the last of the wedding details
What an emotional and wonderful experience the last several days has been. It’s really one of the highlights of life, when a child gets married. Marnie’s and Tom’s wedding was really beautiful. (here’s a link to the flickr set, with a growing number of photos)
Late afternoon:
me, writing notes for my toast. They put me last because they (rightly) knew that my speech would be the most emotional.
A silent auction of some of Marnie's prints, to benefit the Human Rights Campaign (HRC)'s support of gay marriage
Tom's friend Gwendolyn did Marnie's hair and makeup
FINALLY! It’s 7pm, time to head down to the prairie, where the ceremony will be held.
we all walked through the forest, past the sugar shack, to get to the prairie where we waited for Tom and Marnie to appear.
and here they come! We all broke out into applause when they appeared. Tom's niece Ella had gathered a bunch of prairie wildflowers for Marnie to carry, at the last minute.
This is SO THEM. Even in this moment, there was a lot of laughter.
married! Joe just pronounced them married, after the most beautiful ceremony and vows. And there was much applause, laughter, tears, and joy.
Then we all returned to the Lodge, for a wonderful dinner catered by a local restaurant. They don’t do catering – they just did this for Marnie and Tom. They bought all local ingredients for the menu, purchased the morning of the wedding.
Marnie watches Tom order his food - I love her gaze at him
a moment's pause. I think she looks so beautiful, even in this thoughtful moment.
Night fell as we were eating dinner, and then we had the speeches and toasts. Without exception, everyone talked about how much Marnie and Tom laugh together, how absolutely right they are for each other, and how much they mean to us all. Marnie and Tom had their dance, then Marnie had selected a song to dance with her dad, and then there was our song, one that has enormous meaning for Marnie and me – L.O.V.E., by Nat King Cole. It’s a long story …. but you can bet I cried throughout the whole thing.
the tent, lit up with little bits of starlight and a lot of joy
Marnie's gannetts hanging from the tent rafters
FLYING HOME SUNDAY
Only because I had to, I flew out on Delta. I hate Delta. I honestly don’t think I’ve ever taken an uneventful Delta flight; I’m sure it would be memorable if I ever had a Delta flight that was uneventful because it would be the only such experience. I flew from Madison to Detroit, where I had to change planes (with a 1-hour layover), for the flight home to LaGuardia. Like all my other flights on this roundtrip, I got to the airport to find that the flight to Detroit was delayed by one hour. There were no other flights that would get me home that day, no matter how I arranged it. So I just had to hope for the best.
While we were in the air, someone – one of pilots, we think – came on and said this: “Sorry we got a late start, and we know most of you are worried about making your connections. But look! Look outside, it’s a beautiful day! It’s still a beautiful day to be flying!” And so on. Mr. Mindfulness, trying to reorient us. It made me laugh.
So I got to Detroit, the connecting flight knew there were 19 of us on the now-late plane, so we ran off the plane, raced down the terminal, and raced onto the very VERY hot plane. And then I sat. And I sat. And I sweated in the heat, and I waited. An announcement was made that we’re waiting on the pilot, who was coming in on another flight that had been delayed. Later, an announcement: the pilot has just landed! We should be taking off in about 5-10 minutes! Later, another announcement: “Hi, I’m your new pilot with the replacement team. We have no idea what happened to the other flight crew. We should be taking off shortly.”
SO DELTA. I did finally land, only to face incredibly bad traffic. I got home considerably later than I dreamed I would. But I got a lot of knitting done; finished my Wowie Zowie socks, and got a great start on Peasy.
fantastic socks, taken against a backdrop of your standard Best Western bedspread.
Peasy! Easy! Fun!
the bit of lace on the front panels
And now, I begin my new life as (a) the mother of 2 married daughters, and (b) a freelancer. I’m finishing up the unpacking/straightening up details, finishing a lot of paperwork, and then I start my new life scrambling for work. Know anyone who needs (1) a manuscript developed, (2) a good writer, (3) a market research consultant, (4) a survey designer and programmer, or (5) a data analyst? If so, send them my way!
Thanks again for all your very lovely best wishes, they meant a lot to me.
… what a fantastic day
… I just love the bunch of wildflowers … and the prairie 
Not sure if you can do a toast on a blog.. but if you can… long life and happiness… slainte (health…irish)… iechyd da (good health … welsh).. pip
Thank you!! Marnie reads this blog, but I’ll be sure to point out your Irish and Welsh toasts. They sound wonderful in my imaginary ear. I’m sure I’m pronouncing them all wrong.
You know, the bouquet of wildflowers was truly a last-second thing, and are thanks to a very young girl (or maybe her mother, it’s not clear
). But they really were just the right touch, weren’t they.
