My family relocated to Broken Arrow (it's near Tulsa) Oklahoma 11 years ago - but have always tried to keep our British heritage alive in our family - all 4 of our children have turned out to really enjoy history and travel, and making the trip back to England is, for them, as normal as making a road-trip to Dallas!  So, when my eldest daughter - Ceri Elizabeth Gay - anounced last year that her Okie boyfriend - Jacob Weldon Hall - had finally popped the question, we all soon decided that with her Welsh name and heredity, and his Scottish ancestry we would put on a real show on pomp and ceremony for our wonderful local red-neck friends!

First of all we decided to make it a Renaissance/Celtic/Gaelic style wedding - in full period dress.  Next we settled on a location locally which is actually a State Park with a huge lake, and at this time of year could easily be mistaken for the Scottish countryside, complete with loch.  The groom's mother spent many hours making 'poets shirts' for the groomsmen, and I put together the brides silver-brocade gown and most of the bridesmaids dresses.  Being here in the US of A gave us quite a lot of leeway  when it came to time and style of wedding - the bride and groom chose a close friend to be their 'officiant', and he duly got ordained (via the world wide web) and was able to perform the ceremony, dressed as Friar Tuck, on a Friday afternoon just as the sun was setting.  My daughter had always wanted a 'fairy' for her flowergirl - so a few clicks on the computer keyboard later we had ordered and paid for a beautiful pair of "butterfly wings" to complete her outfit.  In fact, many of our purchases were made online - from the handmade Renaissance style jewellery that the bride wore - to the plates/cups/ice buckets for the reception - to the silver grey boa used to trim the brides full length cape!

The whole wedding turned out to be a wonderful, casual, fun affair (and we all know how much detailed planning goes into making everything so relaxed!!) - the groom's mother said "It was like a big party and the kids just got married in the middle of it!"  Since we wrote the wedding service ourselves, we were able to incorporate everything the bride-to-be and groom-to-be had always wanted.  We had a bible reading from our 150 yr old King James bible - a modern Unity Candle lighting - Exchanging of Vows and Rings - as well as the traditional "for better for poorer, in sickness and in health" speech.  At the conclusion of the ceremony, the groom presented his bride with a sash of his family tartan - complete with a beautiful, imported from Scotland, brooch traditionally given as a sign of betrothal between two clans.

Following the wedding, friends and family enjoyed a 'medieval style' feast, with roasted hams, assorted cheeses, mulled cider and fruit punches.  The tables were decorated with many candles, fresh greenery, assorted nuts and fresh fruit.  Indeed the only thing missing from making this the perfect wedding was that the brides extended family were not able to attend, since her aunts, uncles and cousins all live in the West Country still - whilst her only remaining grandmother has, for some years, lived in Abu Dhabi!

We're all hoping that one day we'll be able to bring the core participants over to the UK for a post-wedding celebration  and honeymoon, not only to give the brides family a chance to be part of this wonderful event, but to give the grooms family a chance to immerse themselves in the history and experience some of the traditions that my family grew up with, and which they have, so far, only learnt about 'second hand'.

If you'd like to see pictures of our beautiful wedding, check out our gallery website at: www.mrsilly.homeunix.org

Just thought you might be interested!!
Dawn Mitchell (very proud Mother of the Bride)

Jake looking manly

Lord and Lady Hall

The Bridal Party