Monday, June 17, 2013

The Wedding Weekend

We had an absolutely fabulous weekend in Asheville for the wedding of this remarkable couple.  We've known Tilly since before she was born, really; we lived in the same neighborhood and were good friends with her parents.  When she was born, everyone--including the ob--was completely surprised, after they had delivered her sister, the ob said, OMG there's another baby in here!!  No one had any idea her Mom was having twins until the birth.  Tilly and her twin sister were contemporaries of our middle son, Todd, and we carpooled all through preschool and babysat the twins and had the wonderful opportunity to see them grow up into incredibly brilliant and talented young women.   Her twin sister is a doctor in San Francisco, and Tilly is an architect/urban planner/artist/musician/athlete.  Last spring she competed in a marathon for the first time--Boston--and finished 8th in her age group in her division; then went home for a brief rest before choir practice and then came home to cram for a final at Harvard, where she was finishing a masters degree.  Just remarkable.

Anyway, the wedding was at Pack Park in downtown Asheville, a beautiful sun shiny afternoon, even if a bit warm.  Tilly and Dave chose Asheville for their wedding since it is a place where they've done so many outdoor things, biking and canoeing and have just loved the area.  They designed the whole celebration in their own unique way, and everyone--wedding party and guests--walked in procession from the hotel to the park, then walked a labyrinthine path through the circular area of this fountain where they usually have water flowing for kids to play in.  Fortunately the city did their part in keeping the water off for the wedding!  Tilly and Dave were at the center of the labyrinth walk, so every guest could pass by and give them their blessing.  Trisha did a masterful job with the ceremony, making it extremely personal for each of them, and very meaningful for all who were there.  As usual, many folks commented later on how unique her service was and how much it meant to see the way she conducted the service.

Tilly was radient in a white dress with a green top, and a wreath of flowers in her hair.  Their vows, which they had composed, were so incredibly moving, and so insightful into how to start a successful marriage.  After the ceremony, there were cocktails just off the fountain area, under the shade of this enormous magnolia tree, which was so reminiscent of the big magnolia Tilly used to climb as a little girl in her yard in Atlanta.  Then on to the adjacent restaurant, where the reception was in this wonderful upstairs room.  They had chosen a bluegrass duo--fiddle and guitar--for the music, with a square dance caller for after dinner dancing, since they both have enjoyed square dancing so much.  Tilly also told me she chose that, since so many square dances have you moving from partner to partner, thus giving folks the chance to meet people they didn't know before.  There's no way to describe this whole scene--you just had to be there to fully appreciate the magnitude and significance of all these things, but for this  remarkably special couple, it was just a glorious, happy, move you to tears experience, from beginning to end.   We were so glad to have had the chance to be a part of it all.

Sunday was a fantastic Father's Day for me.  We got to talk to Jeremy in Cambodia in the morning, and he's doing so well there.  Next week he has a week off from school and is going to Viet Nam, and will tour the tunnels, and see a lot of the country.  This has certainly raised a lot of conflicting feelings for us, given all that went on during that war, but he was a history major and studied the Viet Nam war a lot in college, so he's quite excited to have the chance to visit.  And he also talked about his travel plans after he finishes the next term in September, going all over Indo China, and will have the chance to be at the wedding of his good friend and high school soccer teammate, who's been living in China for a number of years and is marrying a Chinese woman.  So that will be quite interesting for him, too.  He had to miss the wedding of his good friend in Atlanta this past weekend, so he's glad he'll get to go to another friend's wedding that he would not have been able to had he not been living in this part of the world.  Then he will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas for the first time in 4 years, so we're doubly excited about that!

Had a good long layover in Atlanta, so that gave us the chance to spend some time with Shelley and Ken, and to meet their new Portuguese water dog!  Great to see them, and we'll see them again in a couple of weeks when we continue the tradition we started a couple years ago of joining them at Ken's folks' home in Aspen over the 4th of July.  But it was a real Father's Day treat to be with them Sunday.
Our plane had some mechanical problems they discovered as we were on the runway about to take off, so we had to come back to the gate, but fortunately they got it fixed and we were only about an hour late getting into Albuquerque.

