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
