I Now Pronounce You Husband and Wife...


Well, they are married so I guess it was a successful adventure!

What a wonderful weekend-- from the time we left the house Thurs. at 8 am (after a mad search for a hidden cat) to picking up Anita and Ed at the Portland Airport (sister time officially began)
to the check in at our hotel (a free upgrade for the parson and his wife-- whoot whoot!) to the evening cookout down on the farm!

Kelsey's dad hosted us all-- various family and friends-- both neighbors and those from out of town-- with a magnificent spread of food all produced on the farm. Dan and his buddies were gone on Dan's bachelor party overnight camp out. But we met Kesley's family and had a great time just relaxing, enjoying music and wine (Terry McDuffee, Kelsey's dad-- grows grapes for wine) and taking in some amazing terrain and gorgeous flower gardens.

Friday was a pampering day. While Bruce spent a lot of time down by the river going over the ceremony, Anita and I were getting pedicures with the bride and her bridal party. Aaaaah, nothing says special like a pedi! Rehearsal was also that day. We gathered around 5 amidst sprinkles that eventually turned into a down pour and ran thru the ceremony and met more bridal party participants and guests. then it was on to the mexican buffet for the rehearsal dinner. oh my--- there was just too much eating and too much wine tasting during this whole event... it's going to take me days to recover, lol.

Sat. Wedding Day! We had most of the day however to just relax at the hotel and visit with more family who had arrived late the night before. We arrived at the farm around 2;30 and helped shift things around when it was obvious that the rain was making an outdoor wedding too challenging. So the ceremony was moved into the barn, where it was already set up for the reception. Move a few tables, create a walk way... it's all good!

at 4;30 the wedding party started coming in.... the pastor took his place.... and it went off without a hitch-- or--- well--- they did get hitched so I guess I can't say it went off without a hitch. anyway-- it went great! Bruce was totally relaxed and comfortable in his role thanks to a lot of prayer and preparation! People were surprised that this was the 1st time he's ever done this and quite a few folks were sure he was a pastor in real life. hmmmmm....

the reception was a lot of fun--- some great moving toasts offered by family and friends, a lot of high energy dancing and an amazing unique dinner... an all around good evening-- who cares if it was pouring down rain outside?

Sunday morning a few of us met at Sorosis Park for brunch and then a game of frisbee golf for those who wanted. Later Bruce and I with Anita and Ed in tow, took a nice scenic drive across the Columbia River and toured the Mary Hill Museum, the Stonehenge Replica memorial and enjoyed photo op's and chocolate stops along the way!

We gathered back at the farm Sun. night for a final get together; another fabulous dinner and watched the newlyweds open gifts. Monday morning, the crowd was thinned down to just us and most of the VanderElst clan and we chatted over breakfast before finally saying our goodbyes.
then it was a drive back to Portland to take Anita and Ed back to the airport.... and a good bye to them.... sniff sniff...

Bruce and I got home Mon. around 8 pm after stopping for dinner in Sedro Wooley. We were exhausted but happy from the whole adventure. We felt God's hand on us through the whole thing, experienced many opportunities to share about Jesus and how His spirit brought us to the place we are at. That's the best part of all!