Today we started early at the dealer, getting maintenance and service done on the RV, and then some new tires, so now we're all fixed up for a good long while!  Had some other errands to run, and then drove back here to Santa Fe for the night.  We had an absolutely marvelous dinner tonight at Anapurna, World Vegetarian Cafe.  They have a location in Albuquerque I had discovered when I was there earlier for the week Trisha went to Florida, and had the chance to take Trisha there last week before we flew to Asheville.  Being able to have another stupendous vegan dinner at the Santa Fe location was just wonderful!  Hope to get in a good bike ride tomorrow morning before it gets too hot and then we'll head up the road!

Some pics from the wedding:

At the rehearsal dinner, Dave's Dad giving his toast
 Tilly and Dave, listening to Tilly's Mom giving this incredibly moving toast
 Tilly giving her Mom a big hug after the toast!
On Saturday morning, they had a day of games and fun in the park before we all went back to the hotel to change for the ceremony.  This is Bodhi, the son of Tilly's twin sister Maggie.  What a cutie!  He was all smiles the whole weekend!
 Trisha in hog heaven, holding Fox, the son of Tilly's other sister, Eleanor, who Trisha married several years ago.

 This cute, cute little cousin, trying to get the last out of her Starbucks cup!!
 Bodhi, with his parents, Maggie in the background, and Mike in the foreground, as he was about to dash out onto the splashpad fountain area to play in the water!
 Bodhi on the right, Eleanor's daughter, Adelaide--who was one of the flower girls--and a newfound friend playing in the fountain.


 Eleanor and daughter Adelaide, having fun running through the sprays!
 Tilly, regaling the group with tales of the canoe trip on the French Broad from the day before.
Some shots as we were gathering at the hotel, preparing to process to the park;  Here, cousins Bodhi and Adelaide, stylin' in their wedding finest!!  Aren't they just adorable!!
 Adelaide, getting some last minute pointers from Aunt Maggie on her role as flower girl--big job for a two year old!
 Dave and Tilly, before the procession, telling the guests that Trisha is about to explain the labyrinth walk for them.

 The procession begins!
 This was so much fun!  As we walked, and people in cars and in a big party bus realized this was a wedding, they all began to honk their horns and cheer!
Everyone walking the labyrinth before the ceremony, passing by Tilly and Dave, and giving them their blessings.
 Tilly, being escorted in by her parents
 Dave, being escorted in by his parents
 Trisha, asking all the friends and families to affirm their blessing of the marriage




 Trisha always includes the use of the Covenant Cup in her wedding ceremonies, giving this beautiful homily about using it to toast special occasions, to reinforce the importance of ritual in the marriage, and to offer a cup of cold water when one needs to ask one's partner for forgiveness--and then has them each offer each other their first drink from this cup.  It's really a beautiful part of her ceremony and here is Tilly with the cup.
Sorry for these being a bit jumbled up in order, but for some reason Picassa was not cooperating!  Here is Mary, Tilly's Mom, celebrating the joy of the ceremony!

 Adelaide--boy that flower girl thing is hard work--I need a drink!

 Cocktails under the magnolia after the ceremony
 Precious little Adelaide, scattering rose petals before the ceremony
 Adelaide and Olivia, Dave's niece, the other flower girl, doing their thing!
 Tilly greeting her guests under the magnolia
Tilly's twin, Maggie, and her other sister, Eleanor, sining "Hosanna" during the ceremony.  As the couple processed out from the ceremony, the whole group of guests sang "Dona Nobis Pacem"   Just beautiful!
 Trisha always says that weddings are a great place for couples to meet--she often marries couples who met at someone's wedding.  This couple is getting a pretty early start!   The little boy told his mother later "I have a girlfriend."  When his mother asked him what a girlfriend was, his reply "I don't know, but she's it!"  What a hoot!
 Eleanor giving a toast at the reception
 Tilly and her dad in the Father Daughter Dance.

 Tilly having such fun square dancing!

Just an absolutely fabulous wedding celebration!

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