All total 194 years of marriage celebrated and renewed
Time flies when you are having fun. I have been so busy with this seasons weddings and happy couples I have not been living up to my new years resolution of posting on my blog as often as I should.
But I am going to make a good effort now.
One of the best times I had was doing a wedding renewal for five couples. They met every year on St. John for a week long vacation and this year decided to have all of their marriages renewed together.
All total there are 194 years of wedded bliss pictured here.
They were the Possibly the happiest couple getting married this week.
He was from New York and She was from Ireland. They met on line.
The ceremony took place on St. John in the Virgin Islands.
60 guest attended, 30 from the U.S and 30 from Ireland. A tribute to the happy couple.
The Vows were written and rewritten over a period of months but the final results were completed one week prior to the ceremony. The Bride’s sister sung “The simple gifts” and was accompied by a Cello.
“Simple Gifts” was written by Elder Joseph while he was at the Shaker community in Alfred, Maine in 1848. These are the lyrics to his one-verse song:
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- ‘Tis the gift to be simple, ’tis the gift to be free,
- ‘Tis the gift to come down where we ought to be,
- And when we find ourselves in the place just right,
- ‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.
- When true simplicity is gain’d,
- To bow and to bend we will not be asham’d,
- To turn, turn will be our delight,
- Till by turning, turning we come round right.
The Groom’s brother read the following excerpt from THE VELVETEEN RABBIT~ By Margery Williams ~
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?”
“Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you become Real.”
“Does it hurt?” asked the Rabbit.
“Sometimes,” said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. “When you are Real you don’t mind being hurt.”
“Does it happen all at once, like being wound up,” he asked, “or bit by bit?”
“It doesn’t happen all at once,” said the Skin Horse. “You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don’t matter at all, because once you are Real you can’t be ugly, except to people who don’t understand.”
- A romantic wedding for a very personable and romantic couple
- This is what they emailed upon arriving back to the U.S.
- Dear Deb,
Alec and I just wanted to thank you for your part in making our wedding ceremony so special.
I wish I could rewind and be standing under that arch again, staring into Alecs’ eyes and hearing your calm voice. It was a fairy tale and we will never forget it.
We haven’t yet received the professional photographs but I wanted to share a couple that was sent to us by one of our guests. Once we receive the others we will be sure to pass them on.
Much love and thanks again,
Aileen and Alec Hansen
