A Sweet and Simple Wedding for Susan and Bill--At Last!

I was so honored to tie the knot for Susan and Bill on Sunday August 30th in my wedding garden. They are such a dear couple--very well matched and very much in love. But, getting married turned out to be a rather complicated and long journey for them and I will tell you why!

To start at the beginning, I met Susan at Debbie and Bill's wedding in August of 2008 at Rose Hill Plantation. She was one of 8 bridesmaids. I did not remember her but when she contacted me several months later, I knew who she was. Susan has the most wonderful sense of humor. Bill is a lucky man to be married to someone who can be so entertaining and also so full of compassion for everyone. She told me that she and Bill wanted to get married but she did not know where to start in planning a wedding. She had not decided on the date or the place but that she knew without a doubt that she did not want anyone but me to marry them! She had loved the ceremony of Debbie and Bill and they had also been to the wedding I officiated for Bill's colleague, Ellen, and her husband, Rob, at the Matthews House, a distinctly different flavor of ceremony.

I ran into Susan again last spring when visiting Karen Harmych and looking at her new wedding venue, The Laura Elizabeth in Clayton. Susan was there with Debbie and Bill. Debbie was wearing her exquisite wedding gown for photos Celeste Parker, a photographer I love working with, was doing a photo shoot for Karen who is also a wedding planner (From this Moment).

Long story short, they finally decided on September 26th at Caffe Luna where they fell in love with not only the restaurant but my friends Ryan (events manager) and Parker Kennedy (owner and my neighbor). With the venue and date in place, Susan and I started working on their ceremony. Susan is a gifted writer and has such a wonderful way with words. I think she should be a professional writer!

During this time I learned that Susan's mother had a serious illness and might not be able to attend the wedding. This was bothering Susan but things were so indefinite she had to go ahead and get things planned. Then about two months before the wedding, I got a note from Susan saying that her mother was doing better but had to have surgery that was scheduled the week of the wedding and she felt like her first obligation was to be with her mother and take care of her during this time so she had to cancel the wedding. Everyone understood, of course, and I threw out the suggestion that she and Bill could always have a small private wedding in my wedding garden just about any time they wanted. So, that is what they decided to do.

We re-wrote the ceremony keeping as much of the humor in it we could with the limited number of guests to pay tribute to and play with! On Sunday August 30th, Susan and Bill (I had not met Bill before although he had been at the two weddings I did earlier) and their best friends, Sharon and Darryl, arrived at my house with flowers, rings, champagne and, of course, the marriage license! And a generous gift certificate for me--so thoughtful, thank you! The weather was just right and they must have cast a spell on the mosquitoes because they were not even biting!

Finally married and time to celebrate at last! (Susan had bought a new dress for the wedding but at the last minute decided that it just was too dressy and would not do. So, her 14 year old daughter, Erica, loaned her dress to Mom. Don't you love it?)

Sharon popped the cork of the special champagne that Susan's boss gave them for the occasion!

Toasts for the happy couple. Susan and Bill, you are two wonderful people. Your teenagers are so lucky to have you as parents and stepparents and you can tell them I said so! Congratulations and I look forward to coming to your big housewarming party when you buy your new house and I will do a House Blessing ceremony for you!