Last weekend I had the extreme pleasure of going to what felt like my first wedding. I know you must be thinking “Good Lord, Sarah, you’ve been to dozens of weddings.” Yes, technically I have been. But there was something about this one, it was like nothing I have seen before.
My Beautiful Cousin married her Gentleman Farmer on their land, in front of their crops, just steps from their barns. She wore a simple lavender dress, not even a gown. He wore a suit, but no tie.
Her father and my father made the arbor. Her step mom and my mom worked on the flowers. His mother got all the dishes and glasses.
The wedding was at ten in the morning under a canopy tent. Two of their friends performed the ceremony. It was touching and personal. I wish I could remember their vows, I’m pretty sure I teared up.
A luncheon followed: vegetables from their garden, fruits, chili, lasagna. There was plenty of ice water and lemonade. The cake had two farmers and a tractor on the top. My Uncle made paper models of the barns and had those next to the cake. It was perfect.
Family and friends pitched in to do what needed to get done. I helped plate the cake (no, I did not make it) I took some pictures. The Gentleman Farmer’s family helped with the dishes. My Aunts and Uncles set out the buffet. Friends chopped veggies for the salads. When someone saw that something needed to get done, they did it.
There was no D.J., no light show, no goodie bags, no personalized M&Ms, no up-do, no toasts, no servers, no wedding planner, and no seating chart.
What it did have was a bathroom with walls (thank you Gentleman Farmer). It had love and family and heart and a charm I haven’t experienced in ages. This was about two people getting married, not about someone throwing a wedding.
I mean no disrespect to the people who have been gracious enough to share their weddings with me. I celebrated their special days with love and thankfulness. All the brides were gorgeous. All the dinners were delicious. All the personal touches were lovingly thought out.
I think we were all trying to get to what Beautiful Cousin and Gentleman Farmer found. It didn’t matter that the plates didn’t match. It didn’t matter that there was no champaign. It didn’t matter that there were no attendants. What mattered to them was that they were finally getting married. The other details would sort themselves out.
Don’t get me wrong…the families did a lot behind the scenes to make it this simple. I personally witnessed a fair amount of construction, cutting, ironing, gluing and fretting. I know that Beautiful Cousin and Gentleman Farmer appreciated all of the hard work. But there is a small part of me that thinks they would have been just as happy to do the whole shebang in their grubbies during a break on the farm.
This particular wedding was something special. I know I will always remember it. It was exactly what a wedding should be: two families coming together to form a new family.
Congratulations to Mr and Mrs Gentleman Farmer. May your marriage be as beautiful and heart-felt as your wedding.
The Blahg 
Beautifully said.