The Marriage of Rich and Sarah - 11♥12♥13

We are gathered here today to witness Rich and Sarah to be united in marriage.  We are here to celebrate and share in the glorious act that God is about to preform, the act by which He converts their love for one another into the holy and sacred act of marriage.

Being assured that your love and your choice of each other as lifelong companions are in God's will, let us now enter into a lifelong commitment to one another.

Marriage is a decision of two individuals to share the same type of pure love described in the Bible. These words are given to help us face challenges and differences in our relationship:

"Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no records of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

This kind of love enriches each part of life and marriage enriches love. Two lives, shared with this kind of love, can hold more fulfillment and happiness than either life alone.

Rich, do you take Sarah to be your wedded wife, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love her, to honor and cherish her, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to her in all things a good and faithful husband as long as you both shall live?

Sarah, do you take Rich to be your wedded husband, to live together after God's ordinance in holy matrimony? Do you promise to love him, to honor and cherish him, in joy and sorrow, in sickness and in health, and to be to him in all things a good and faithful wife as long as you both shall live?

For thousands of years lovers have exchanged rings as a token of their vows, let these rings be a sign that love has a past, a present, and a future through you and with you.

Rich, take Sarah's ring and place it on her finger, and repeat after me:

I Rich, take you, Sarah, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and tears, in conflict and peace, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.  I give you this ring as a sign that I chose you, to be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days. Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you.

Sarah, take Rich's ring and place it on his finger, and repeat after me:

I Sarah, take you, Rich, as my friend and love, beside me and apart from me, in laughter and tears, in conflict and peace, asking that you be no other than yourself, loving what I know of you, trusting what I do not know yet, in all the ways that life may find us.  I give you this ring as a sign that I chose you, to be my lover, my partner and my best friend, to the end of my days. Wear it, think of me, and know that I love you.

Now, Rich and Sarah, continue to hold hands.

These are the hands of your best friend, that are holding yours on your wedding day, as you promise to love each other all the days of your life. The love already shared by your hearts has been strengthened by the vows you have taken from now until the end of your days. These are the hands that will passionately love you and cherish you through the years, and with the slightest touch will comfort you like no other. These are the hands that will work alongside yours, as you build your future together, these are the hands that will hold you whenever illness, fear or grief may find you. These are the hands that will give you strength when you need it. These are the hands that even when wrinkled and aged, will still be reaching for yours.

Let us pray: Our Father, as you have heard these words of promise just spoken, may the Holy Spirit deepen in the mind of this man and this woman the sense of the sacred and binding power of their vows. Give them your grace and guidance that they may fulfill the vows they have made to each other. May Your joy abide with them always, that they may be a blessing to each other, and to those about them. Amen.

In that, Rich and Sarah, you have now consented together in holy matrimony, and have made this commitment before God and have pledged your love and loyalty to each other, I pronounce that you are husband and wife.

Rich, you may kiss your very excited bride.

Now may the love that that's brought you together continue to grow and enrich your lives.

May you met with courage the problems that arise to challenge you.

May your relationship always be one of love and trust.

May the happiness you share today be with you always.

And may every word you have pledged here be a living truth in your lives.

May it be so.

A HUGE thanks to Brian Potter Photography who did an amazing job of capturing the love and fun that this day held for us - thank you, thank you, thank you!  All of the above photos can be credited to him.

To see more of Brian's awesome shots from our special day, go here.

We could do it, ya know....



There’s a photo in our camper that reads: “We could do it, ya know. Run away and live in the woods.”  After this week’s trip to Lake Brownwood State Park, I think that we really could!  It was  our first camping trip as husband & wife~ yep, that's right:

We got hitched!

After our engagement, we started to talk through wedding plans and locations and realized that the logistics of having a big shindig were going to be a nightmare: we have family and friends in Houston, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Raleigh and Tucson - Where do we have the wedding? Who's grandparents won't be attending? Are we going to make our groomsmen and bridesmaids travel?  Who gets to be the flower girl?  It all seemed like one big stress-filled issue after another. Isn't a wedding supposed to be about two people making a life long commitment to each other? When did it turn into some commercialized event with questions like: seated dinner or buffet, and should we do bubbles or fireworks for the send off? 

