"My favorite moment had to be when the bagpiper took his first note."

This was it and it was more than I ever could imagine.

 Each person there traveled so far and played such an important part in the wedding. I honestly was overwhelmed at the love and support that surrounded us. When it came down to it there was not a moment’s hesitation THIS was our wedding. Every piece of it had a story and a person behind it. Each part of the wedding came together, not as an event, but more as a definition. It was a definition of family, friends, commitment and love. I look back on our wedding and I know this is what marriage means.

A good family friend of ours and her daughter offered to take photos of our wedding. While they are very talented, they do not do this as a living and the moments that they caught were so unscripted and raw that I could not help but falling in love with every photo.

We always knew we were grounded by our family, but we also re-discovered those old friends who cross so seamlessly into our lives forever. My mom said it best, “I didn’t realize that weddings are also really a tribute to old friends.” There they are, setting up chairs in a mountain meadow, arranging flowers at midnight, blowing up hundreds of balloons.

In our wedding we chose this passage,” Marriage is perhaps the greatest and most challenging adventure of human relationships. No ceremony can create your marriage; only you can do that – through love and patience; through dedication and perseverance; through talking and listening, helping and supporting and believing in each other; through tenderness and laughter; through learning to forgive, learning to appreciate your differences, and by learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest.”

“By learning to make the important things matter, and to let go of the rest.” I hope to live by these words for the rest of my marriage.

 Our bagpiper Shawn was able to create a haunting and peaceful sound that seemed to reverberate off the mountains. We asked the guest to parade down to their seats and then my Dad and I followed to the song Amazing Grace.

 Our friends and family played a huge role in the wedding, but in the end I knew it was a commitment between the two of us. We chose to stand and say our vows alone, together. This was our first step forward as a family and our commitment to each other. Looking back it was the perfect decision for us.

Reception photos next.