Monday, October 30, 2023

Wedding Bells!

Love. Nostalgia. Joy.  Fulfillment.  Pride.  Just a few of the emotions that I felt on October 14, 2023, at the gorgeous wedding of #1 Daughter and the Fiance in Cincinnati, Ohio.

If you have been following my blog for a while, you will remember my post The Engagement from November 2021.  Yes, the wedding was two years in the planning!  And I am so proud of our daughter and her fiance - they had a vision for the wedding, and they fulfilled that dream.  A rustic venue.  An outdoor ceremony.  A wedding that would be fun, fun, fun! 

And did I mention that they also bought a house in the last 6 months?  But that's another story!


I am probably biased, but I think that the wedding and associated celebrations had many personal elements that made it unique.  Maybe it's the crafty nature of our family to give gifts that are hand-made.  Maybe it's our daughter's romantic nature that resulted in so many nostalgic moments.  Whatever the cause, these moments brought out the tears and the smiles in almost equal measure.

One of my sisters-in-law designed and hand-crafted a quilt, presenting it to the couple a few weekends before the wedding.  Can you tell how much they love it?

We were thrilled and relieved that my in-laws could travel from England for the wedding.  The icing on the cake?  That our daughter and her fiance could host all of us in their new house!  When they began their house-hunting process, that was their dream - and it was a blast being under one roof rather than in separate hotel rooms!


My in-laws brought this hand-made wooden "book", a gift from my husband's only cousin and her wife - they live in England and could not make it to the ceremony.


My youngest brother hand-delivered a carved bear, which holds a plaque displaying their name and wedding date.  My brother has been in the business of selling these bears for many years, and it is a special day when you receive a bear of your own.


Before my Mom passed away, she made afghans for each of her grandchildren, and these gifts were presented to them at their respective weddings.  Our daughter was one of five grandchildren yet to be married, and my oldest sister is the keeper of the afghans until each marriage happens.  Immediately after this photo, we were all sobbing.  I am tearing up even as I type these words - Mom, I wish you could have been there!

My oldest sister, a former florist, collaborated with our daughter on the floral design for the wedding, and was instrumental in setting up the venue the day before.  Her bouquets and other floral details were stunning.  How appropriate that she also gave the couple a floral afghan that she had originally made for my Mom many years ago.


I was very touched that our daughter found several ways to remember my Mom on her wedding day.  My Mom wore a satin headband for her wedding, and it was adorned with many seed pearls.  Our daughter incorporated some of those pearls into her hairpiece and earrings.  Imagine my delight (and the tears) when she presented me with this hand-made brooch at the rehearsal dinner.

It is well-known in our family that we cry at weddings, and with that in mind, I set out to create a handkerchief that our daughter could use during the ceremony.  In the end, the one I made was too ornate for wedding make-up (!), so I made a second, simpler one for her to use (not pictured).

 


"Something borrowed, something blue."  Our daughter had seen her Nan's wedding photos, and one of them had Nan showing some leg with the garter in full view.  Nan gave our daughter this garter, and the photographer re-created the photo per our daughter's request.

 

 

 

To highlight her accessories, our daughter created this tableau for the photographer.   I love how it captures so many of the nostalgic items in this post.

 Congratulations to the newlyweds!

******

Linking to LeeAnna's Not Afraid of Color for I Like Thursday.  Prompt for November 2: Would you rather go on a hayride or visit a corn maze?

I would rather visit a corn maze - something active that engages my brain.  And it's fun!  We have done both in yesteryears, when the kids were young.  The hayride was typically a transportation method to the pumpkin patch or the Christmas tree farm.  I always loved the horses pulling the wagon!

Linking to Mosaic Monday

35 comments:

  1. ...congratulation to the newly weds.

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  2. Glad reading you are back, Angie, with such fantastisc news. I'm happy for you and your family. Wish the best for the couple.

    May the joys be as bright as the morning.
    The years of happiness as numerous as the stars in the heavens, and the troubles but shadows that fade in the sunlight of love.

    __Old English Blessing

    Thank you for sharing at MosaicMonday.
    Hugs by Heidrun

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  3. Welcome back Angie! Congrats to the newlyweds. I wish them all the best! Lovely photos! Take care, have a great day!

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  4. What a wonderful post! Congrats to you and yours.

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  5. google just cut my comment off...grrr.... I was saying how lovely this all is, the connection, the meanings, the hand made items (coveting that carved bear) your daughter who looks so like you, making your broach with your moms items, your daughters shoes (wish I had those too!) the venue, their home and that they bought one... thanks for sharing, LeeAnna

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  6. Yes, a wonderful post. So many happy bits and pieces to give you lots of happy memories. :-)

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  7. Lovely to visit you again and on such a happy occasion! So glad I saw your comment on Heidren's blog . What a lovely wedding!

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  8. That was truly a special family wedding. How wonderful that there were so many hand made gifts. Lots of things to cherish. Love the fact that you were all able to be under the same roof for the celebrations. Congratulations to all!