So the thought of a small, intimate wedding became our focus.  RDB had mentioned earlier in the summer that he liked the sequential dates of 11-12-13 and 12-13-14 (and I didn't want to wait another year to get married) so it all just seemed to fall into place - we'd elope in less than 2 months, invite our parents, and start the first few days of our married life together focusing on the most important things: each other. 

We found a Bed and Breakfast - The Star of Texas B&B - that not only had beautifully appointed cottages for our parents to stay in, but also offered elopement packages at a ridiculously reasonable price. (Reason #267 as to why we eloped - weddings are expensive!)  Getting married like this - with just our parents in attendance - was the most amazing and sweet and loving thing RDB and I could have done. 

The pathway leads to Mom's cottage.

We're in a Tipi - you can 'rent' from the B&B!

RDB’s parents, A&R, flew into town Saturday afternoon and we left out for Brownwood Sunday morning.  The drive across from Houston is long and uneventful (and in case you’re wondering – there’s not a single gas station that offers diesel and has a Subway in it. Huh.)  We got to the State Park right at 5 and I started dinner (love my Greenling pre-fix dinners!)  Mom had already checked into the bed and breakfast where she and A&R were staying for the week.  Our camper is big, but it’s not *that* big! 

Lots of hanging around at the campsite - we had an amazing spot: Site 88 in the full hook-ups loop.  When we pulled in Sunday night the park rangers had suggested it and we only had two neighbors.  Monday morning they both raised anchor and we ended up with the entire campground to ourselves.  It was magical!

I had planned for us to do a few meals at the campsite, but also left room open to explore some of the local joints - RDB likes the idea of adding in a few restaurant reviews to the blog - and hey, it means I don't have to do clean-up! We went into town Monday and ate lunch at Underwood's Cafeteria and BBQ.  It's been a long time since I've had cafeteria food - and my goodness, this stuff was awesome! I could have drunk the BBQ sauce like water it was so delicious.  RDB was in love with the hot rolls that kept coming around on trays fresh out of the oven, and the apple and cherry cobblers didn't disappoint either!

We had a photography session with Brian on Monday afternoon - so that we could get comfortable in front of his lens before the wedding, and so we could get a few family photos with Diesel in them.  He did such an awesome job - and even provided a few of the campsite shots with our rush order - we were incredibly impressed both with his professionalism and the way he made us feel so at ease.

The rest of the evening was spent grilling out steaks and enjoying (just a few) bottles of wine.  It was such a treat to have RDB's parents and my Mom with us that evening - so that they could get to know each other better and we really could start to blend our families together.  I am so happy that all of my parents (Mom, Dad and Bunny, and now A&R) get along so well.  Dinner after the wedding at The Turtle Restaurant the next evening was such a sweet time, too. 

Tuesday morning (wedding day!) Dad and Bunny came over to the campsite for breakfast and we sat and talked for a while about tree farms and raising catfish.  RDB and I have been thinking about purchasing some acreage somewhere in the future to be our permanent camping spot and when you tell Dad that you've got an idea for something, he goes all out about it (remember buying the Pop-Up?) Yep, he found 49 acres just north of Houston in less than 2 hrs after I told him what we were looking for.

RDB and I parted ways for the rest of the afternoon - I had errands to run (picking up the flowers, getting my hair done) and he had the chance to spend a little more time just him and his parents at the campsite.  We didn't see or talk to each other again until just before our vows.  I had been getting ready in Mom's cottage at the B&B and he had been getting dressed in his parent's cottage.  When the time came, he was waiting for me and at his first look, all he could say was: "You look great." over and over again.  This man melts my heart.

A few more camping photos are here, and we'd be honored for you to attend our wedding here.