The Wedding ~ Part Two

 When I was going through the pictures to choose which ones to share, it struck me how sweet and poised and classy these girls are......

 with a little bit of silly sister giggles thrown in....

 AND THEN - there's the guys.  This is such an accurate depiction of Kirsten's personality juxtaposed against Tim's personality!  They are a perfect match and compliment each other so well.

 He always makes her laugh, and he makes everyone around her laugh also!

 As a special part of the wedding ceremony, Kir and Tim did a tree planting.  They asked each parent and grandparent to bring some soil from their yards, including the yards Tim and Kir grew up in. During the ceremony, each mother and grandmother came forward and poured their soil into the pot that Kir and Tim would plant their tree in.  It was a beautiful picture of two family "trees" being joined together into one. 

Perhaps the sweetest moment of all was when the littlest sister Boo started getting teary as soon as she saw her sister walking down the aisle.  Her tears continued on and off throughout most of the ceremony.  They were happy tears and she was so confused by them, which made it even sweeter. 

The wedding officiant was Tim's youth pastor from where he grew up in Ohio.  That is one happy Tim looking at his bride! 

 Papa G read some scripture and he too started with the tears!! Which of course made Boo start again....

 which basically had everyone reaching for the tissues!

Punkin's "Uncle Webb" read an excerpt from a C.S. Lewis writing.

 They exchanged their vows which were written in their special journal ~ (you can read about their journal in Part One by clicking here).

 The rings....

The tree planting and family soil combining....

 Side note: The week leading up to the wedding had us all on the edge of our seats as a massive hurricane was heading straight toward Florida where ALL of our family would be traveling from. Thankfully almost everyone still made it to the wedding, but the soil that was collected from Nana and Papa's yard was still VERY wet from all the rain.  Nana had quite a bit of trouble getting hers to come out of the jar! 

One year later, their little pine tree is growing and thriving.  They plan to take a photo with their tree each year on their anniversary.  Right now it's in a large pot and when they buy their first home they will plant it there. I can't wait to see the future pictures of how big that little tree gets! It's such a beautiful analogy of not only their family roots, and starting a family "tree" of their own, but how a marriage grows through careful attention, love and nurture.  

THE KISS!!

I love how Punkin included books as part of the centerpieces.  She has always had a deep love for reading and classical literature. She wanted simple and natural arrangements in a casual weathered box.   I just appreciated how it was such a sweet representation of who they both are.  

Our very kind neighbor made these custom designed corn hole boards as a gift for Tim and Kir.  

 (I may or may not have been thinking "One wedding down - two to go!!")

 Special photos with grandparents. 

 The photo above with her Nana and Papa kissing her is one that we have taken at every special event, big or small - from when she was a little baby, to birthday celebrations, to high school graduations. One day I will get them all collected and in one place and it will be such a treasure!

 Me and my sisters!

 The whole gang!

I love this photo - our bride and groom just beginning their journey of marriage sandwiched in between their parents who have been married for 26 and 30 something years.  We prayed for Tim long before we ever knew his name. There were times as Punkin was growing up that I felt a sudden urge to stop immediately and to pray for her future husband, and I did just that.  As we have shared stories with Tim over the years, I know without a doubt that some of those times matched up to times in his life when he needed our prayers.  Those prayers and so many others like it, along with the grace of God, led these two to each other.

If you missed Part 1 you can read it by clicking HERE.  Part 3 is HERE. and Part 4 is HERE.