Wedding Reception

Months ago, my cousin Austin and his fiance Lindsey asked if they could have their wedding reception on the farm. With an Aug. 3 wedding day we figured our biggest risk was extreme heat. Nobody really considered that rain would be an issue. As it turned out, rain was an issue. But only one of stress and worry, not something that got in the way of a beautiful reception. 

Many hours went into transforming our yard into a light-filled wonderland.

 We mostly watched the transformation, never quite sure what would happen next. It was fun to be able to watch and wonder.

 Thursday  night, before they finished hanging lights and before I went inside to put my boys to bed, I snapped this photo from our front porch. It turns out that lights are tough to photograph!

 Friday the final lights went up, the tables showed up, final clean-up around the farm happened. Friday  night a storm blew in - literally. The strands of lights that had been hung so carefully were whipping around, big branches from trees broke off, the power went out and the farm looked like a lake.
Saturday morning, the sun was shining and tree cleanup started first thing.

 At 9am on their wedding day the bride and groom made the decision about where their reception would be. The weather forecast was for at least a 50% chance of rain in the evening.

 They decided to go for it!

 Family and friends showed up to cover tables and put out centerpieces. Chairs were put on top to make sure the covering didn't blow away during the day.

 It turned out to be a long afternoon! Waiting around for a big event is kind of hard to do. Our entire family had to be at church at 4pm for family photos.

After our big Schmidt family photo I snapped this one of the happy couple. It's the only photo I have of the two of them together. Lindsey was gorgeous. Saturday was a hot and super-humid day. The kind of day that makes you want to stay in the air conditioning because when you're outside you feel like a wet dog. Yet, after at least an hour of all outdoor photos Lindsey looked flawless - it was amazing.

 The wedding ceremony itself was beautiful. Lovely music, readings, scripture, congregational singing, meditation, vows the whole deal. It fit Austin and Lindsey and I think that's what makes weddings so special. It's a reflection of the couple and that's always fascinating.
As soon as the happy couple left the church we rushed out of there to get all the last minute reception tasks completed.

 Guests came down the driveway, went through the food line right away and then found a seat. It took a while for 350 people to drive over to the farm, park, get food and sit down but I think it all worked pretty well.

 Her dress was amazing - a good fit for her and she wore it well, comfortable and at ease.

 The boys were in heaven because there were suddenly so many friends (old and new) to play with and show around the farm.

 The chickens had quite a few visitors during the evening.

Little Mabel gave our kittens lots and lots and lots of love.

The lights were amazing. A canopy of golden light gave the reception a sense of magic.

Sparklers sent the happy couple off into the night.

Holding two sparklers and taking photos is actually more challenging then I thought it would be.

Off they went - with blessings and well wishes from their family and friends.