Holy matrimony!

It was a weekend of weddings. I went to both the wettest wedding I've been to and the shortest wedding I've been to (mutually exclusive). Both weddings were outside and with all of the rain we've been getting around here, I was curious to see whether they would actually occur outside.

We were convinced that Saturday's wedding would be at the church instead of outside since it had rained, but when we got to the church, there were no cars in the lot. Out at the farm, I was somewhat worried that my car would get stuck in the mud. I got a kick out of the pastor thanking God in a prayer for the break in the rain providing a window of opportunity for the wedding and then probably five minutes later, it was totally raining. Umbrellas went up throughout the crowd, which of course resulted in blocking some people's views. My dress was pretty wet and my program was pretty soggy before the pastor said he was going to ask us to do something pretty unusual -- to pick up our chairs and take them to the large tent set up about 50 yards away where the wedding would resume. The meal afterward was crazy delicious, and the "cake" was really cool; it was tiered tables of cupcakes.

Sunday's wedding fared better in terms of weather. It was late evening and very beautiful. And it was very down-to-business, lasting less than 15 minutes, I believe. One guest was a bit late and missed the whole thing! I loved the atmosphere in the reception tent because by that time it was pretty dark outside, and the tent was lit with paper lanterns. The dinner was really, really good (as were the beverages). I had so much fun at the reception with a group of friends from high school, including of course the conversation that could be titled, "Remember Mark Smith's girlfriends?" during which I (perhaps a little bit tipsy) blurted out, "Remember the one that looked just like him?"

Oh, plus, bonus! I got to get a [share of a] water buffalo in their name through Heifer International as a wedding gift! And I have had a years-long wish to gift someone with a water buffalo!