Our beautiful daughter was married in our backyard this Saturday. It was a Zoom wedding so that the only people in our backyard were my husband and myself, the bride and groom, and a photographer, and videographer.
But I wanted her wedding to be a special as she is -- and so we transformed our backyard with the most extraordinary flowers - in particular, a spectacular floral arch from Mark's Garden.
My husband was the officiant, and performed the marriage ceremony, I walked the bride down the aisle, and her sisters participated by doing readings, and giving toasts -- and my youngest was the Zoom emcee for the event (a necessary person if you are thinking about a virtual event!).
We had everything an in-person wedding would have: a walk down the aisle, blessings, prayers, flower girls, inspirational readings, wedding songs, vows, kisses, toasts, a cake cutting, and over 100 guests -- but all on zoom! It was a tightly choreographed event - about 45 minutes in length, and we enjoyed every moment. (We're now such experts on Zoom weddings that we think we're going to publish an e-book about it so that others can benefit!)
The groom's parents were not able to attend in person, so they also participated on Zoom. His mom did a reading, and his stepdad gave a toast - it was so good that we could see them and interact with them on such a special day for their son.
Backyards can be magical spaces. Our girls have grown up in our back yard, so seeing our daughter be married here, was incredibly moving for us. And witnessing the commitment of two people to a life together at this particular time, was also very uplifting for us, and I think for all of those who participated in the wedding ceremony.
As my husband said at the beginning of the wedding ceremony:
"Your marriage is a blessing for our family, for our community, and for the world. Marriages are always blessings, but yours today is especially so.You have found the courage to marry in the middle of a pandemic and during a time of turmoil and division in our country and the world. Thank you for being a beacon of hope to us all, and for reminding us that there is always room for more love in the world."
Yes, there is always room for more love in the world. And we feel so blessed to have witnessed a commitment to a very special kind of love in our own backyard.