idea, by the hosts Ashleigh and Nora, to custom decorate kitchen towels. Ashleigh sewed up some kitchen towels and then let us have at her studio and sewing machines. With loads of scrap fabric, embroidery thread and the ability to either sew or iron on, people got really creative and came up with some adorable ideas. They are so pretty that I don't want to get them dirty!

CPSIA - an update

Awhile ago, I mentioned the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA)and how the bill was going to essentially put most small, handmade, children's products companies out of business (at least most of the folks on etsy) given the exorbitant cost of testing. Additionally, the bill was written so broadly that it was going to affect children's books and therefore libraries. At least it looks like, libraries have gotten a reprieve. I got an update from the American Libraries Association stating the following:

As the American Library Association (ALA) has emphasized since first
enactment of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA),
concern for children*s safety is our first priority in providing
materials to young patrons. On August 26, 2009, the CPSC*s final rule
on children*s products containing lead was released. In the rule,
CPSC confirmed that libraries have no independent obligation to test
library books for lead under the law. CPSC also announced its intention
to release a Statement of Policy specifically providing guidance for
libraries with regard to the treatment of older children*s books that
could potentially contain lead. According to our conversations with
CPSC officials, that Statement of Policy should be released within the
next several weeks.

While we await the Statement of Policy, ALA recommends that libraries
take the following actions. If a library is aware that any children*s
book does indeed contain lead above the legal limits or otherwise
presents a danger to children, it should remove it from public access,
for instance by moving it to the non-circulating collection. We would
also ask that if libraries do learn of any books containing lead to
please let the ALA * Washington Office know so that we might share
that information with other libraries. When the Statement of Policy is
released, we will promptly notify our members.

DIY Wedding : Dinner Napkins

This is what I did all weekend. I sewed 82 dinner napkins for the wedding reception. After hearing that it was $.50/napkin to rent plain white ones from our caterer, I figured that it would be less expensive and more fun to have some homemade ones that gave more of a picnic vibe. The assortment of fabrics were collected over the past ten months. There's some vintage tablecloths and sheets in there, some yardage that I got on sale and a few that I just couldn't pass up. Overall I think that I only spent $30 on fabric and already had the thread. Overall - not the hugest savings really, but I still think that they will be a lot more festive on the tables than plain old white. Plus we can keep them and they are reusable!

The fabric stash was also the supply for the jam jar toppers for the favors and for the garland so hopefully it won't seem too haphazard when it's all set up.

Last weekend I also create a guest book out of a photo album kit that my Mom gave me several years ago so that was free. It's not posted because it's waiting for Ron to decorate the front of it with some hand-lettering first. I also made my bridal fascinator. I'm not going to post that though because I want to keep it a surprise til Ron sees me that morning.

And now with the napkins done, I'm officially done with all of my major DIY wedding projects. A few more small tidbits here and there but nothing major. I can't tell you how excited I am to work on something other than the wedding!

Wedding DIY : Shrug Completed!

Once I realized that it was only two months until we leave to head up for the wedding, I got into high gear finishing off all my projects. I've been knitting so much in the past week that my fingers literally cramped up last night while I was binding off and Ron had to massage my knuckles! But it totally paid off and I finished my shrug. I LOVE IT! Thankfully it fits perfectly and even better...the color of the yarn matches my dress exactly. Here's a sneak peek of my wedding day outfit.

I could not have finished this without the help of the LionBrand Yarn Knitalong for this pattern which was hosted by the pattern's creator Stefanie Japel - whose personal blog is now on my regular reading list.

Wedding DIY : Flag Garland

I had a lot of extra fabric leftover after cutting napkins and favor tops so I decided to make some flag garlands to decorate the reception tent. For white and cream, I used an old sheet that had ripped and some very inexpensive muslin. I didn't want to have to sew anything and found that the range of fabrics didn't all take to glue in the same way. A friend (thanks Meghan!) suggested using brads - a standard office product usually used to attach papers. On the thicker fabrics, I had to create a small hole first for the brad whereas some of the lighter weight fabrics I could just poke them right though. (I found old tweezers did just the right job for creating a small hole.) I like that the brads look a bit like embroidery tacks.

I used 45' cotton cord and made 4 of them and have enough fabric left that I could maybe make one more. I'd been hoping to hang them out on the porch for the photo but it's been raining almost every evening for 3 weeks and I haven't been able to get outside much. I still think that they are really cheerful.