The guests were seated, waiting for the show to begin. As
we waited for our cue, Hunny and I turned to each other, both of us realizing
that the kids had never practiced their entrances. Elroy led the way, standing
where the two aisles converged, waiting to walk both his mothers to the altar.
As the first sets of bridesmaids started
walking, the younger kids (Bam-Bam walked with Peach. Raspberry carried a second ring pillow and
walked with Strawberry) forgot their last minute instructions. Alani and Adoree
quickly stepped in and each walked with one set. We didn’t want to budget extra
for real rose petals (all our flowers were artificial. The venue wouldn’t allow
any fake flowers where they might get blown onto the green) so Peach and
Strawberry carried baskets with arrangements instead of scattering petals.
Finally, it was our turn. Hunny and I walked down the
short set of stairs to the grass before separating to each walk down our own
aisle. We chose to walk alone (Hunny’s dad is not in her life, my dad wasn’t able to attend, and we’re both adults who
choose to give ourselves to each other), meeting together to walk arm in arm
with our oldest child for those last few steps.
I looked in her eyes as our friend told the story of how
our love came to exemplify what is most important. Elroy bound our hands in a handfasting
ceremony, tying the cord decorated with pictures of our children,
tokens of the
family we had created together.
Hunny had tears in her eyes while I spoke the vows I had
written.
And the summer sun was not the only reason my eyeliner
ran down
my cheek while she spoke hers.
We exchanged rings, smiling as we repeated our ‘with this
ring’s.
And then came the kiss.
I dipped her (like in the movies) . . . Away from the audience.
(In fairness, that was
the direction I usually dip her, and I got too swept up in the moment to make
sure our friends and family could see us).
We walked back triumphantly through the crowd (many of
whom forgot to use the bubbles we had provided), and burst into tears in each
other’s arms once we got past the last row of chairs.
The guests headed
inside to enjoy the appetizers and ambiance while we took pictures. Our
photographer even managed to get the
picture for our Christmas
card this year.
All photos were taken by our fantastic Photographer
Jaymee Lynn.
