A wedding on the beach

Several months ago, my niece sent us a card to mark our calendars for her wedding. When I found out that the July 22nd event would take place on the beach, I had my doubts. ON the beach... amidst beachcombers and families laying on their towels and sitting on their folding chairs. Wind blowing, sand everywhere... what does one wear on a breezy beach? What good are shoes? I had big doubts, having never attended a wedding on a beach before.

However, all my fears dispersed the moment my bare feet stepped onto the warm beach sand, my sandals dangling from carefully manicured (artificial) fingernails. On the upside, there was no need to worry about hair styling... after all, the wind was going to blow it all apart. I cast away my middle-aged worries into the ocean breeze, feeling the freedom of a 23 year old who once had the whole world and a lifetime ahead of her (and in some ways, still does!). Weddings have a way of bringing us back to our own youth, the promises we made, and hopes we planted in our hearts. I love weddings!

It was held on Wrightsville Beach, in the early evening. After the sacred vows were spoken, a Sand Ceremony marked the joining of two families. The pastor explained the steps of the marriage ritual: first the parents of the bride, and then the parents of the groom stepped forward, each to pour a portion of colored sand into separate glass vases. One pair poured blue sand in the one vase, and one pair poured white sand in the other.

                                          

Then the bride and groom each took up their respective parents' vase and simultaneously poured the colored sands into a pretty glass central vase. Very much like a lighting of the candles, except better since there was too much wind to enable candle lighting. The significance of blending the colored sands of the two families did not get lost on any of the family members.

                                             

My niece and her husband looked beautiful in the setting sun. So happy were they to have all their plans realized. I was happy for them... we all were. I would have taken many more pictures, but the professional photographers told us to turn our cameras off, then stole our bride and groom to a short distance away closer to the swaying sea oats. They monopolized every second of the setting sun for their photos.

I sneaked a few anyway, then took photos of the rest of us who were not immediate family and not part of the family photo session. Finally, we decided to leave and head for the reception, which would take about 20 minutes to drive to. 

The wedding was one I will never forget... I wish Bridget and David a long and happy marriage, and may all their dreams come true.

                   

We are family....! This is my SIL, MIL, me and my BIL... my DH took this one. I seldom get to visit with the family, so it was especially nice to talk with them, catch up on family events. SIL will be a grandmother in a few months, her first! Notice my bare feet. It was nice not having to worry about what shoes to wear!

                            

We stayed at a lovely old hotel called The Wilmingtonian, located in historic downtown Wilmington (NC), just a block off the waterfront. A bargain for the location and the room size, with all the amenities. The Wilmingtonian is a complex of several buildings. We stayed in the Maritime House, the Fort Fisher Suite (only $85 a night). I hadn't expected theplace to be as nice as it was... all I knew was that we had reservations close to the reception, in the historic district. I love surprises!

                             

Below, I am standing on our balcony, overlooking a garden style courtyard.

                                     

 

The biggest surprise was the koi pond... you all know how much we miss our yard koi pond. I had no idea this place had a koi pond when we booked the reservations three months ago.   

                                                                       

So glad we stayed there. We could easily have stayed another night or two had we not already made plans to drive on to other U.S. shores. 

 

 I will write about them next. When we get back.

 

Tags: The Wilmingtonian, historic downtown Wilmington, wedding,