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  9. Nothing buy LOVE...You and Mark are great parents and role models. Love you Both-David

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  10. Beautiful wedding, thanks for sharing - congrats 🎉

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  11. Hi Angie! I think you need to edit your post and add "tear jerker" at the beginning as a warning. What a wonderful heart-felt post. Oh my goodness, such wonderful memories were made that day. The brooch is oh so special - I know you wore it proudly but with a few tears. That your Mom had made an afghan for your daughter (and others) is such a special present, too. Thank you so much for sharing the day with us! {{Hugs}} ~smile~ Roseanne

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  12. What a wonderful, meaningful, joyful wedding! You can tell they are clearly in love and so happy. How sweet that so many were remembered with such sweet creations. The afghans - oh my goodness - and your hankie - those are treasures.

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  13. How special I feel like I was there in person as each aspect of your daughters beautiful wedding was revealed. Having just returned from Montana I love the Bear present idea and I thought the gift from your Mum was so, so special. Now pass me a hankie, you've set me off too!
    Congratulations to you all
    Wren x

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  14. I am exactly the same at weddings too, I always get very teary eyed, it's like true love exists for some people.

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  15. Just got around to visiting the links from Thursday, and thoroughly enjoyed yours! What a wonderful wedding and family event! It's so special that your daughter included the connections to her grandmother in so much of her planning. Lovely!

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  16. congratulation.....
    nice to see your lovely photos....

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  17. Such beautiful photos. Congratulations to the newly weds!

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  18. Hello Angie, what a wonderful post, I did enjoy reading it and seeing the photographs.
    My congratulations to the newlyweds.

    All the best Jan
    https://thelowcarbdiabetic.blogspot.com/

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  19. Beautiful wedding and photos Angie, the carved bear is gorgeous, I so wanted to bring one home!! Love all the hand made, family connection things. Congratulations to the newly marrieds.

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  20. A beautiful wedding filled with so much love and memories.

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  21. Congratulations! Beautiful wedding! Glad that you are blogging again.

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  22. I'm not sure if the comment has now been sent or disappeared, so to be on the safe side:

    Oh, dearest Angie, that's wonderful news - thank you for letting me know with your comment that there is something about your daughter's wedding to read on your blog. I'm so happy for your family - it must have been a beautiful wedding... with lots of touching details. Although I don't know the term "afghan" in the context of a crocheted work of art, I assume from the photos that it is a special type of blanket. Not only does it look incredibly beautiful, but it is also extremely tear-jerking that one of these blankets was made by your mother for your daughter. So she was with you not only in thoughts and through seed pearls and a garter, but actually through a beautiful, loving gift. That gives me pleasant goosebumps (can I say that so?). All the other thoughtful gifts that were given to the young couple were also very nice - and it was certainly particularly wonderful that they were even able to accommodate their family members in their own house. How nice that your in-laws were able to travel from England! It was definitely an unforgettable time for you!
    Warm November greetings, hugs, congrats and the best wishes!
    Traude
    🍂🍃🍁🍃 🍂
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2023/11/herbstimpressionen-und-blogparade-dirty.html

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    Replies
    1. Okay, now I see it would have disappeared - lucky I copied the comment :-DD

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  23. I wondered where you had disappeared to Angie. With my lack of posting lately it's the good old British weather that gets in the way plus after 10 or twelve years it gets more difficult to come up with new ideas and new photos when the weather is too grey. Maybe you will inspire me to try harder.

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  24. WOW, you really have been busy! No doubt the wedding was delightful and that carved bear sounds really cool. Best wishes to the lovely couple from all of us!

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  25. I'm glad that you came back with such a wonderful news, Angie. I had wondered how far and long you went for adventures. Your daughter’s wedding is so beautiful and heartwarming. I like the hand-crafted quilt, the floral afghan, and the handkerchief to wipe the joy of tears.
    Yoko

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  26. What a great wedding. I love all the personalized, hand crafted gifts. And nice that you all fit in the same house.

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  27. Beautiful and then some. I can see and feel all the love and understand the tears completely. So many special memories were made. The afghans, the garter, the quilt etc really all very special. Congratulations to all.

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  28. Angie, What a wonderful event for your family. It looks like it was very special. Nice to include your Mom even if she has past. Have a great week. Sylvia D.

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  29. Angie, there are so many delightful things in this post. I love the handmade gifts, the mementos that honour family no longer present, and all the lovely personal touches in the wedding. An event to celebrate and remember.

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  30. what a wonderful wedding! Congratulations to the new couple and the proud parents! All the exquisite nostalgic touches and sweet family mementos and gifts were so beautifully documented by you, Angie. Also, congratulations to the new couple on their first house--I know from my children's experiences how very exciting that is!

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  31. Weddings are so much fun. This one looked really fun. Loved all the personal touches that made it special for everyone.

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  32. Love this wedding post and seeing the behind the scenes! Angie thank you for sharing such a touching and special moment with us - so inspirational to see the made with love gifts!! xx Laurel

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