Mary's "Second" Wedding

This past Saturday, my niece, Mary Beth, and her husband, Stuart, had their second wedding in a small church in a nearby town. It was lovely, and they were surrounded with family and friends to celebrate with them. Stuart’s dad, David, and Daniel, one of his brothers, flew in from Australia to support him and to meet our family—Stuart’s new in-laws.

The wedding was so pretty! The arch, the bride’s bouquet, and all of the other flowers were in purple and white with greenery. Although I was given the honor of decorating the arch, all of the flowers were done by Mary’s mom, Mae, who is amazingly talented and creative. As you can see in the photos, they are incredible! The men wore dark tuxedos, and Mary’s attendants wore purple. The little flower girl, Halley, was all in white, and the little ring bearer, Koda, even wore a miniature tux. Mary’s brother, Chris, was in charge of all the music and he played his guitar and sang "The Road that Never Ends" as part of the ceremony.

Mary was absolutely beautiful, and she was escorted up the aisle by her dad, Dave, and Chris. Stuart’s best man was his dad, and his brother was his groomsman. The same minister who conducted the first wedding, Dave’s friend, Ronnie, also conducted this one.

The reception was held in a large meeting room at a local hotel. Stuart’s dad David, and Mary’s dad Dave both made beautiful, heart-felt speeches. The bride’s maid-of-honor Diana also spoke of her long friendship with Mary and of her wishes for the couple. And then the feasting began! Mae and her niece Becky had made nearly all of the refreshments, and Stuart had made a yummy authentic Australian dish. Mae also made the chocolate groom’s cake decorated with Stuart’s favorite Australian football team’s emblem and the three-tiered white and purple wedding cake. Needless to say everything was super tasty and very pleasing to the eye!

Chris was in charge of the music for the reception also, and he chose beautiful music for the special wedding couple dance, the father/daughter dance, and the mother/son-in-law dance. Then the rest of us joined in. Now we can tell Mary and Stuart, “I danced at your wedding,” and really mean it! What fun!

Because her college classes begin again this coming week, Mary and Stuart have decided to wait a bit before they take a honeymoon trip. However, her parents took Mary and Stuart, David, Daniel, Chris and his wife Meranda, and yours truly on an overnight trip to Great Wolf Lodge and Kings Island near Cincinnati, Ohio. It was a great opportunity for our two newly united families to get to know each other and strengthen our bond. We had a fabulous time!

It was definitely a grand, happy celebration for two dear people who love each other very much, and it was also a nice way to welcome our new Aussie family members. Now Mary and Stuart can settle into a long and beautiful life together. I wish them both as much love and joy as their hearts can hold, plus a whole bunch more!

Sherry

(If you would like to see more wedding photos, you are welcome to visit my Facebook page! And the lyrics to "The Road That Never Ends" can be found here on Weddings by Rhiannon. Photos courtesy of David Morgan.)