last friday (june 5), john and i celebrated our 10 year anniversary! he had a big weekend planned for us, but kept it all a secret from me. that morning, a friend came to watch the kids and we left. john took me just a few miles outside of town to a beautiful home on 20 acres of pastureland. it is situated on one of the highest hills in brenham- the views were amazing! i am a sucker for long flowy grass, and this place was surrounded by it.
up to this point i thought that this was the surprise- a quiet weekend in a big ol' house. john's cell phone kept going off, and i was getting annoyed. i kept telling him to just turn it off, but he finally let on that something was going on the next day and he needed to keep in touch (not to mention the children at home!). i should add here that i really don't like surprises. my brain needs to be prepared for situations. so this was making me a little crazy. i kept reminding myself to just let it go- that whatever he had planned would be wonderful. he told me that our families were coming up for lunch. easy! i could do that!
saturday morning my parents were bringing the kids up to meet us. when they pulled up in our car i couldn't make out the driver. i mean it kinda looked like my sister, but she lives in san francisco. why would she be here? but out she came. holding a dress. holy cow- this was a bigger deal than i thought! john finally told me that we would be having a small ceremony 'to celebrate our love'. can i say that sweating and hives soon followed? there's only one thing i hate more than surprises- being the center of attention! he reminded me that it was going to be laid back, just family and a few friends, and that, yes, people might be looking at me, but that's ok! so after an hour of being sequestered to the master suite of the house, i began to get really excited.
my sister and the kids and i walked out around the house to find a small crowd seated just off the porch. they were on hay bails and quilts and our dear friend
joel was singing one of my favorite songs- 'i do' by edie brickell. the scene was overwhelming. i just couldn't even fathom all of this was for me! people coming in from san francisco, austin, san antonio, dallas and houston! i met john by the steps and our friend justin prayed over us. we sat on a nearby hay bail and justin read some
scripture to us and offered us some words and a blessing. that was really special to us- he read the same scripture that had been read at our wedding.
after that joel sang 'if you needed me' by townes van zandt while john prayed over our little family. he then presented a gift to me. about 6 months ago he had asked me what i wanted for our anniversary. i said 'a new camera' or 'a vita-mix', but he made it clear that he wanted to get me some new jewelry. i don't really wear jewelry, so i asked him that if that's what he wanted to do, to make it something really special. i think my exact words were 'something antique-ish', and he did. he asked my grandmother if she had any heirloom jewelry that i could have. she passed down the pearls my grandfather had given her on her wedding day. john had them re-silked and cleaned. they are beautiful and aged, the prettiest pinky gray color. i was blown away by that. they are just perfect.
the ceremony was quick. john told me later that he had planned on sharing some words with me but that it was too hot! so we moved on to lunch on the giant porch. i must say here that no detail was left unchecked. john had assembled some very sweet friends of mine to cover each area. brandy was on flowers and decorating. one of the times i cried that day was when she handed me my bouquet. it had basil and rosemary in it. i mean, i couldn't have planned anything more perfect. the tables were covered in burlap and set with fine china. the only color was the yellow of the wild flowers and the pink in moonpie's roses. and the food! debbie and amy were on food, and it was amazing! so many fresh baked loaves of bread, smoked bar-b-q (because we're texans and it just ain't a get together without the b-b-q!), salads, fresh picked fruit, and lots of desserts! a few raw cobblers for me made by debbie, and lots of chocolate and cream for john brought by the grandma's!
the most surprising element for me though, was my dress. my sister designs clothes, and she had designed a dress for me! she had a pattern maker and a seamstress work with her to create the most perfect dress- just for me! i was floored. i mean, it fit perfectly, had blue in it and was topped off with vintage buttons.
it was my dream wedding dress! err,
re-wedding dress.
this day was amazing. and it's even hard for me to put it all in words because i was truly so surprised and overwhelmed by all of the love. truly. every detail that john had either put together himself or described to 'his ladies' was better than anything that i could have done.
his love for me, and their love for me, was so evident in every twist of bread, every stitch, every flower, every mile travelled and every thought.
this day that john planned was a celebration of our love for each other and for our children. so entirely perfect...i just can't even begin to say how wonderful it was. reading back over this i am sure that i have left something out, not given full justice to all the love, but i'm incapable. i'll just let a few choice pictures speak for me.
***special thanks to grandma kathy and clover for these wonderful pictures!***
