Sunday, May 15, 2011

A Lovely Relaxed Wedding

Yesterday was Malcolm, our oldest son, and Christie's wedding.  The bride and groom radiated joy and happiness.




The weather was misty and rainy and created a beautiful soft backdrop to the photos taken in the gazebo.  Fortunately we got the outdoor photos taken before it really started to rain and the weather didn't really interfere too much with the rest of the day. 





The flowers worked out well and Christie and her sister, who was the maid of honour, were thrilled with them.  




My friend came over on Friday and helped Kate and me make all the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and flowers for the centre of the tables.  Together we were a flower making machine as we had everything made by noon.   Not only that, but I had bought all the flowers from our local grocery store and had had to eyeball the quantity as I wasn't sure how much I would really need.  I figured I could go out and get more if we ran short.  After we were finished making everything I gathered up the leftovers and there were only ten flowers remaining!


On Saturday we went early and had photos taken before the wedding service so it wouldn't interfere with the rest of the day.  After we had finished taking the photos we all needed some coffee.  You can see in the photo below the bride and groom standing in the coffee shop with their timbits and coffee.  Oh so Canadian!




The wedding service was personal and lovely.  The fathers of the bride and groom served communion, friends played the piano, sang a solo, and played during the signing of the register, and my brother read a scripture reading, and my Mother said the prayers.   I loved how the church was decorated with colourful banners - such a gorgeous backdrop for the wedding. 




The reception afterward was an afternoon tea, which perfectly suited Malcolm and Christie.  



There were several types of tea along with coffee and punch.  There were sandwiches, crackers and cheese, veggies, scones with a variety of jams, a dessert table,





and cupcakes instead of a traditional cake along with a fruit bouquet.  It was delicious and casual and fun.



I had suggested to Christie's mother that we give each other's child a special cup to use at the afternoon tea.  Christie's family is from the Netherlands so her Mother bought Malcolm a cup from the Dutch shop in town.   I decided to go with a sentimental cup.  My Mother and Father were given many tea cups at their wedding 55 years ago (some of which she has given to me) so I asked my Mother is she would be willing to give one to Christie, which she did.  So my Mother selected this one for Christie from her collection.  You can see Malcolm and Christie using their special cups in the photo below.




Malcolm and Christie had sent out an email ahead of time letting everyone know that they would kiss at the reception, but not when people clinked on glasses.  They would only kiss when someone sang a song, told a story, recited a poem etc.  Everyone was very creative and it was a lot of fun.  Jonathan and I told three stories about how smart, charming, and frugal Malcolm is and how we can see these same qualities in Christie and what a great match they are and how we have enjoyed seeing them grow in love and affection for each other.




 We wish you well Malcolm and Christie!



May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.

May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.



31 comments:

  1. Lovely! Weddings are exhausting but the memories are worth it. Congratulations, Malcolm and Christie!

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  2. I do love seeing a wedding without all the fanfare of a huge reception and a wedding planner. Much more personal and intimate. You did a wonderful job of those flowers!

    Congrats to the bride and groom.

    PS. is that a lemon square that is making me hingry this morning?

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  3. Lovely! What a wonderful way to celebrate their wedding with family and friends. The flowers turned out so beautifully! Congratulations to the bride and groom.

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  4. It's all beautiful, Grace - love the second image of you and your husband too.. This was a ceremony that clearly represented the bride and groom, always the best kind. Congrats to all!

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  5. Congratulations!! Looks like you had a wonderful day celebrating the newly married couple!!

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  6. Oh Grace what a lovely day...and the flowers are absolutely perfect. Such an accomplishment...now get some rest! ~Ann

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  7. What a lovely wedding. The flowers are beautiful and I love the images of the sweets table. Congratulations.

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  8. It seems like you all had the perfect day. I love the bride's dress. It looks so comfortable and feminine.

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  9. Congratulations Grace! What a beautiful wedding! I love that the wedding was intimate and personal and meaningful! You did an amazing job on the flowers! Angie xo

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  10. Such a lovely wedding. I love that first picture you posted of Malcolm and Christie and loved the pictures of you and your husband.

    Congratulations to all, and love and best wishes to the bride and groom.

    FlowerLady

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  11. Oh congratulations!!! This was my kind of wedding; beautiful, meaningful and not over the top. The flowers are amazing and so vibrant. You did a great job with everything including raising what seems to be a great son. Best wishes to them!!!

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  12. Congratulations to Malcolm and Christie !!
    Wishing them a happy , healthy life together!!

    Pamela xo

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  13. What a wonderful wedding! I wish them well and your flower arrangements were lovely. Great job! Kit

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  14. That wedding seems like pure perfection to me and a wonderful sign of how those two gorgeous young people will move through their lives together. Well done to all of you and a huge high five on the flowers Grace :)

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  15. Oh Grace it was simply beautiful, down to the last detail!! It made me misty seeing how much in love they are! And what a lovely day they had spent with friends and family, which is what a wedding should be about!

    Kat :)

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  16. This was oh so Canadian! Lovely wedding without a bunch of fanfare. Love her dress. And that second pic of you and hubby.

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  17. Congratulations, how wonderful a sweet intimate wedding without the stress, that is how it should be.

    Carol

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  18. Congratulations! What a beautiful wedding. I love all of the special touches. LOVE the tea cups the mothers gave . . . love that they only kissed when someone sang a song, recited a poem etc. It's so much mor personal and fun. I made all the bouquets at my wedding too (there is a link at the top of my page if you've never read about my DIY wedding :-) It's a lot of work, but so worth it! Congrats again!

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  19. You did a beautiful job with the flowers! Congratulations~it looks like a wonderful day, and a happy addition to your family.

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  20. How funny.. I was just thinking today, I wonder if Grace's son has had his wedding yet? I remember reading about it when he became engaged, how amazing that I thought of it on the day! It all looks simply beautiful, you must have felt so proud. Rachaelxx

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  21. Everything is so lovely! I can't believe you did the flowers. Beautiful.

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  22. Oh how happy and excited you all look. What a lovely wedding. Congratulations to you all.

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  23. Much happiness wishes for the newlyweds.

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  24. Oh, what a wonderful wedding! I can just see how happy everyone is! Beautiful couple, beautiful flowers, beautiful parents! Love the teacup tradition you've started for the kids! Did you know that I'm hostessing my annual Wedding Blog Party on June 10th and this would be such an awesome post for you to link up then (plus any future posts as I'm sure you will have LOTS of wonderful pictures and ideas!! Come read my blog and let me know if you would be interested in participating! Best wishes to that lovely couple!

    Big TX Hugs,
    Stephanie
    Angelic Accents

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  25. congratulations to you and your family. it sounds like a very meaningful and memorable day.
    the flowers turned out amazing and i want to spend about 30 minutes at that dessert table! thanks for sharing.

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  26. The flowers were gorgeous. What a wonderful wedding. Congrats to the bride and groom! And you too :)

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  27. ive really been enjoying reading your blog and wanted to say what a beautiful couple your son and daughter in law make

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  28. Bonsoir and Merci! Just dropped by to say thank you for your participation in our April event. Your comments are appreciated! And, congrats to you and your family. Just beautiful! Hope you have a lovely Sunday Grace ~ Au Revoir

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  29. Congratulations! What a beautiful, happy couple, and the flowers are gorgeous! I love the idea of the tea cups, and those desserts are really making me hungry :)

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  30. I'm browsing around blogs at the moment and looking at various peoples weddings in preparation for mine next year. Looks like a beautiful wedding and they are lovely photos. The flowers are magnificent! The tea cups are a really quirky idea too. :)

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