Much happiness, joy, love, and laughter to the newly wedded couple.
The wedding looks like it was beautiful – and so fun.
Hey, at least you got some knitting done – and FYI – I’ve never had a good flight on Delta either…and when I lived in Florida – it was about the only airline that would get me where I needed to go…
On her own blog, Sara just wrote a post titled..More Pillowcases…
Thank you Sara, I know Marnie reads my blog so she’ll get your wishes. I’m glad to hear that it’s not just us, with Delta. I don’t know how they stay in business. I feel for everyone who is stuck with them, and glad for you, having other flying options now! Just say no to delta.
OK, I just got a little teary myself — what an absolutely perfect wedding, and what a wonderful couple. (The dress, too, is stunning.) I’m glad you’re home safe! Good luck with that adjustment to the new way of working
Thank you Jocelyn; it really was a perfect wedding. Everyone seemed to feel honored to be there. And I do think the dress looked wonderful on Marnie. I’m kind of amazed that it fit so well, given our long distance efforts. I’m still kind of recovering; I can’t stop staring off into space and feeling gobsmacked happy. We should all suffer with that affliction.
It looks like such a beautiful day much joy and well wishes to Tom and Marnie…
and I lurves those socks!
On her own blog, Tammy just wrote a post titled..Another Book Bites the Dust
Thank you Tammy – and boy I lurves those socks too.
They were such fun to knit, and I suspect they’ll be my favorite winter socks. Even if winter is pretty hard to imagine right now.
What a pleasure to see pictures of such a happy occasion! Marnie looks just beautiful in her dress. How proud you must be!
Best of luck finding some work. But don’t forget to enjoy some breathing space in the meantime!
On her own blog, Anne Campbell just wrote a post titled..iPad Cozy Back Done
Thank you for all this, Anne. I am very proud, in obvious and less obvious ways. I think most mothers understand the particular joy of this experience! And thanks also for the breathing space reminder – something I have to remind myself pretty regularly.
What a beautiful wedding! The dress (and the bride) look gorgeous!
Thank you Allison! She couldn’t have picked a better color of linen for the setting, could she!
Confetti! Confetti!! Beautiful, happy pics, thank you so much for sharing. And OMG her dress was beautiful. Amazing work on her dress and shawl. You are an amazing, rockin’ mama.
Anything else I can compliment today? Of course: very cool socks
On her own blog, perches just wrote a post titled..joy hunt
You made me SMILE. Thank you thank you thank you! As the pictures keep rolling in, and I get a look at her in the dress, I am shocked at how well it fits, and how nice it looks. Believe me, I was sweating it big time.
Congrats. It looks like you had a great time. Her dress looked amazing!
On her own blog, gibknitty just wrote a post titled..Simplicity – White
thanks! it was a great time; it’s hard coming back to reality!
What wonderful pictures! I especially like the one of her gazing at him. The setting and wedding are absolutely beautiful!! Thanks so much for sharing.
Yikes on Delta! That’s what we’re flying to Scotland on… Glad you finally made it home
Love the socks and Peasy too
On her own blog, Laura just wrote a post titled..Ready for the magic
Thank you Laura – and I’ll just keep my fingers crossed that you have the rare uneventful flight to Scotland. It could happen.
It surely happens now and then, right?
I had just been talking with my 17 year old daughter about how worried I was about the world she would inheriting from my generation…I think I might have overdone it because she got a nightmare.
what an antidote these photos were!
the jumping pic really did sum it up…form and content fully merged!
great socks too.
Oh, Richard, that made me smile. You’re so low-key, and speak in such an understated tone, my mind boggles at what you must have said to her.
You know, maybe your girls (and mine) will make it all better.
and thanks re the socks – pretty snazzy, right?!
Cool that you had such a fun time. So many weddings are so overdone these days…looks like your daughter’s was beautiful, and sensible.
On her own blog, Noreen just wrote a post titled..Winter Hats- Summer Knits
EXACTLY! That’s exactly right, Noreen; Marnie’s wedding was low-key, handmade, personal, and sensible…..none of which precluded beautiful and profound. Although it was
very
different, my other daughter’s wedding was also beautiful and sensible. My kind of weddings, my kind of girls.
Came here from your Ravelry post on the shawl. What a lovely wedding. Thanks to your daughter and her husband for the silent auction, because maybe someday, I’ll be able to post about my child’s wedding. Thank you!
Me too….it will be a wonderful world, and day, if I get to write a similar post about a wedding for my son. And you for your child. Here’s hoping (and doing whatever we can politically!).
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