It was a small occasion, and everyone knew at least many of the other people there. I was busy helping with the food magic and so failed to take many photos--I missed the trio of hummuses that I produced, missed the beautiful creations that others provided, missed the three-tier stand of gluten-free cupcakes decorated with pansies, missed the peppermint patties and peanut butter cups that I made as an extra surprise.
Phil snapped this one of 'the girls,' including the official photographer in a blur on the right.
One of the unique things about this wedding was all the recognition of all the family members and friends who participated in creating the event. Everyone who helped with the food was given a beautiful apron--Amy's mom and her sister are seamstresses extraordinaires. I'm wearing mine under my coat and over my green dress in the above picture: such lovely purples complementing the green. They even made mine with the pocket on the left, acknowledging my lefthandedness. Phil's granddaughter who stayed when the others left is wearing her apron (in the front of the pic) with ruffles--the top part of it was made with the material cut from Amy's wedding dress when they shortened it.
Phil, Amy's mom's husband, Amy's uncle and our great friend David were 'security' and were each given 'security' jackets--customized to say "Social Security" on back and a unique title on front. Phil was "Security Blanket," Royce (Amy's mom's husband, looking scary in the hat and shades) was "Security Bond," Kevin (Amy's uncle) was "Homerland Security" (since we live in Homer, after all), and David was "Wavy Gravy Security." Don't they look formidable?
Guests also went home with recipe cards containing all the recipes for the food provided, (I hope that mine were reasonably accurate: I mailed them in when we were in the thick of Anchorage, long before I actually put them together), and a gorgeous home-decorated candle.
I am so happy for Amy and Jess: they created the most beautiful, relaxed, joyous, convivial occasion. Jess is the most wonderful man: strong but kind, reliable but funny, an incredible storyteller but also comfortable with silence. Amy is the closest human being to a saint that I've ever had the privilege of being around. She is remarkably considerate and sensitive, smart and funny, and knows how to take care of herself so that she can be at her best among other people and out in the world. She is supremely gracious in her ability to accept the vagaries of others around her, and of course, she is just so incredibly beautiful. Phil refers to her as 'the best thing he ever made.' I feel like she's the big sister I never had.
And after all the beautiful framed pictures of Amy and Jess that were on display all over the house, I'm ashamed that I don't have a single picture of the two of them to share here.
Phil's nephew and his girlfriend have headed for the back-country. We'll either be joining them, or things will return to something more like normal for a few days, although Phil's granddaughter was supposed to be leaving tomorrow and might end up staying longer, so there's still no telling. I'm grateful for the relative calm and quiet of today: it's been beyond hectic the last few days, and I've been out of my tree. I'm hoping to get caught up on here somewhat with some of what's been going on, including the story of my Naturopath saying "I'm sorry, I poisoned you!" Yes, I'm starting to feel better. But if we do end up heading out to the wilderness, it'll take a while longer to get caught up here.
Much love to all and apologies for my absence.
