The Wedding

On Saturday, we took a leisurely 2-minute walk down to Burton’s Coffee Stand to pick up some hot drinks, pastries, and breakfast burritos. We went back to our cottage and ate breakfast out on the deck overlooking the marina and enjoying some relaxing family time.

After a restful morning, we headed for the wedding, which was held at Vashon Field and Pond, about a 10-15 minute drive from our cottage. The setting was beautiful, with Puget Sound as a backdrop, and the Cascades in the distance. Of course, the king of the Cascades, Mt. Rainier, is what everyone was looking for and hoping that he would make an appearance. He tried, and we could make out the slight outline and see the white glaciers, but the horizon haze prevented Mt. Rainier from appearing in all his glory.

However, that may have been appropriate, because the day was not about him. And the beautiful couple, Stephen and Taylor, did appear in all their glory. The wedding was small and intimate. The emcee had some great opening remarks, and Stephen and Taylor’s vows were beautiful. Unfortunately I can’t share any pictures from the ceremony itself, as we were politely asked not to take any photographs during the ceremony. We were allowed to take some at the reception, so I will share a few of those.

After the wedding, we enjoyed a nice cocktail hour while visiting with other family members and friends. The meal was catered by a local restaurant that serves only gluten free food. The food was absolutely delicious.

There were three toasts, one done by Millie (Stephen’s sister), one by Megan (Taylor’s sister), and one by Tom (father of the groom). The toasts were all from the heart and very touching. Millie told a funny anecdote. She shared that Stephen loves to ride his bicycle. Apparently Stephen is also accident prone. After he had moved to Seattle, he was riding his bicycle and got hit by a car. He wanted to let his parents (in Australia) know what happened, so also being a man of few words, he sent this text to his mom (who, due to the time difference, received it at 2 in the morning): "Hit. In an ambulance. I think I'm okay." Yeah, how would you like to receive that message from your child in the middle of the night?

If you've been following the blog and all our adventures on this trip to date, it might seem like this wedding weekend was merely an afterthought - the last thing on the trip agenda. It actually turned out to be the highlight. The visit with family - a family we don't see too often since most of them live in Australia - was thoroughly enjoyable. And the weather was (mostly, see next paragraph) gorgeous, with lots of sunshine.

Near the end of the evening, a thunderstorm was threatening, so all the young people who wanted to continue dancing headed to the barn, and us older folks headed back to our cottage. It was a great day. I'm so glad we made the trip and were able to attend. We feel very privileged to have been able to share in Stephen and Taylor’s special day.

Here are a few pictures from the day.




Tom, father of the groom (and Joe's brother)

The happy couple: Taylor and Stephen

Some of our group, from L to R: Ben (Millie's boyfriend), Millie, Denise, Suzanne


Taylor's parents



Storm threatening



Comments

  1. AnonymousAugust 22, 2024 at 11:42 AM

    What a beautiful family! That is some long trip to get to a wedding ! The wedding is absolutely beautiful what a story y’all head to tell upon y’all arrival.
    I bet it was TIRE-ing, EXAUST-ive, and
    A-VAN-terious! Lol A long way to go could make a person feel very special!
    Glad you made it!
    ELLEN HEBERT HUTCHINSON

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousAugust 22, 2024 at 11:45 AM

    Ops error on that typo it’s had not head
    Ellen

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousOctober 2, 2024 at 6:41 AM

    Beautiful wedding! Even though I’m late in reading all of this, I love hearing about and seeing all the pic’s of relatives that I haven’t seen in so long (and some that I have never met). Good to see everyone looking so well and happy on such a momentous occasion. So glad also that y’all are getting to enjoy all of the adventures and memories that y’all are making through your travels- something to enjoy now and cherish later. 😌
    Cathy

    ReplyDelete

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