'Tis the Season for Weddings

As of a few days ago, it's officially summer again (at least for my school district) aka time to reenter the blogging world and sigh once again over the fact that even without grad school, I'm not much of a consistent blogger during the school year.  That's ok though because while I didn't do much blogging during the spring semester, I did take a lot of weekend trips.  In fact, I left town eight different weekends between New Year's and Memorial Day.  The predominant theme and reason for these travels: weddings.  In March, I went to three weddings in the span of four weeks.  (It would have even been four weddings if two of the weddings hadn't been at the exact same time/day, but in two different states.)  May brought yet another wedding and mini road trip once again.

This might seem a little overwhelming, and it can be at times. However, it was mostly a joy.  A joy to see dear friends marry godly men and be truly excited for each of these new marriages.  A joy to see how each couple weaved so many personal elements into their celebrations.  And my personal favorite, a joy for the sweet reunions with old and far-away friends that weddings provide.  Here's a recap of my "Wedding Season - Spring 2014":

3.1.14 Cassidy + Kyle: an absolutely perfect Tallahassee day with the high hovering right around 70 degrees, Skyping our friend Kate in the Philippines so she could also "be" there, a reception on the lawn including corn hole and contra dancing, conversations with beloved & wise women from my home church, and a bicycle built for two get-away

3.15.14 Karen + Joseph: a cool but beautiful day in South Bend, IN with snow still on the ground, a ceremony where the bride and groom helped serve us communion, a party complete with Mexican food and pie (after all, they did get married the day after Pie Day) and some of the funniest and sweetest toasts, and the best reunion with a lot of my CFCI/Fresnillo teammates

There were even Mexican cokes :)

So life-giving to be with people who understand the Fresnillo part of my heart

3.22.14 Claire + Eric: a lovely warm evening in West Point, MS, a wedding marked with laughter right from the start, great musical selections during the ceremony including the theme from Anne of Green Gables (love this!) and a Sandra McCracken song, lots of special guests including some of Claire's 7th grade students, and a great day trip with home group friends

5.10.14 Ali + Eli: an overcast day where the rain thankfully held off for their "Wedding in the Woods" at Perry Lakes Park in rural AL, a blue-grass band and dancing, amazing hand-drawn invitations/maps & field guides by Ali, good friends from near and far, and the perfect exit for this outdoorsy couple: canoeing down the Cahaba

Loved seeing Jennifer, my dear Bham friend who now lives in Montana