The Baby's Breath is Blooming

There's a code phrase in our house:  "The Baby's Breath is blooming!"  It's right up there with "The eagle has landed." as far as code phrases go.

Five years ago today, I met a man at the end of an aisle and promised to love, honor and cherish him until death parts us.  (Yes, we were one of those 65,000 American couples who got married on 7.7.07.  But only because that's when my brother and his fiancee were going to be home.)

In preparation for the big day, we had to do some decorating.  My father, the master woodturner, offered to turn red oak candlesticks for each family to take home.  My sister and I made truffles as favors.  And our friends and family came to help us set up the church and decorate the day before.

As we (my brother and future sis-in-law and me) were driving to my soon-to-be hometown, I said "We're going to stop and get some flowers for the walkway."  They said that was fine.

I pulled off on a deserted exit on the interstate and down a gravel road.  My sis-in-law asked, "There's a flower shop out here?"

No, no flower shop.  Just lots of gorgeous Baby's Breath blooming wild in the road ditches.  She was shocked, to say the least.  Yes, we are going to cut flowers from a road ditch for my wedding.  Huge, can't-get-your-arms-around-them bundles of Baby's Breath!

And, if you've ever bought Baby's Breath for a craft project and paid through the nose, you know that's about $100 worth!

We filled the back of my vehicle and continued on to the church where we decorated,  

And made all the food. 

Oh, didn't I tell you I had to cater my own wedding???

Yup, I had a caterer booked.  He was coming to cook a fabulous three course meal at the church and it was going to be awesome.  Then he cancelled on me a month before the wedding.  Try getting a caterer to drive to a tiny town on the biggest wedding day of the decade.  There was no one.

Now, I do have wedding catering experience.  My mom and I made all the food for my sister's wedding and I swore then and there that I would NEVER do that to my family.

Then I had to call them and apologize profusely.  And my family being who they are, jumped right in and we did it!

The menu:  

Dry Rubbed Roast Beef

Orange Chicken

Cucumber Salad

Potato Salad

Black Forest Tortilla Pinwheels

Spicy Ranch Tortilla Pinwheels

Deviled Eggs

Rhubarb Punch

All stuff we could prep the day before and cook on slow ovens the day of the ceremony.  We served it family style and two dear friends got the food on the tables.  

Just look at that those two, everything's going to be great! (See!  There's that eternal optimism again...)

The day of our wedding dawned hot, REAL HOT!  Like 100 degrees hot.  The AC in the church couldn't keep up and it was a balmy 84 inside.  And let me just say that under the layers and layers of wedding dress, it was not 84 degrees.  It was much, much higher.

But the couple that sweats together stays together, right?

We had a private ceremony followed by the meal in the back of the church.  55 people, that's it.  Only our closest friends and family.  We were both older when we got married and knew a LOT of people.  So, we either had to invite practically no one, or everyone.  We opted for only those people who had an investment in our marriage.  Those who were going to help us, support us, and rejoiced in seeing a family being formed.

Were there some hurt feelings from some who thought they should be there?  Yup.  But if an invitation to my wedding was what our friendship hinged on then it wasn't much of a friendship in the first place. Extended family members were told it was a private ceremony.

I was given 5 bridal showers, so those who wanted to honor us definitely took the opportunity!

This photo makes me laugh...

Hubby wore that wedding ring (it was his dad's) for 18 hours before taking it off in the car and putting it in the cup holder.  (I refer to it as his prop!)  He's a farmer and a machinist and those two occupations don't wear rings.  Because if they wear rings, they could lose fingers.  So, it doesn't bother me one bit that he doesn't wear a ring.  I'd rather he have all his fingers.

Here's my whole family circa 2007:

We've added FIVE kids to that clan!  And lost one very important Dad.

Dad loved Hubby.  And loved that we were getting married and starting a life together on the farm.  Dad didn't just approve of our marriage, he was excited!

After we cleaned up the church, Hubby and I headed to the swimming hole to cool off from the heat of the day.  How many brides can say that they took off their wedding dress to go swimming in the lake?

The next morning we got in this,

(I rented a Chrysler 300C as Hubby's wedding present.  He longed to drive one and got his wish!)

to go here,

(Willow Creek B&B in the Black Hills, private cabin on the side of the hill, only accessible by foot or four wheeler  - which is how we got our breakfast delivered every morning)

and do this!

 (Hubby loved to get up at dawn, make a pot of coffee and take the wedding cake out to the hot tub.  On day two he discovered that the cake container floated and the water warmed the frosting to a delectable consistency.)

Five years ago, we had ideas of what our life together might look like:

But today we agreed that never in a million years, would we have thought it would look like this:

{Photo courtesy Lisa Lang}

Happy Anniversary, my Beloved!  The Baby's Breath is blooming...