Every wedding is emotional, of course, but I particularly love how emotional and powerful a small, intimate wedding is. On Thursday, Doug and Tammy were married in front of their fifteen closest family members. As their children, parents, siblings, nieces and nephews watched, Tammy and Doug exchanged vows and became husband and wife. Tammy’s two children, Amber and Brendan, were Maid of Honor and Best Man and fulfilled their promise to get along for a few hours (as a wedding present to their mother :). The wedding and celebration took place at Clyde’s Willowcreek Farm. The original plan was to have the ceremony at Brookside Gardens, but the rain wasn’t having it, so fortunately the reception venue, Willowcreek Farm, turned out to be a gorgeous spot with pretty nooks and crannies and covered porches that helped with their portraits :).

Blake and I are getting married in October and are also going to have a small wedding, like Tammy and Doug. Knowing this, Tammy was nice enough to share with me one of the poems they found and included in their own ceremony. Here is a portion of that poem, “Marriage is a Promise of Love” by Edmund O’Neill, that I love:

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life. Happiness if fuller; memories are fresher; commitment is stronger; even anger is felt more strongly, and passes away more quickly… When two people pledge to love and care for one another in marriage, they create a spirit unique to themselves, which binds them closer than any spoken or written words. Marriage is a promise, a potential, made in the hearts of two people who love, which takes a lifetime to fulfill.

Oh, I love that! It makes me teary-eyed every time I read it. Thanks, Tammy and Doug, and congratulations!!