Married on a Cliff !

After packing our belongings Mo and I set off from Berea, our summer home where I had been house sitting with my good friend Ian Paine, and Mo rooming with another good friend Haley Collins. As we drove away from the little green town, it dawned on us that for the first time in five years for me, and six for Moriah, we were leaving Berea--for good. This was the last time for who know how long, we would drive the familiar road to Richmond with the army depot on the right, and endless cow fields and scattered urban developments. The adventure had begun!

A week later found us on the eve of our wedding. Admittedly, the week was one of the longest weeks in memory! So many little details to iron out. But with amazing family and friends everything came together fantastically.

We made wild plans, very much in character with who we are as a couple, for the ceremony. We chose to be married near to natural bridge, on the ridge top. The only way to arrive at the site was by a half-hour hike, or a half-hour sky lift ride (not for the faint of heart).

When the day of the wedding arrived, the forecast was anything but friendly. The outside temperature was predicted at 95 Fahrenheit with a humidity of 90%. To make matters worse, the forecast showed scattered thunderstorms. From the rehearsal on Friday, we knew that, standing in the sun, the wedding party would be totally drenched in sweat and sunburned by the end of the ceremony. SO we decided to get the pictures beforehand in the shade. But when 3 o'clock rolled around a thunderstorm warning was issued, and a steady torrential downpour ensued. What to do!? It was too late really, to change plans.

After twenty minutes, the rain stopped completely. We ventured outside for pictures, and soon after made our way to the bottom of the skylift. As Mo and I boarded the skylift, we questioned whether we would be a drenched mess by the top. The thunder crack was threatening! Would we continue with the ceremony? If nothing else, it would make a memory we would never forget.

The skylift ride to the top of natural bridge was breathtaking. Acres of new york, beech, and maiden hair ferns carpeted the path below the skylift. We climbed steadily higher, looking back we could see the mist rising from the valley like swirls of magic. Instead of falling victim to a deadly humid oven, or treacherous thunderstorms, the Creator smiled on us with a glorious display. Now the air was cool, with a slight breeze.

The musicians, being my uncle Pete, and my brother Reuben set up at the chosen ceremony site--overlooking the valley below and natural bridge. They began to play, and guests started to arrive in steady procession from the sky lift.

Once everyone arrived, the ceremony began, and it was happening! I cannot recount in words how special it was to be surrounded by the friends and family to witness and share such joy. Both Moriah and I fought back tears as we joined our lives together.

And just like that, after all those years, months, weeks and days, we were married. We were the last two people to ride the skylift down the mountain.

"Was it for real? Did this really happend?"

It was real, though we could hardly believe it. Everything was so magical. And now we would walk the rest of our days, hand in hand, through life together. We had entered a new chapter of life and marked it with a ceremony we will remember for the rest of our lives.

We drove to the celebration with Reuben, and our good friends Caleb and Elaine. We talked about all the things that friends talk about, just like old times...only better.

The reception was in a beautiful old tobacco barn on a peninsula above the Kentucky river. Our dear friends Kim and Fred were incredibly generous in hosting such a party. They had put hours of work into preparing it.

The pastures were newly mowed, and deeply green, and they had made a giant sculpted mushroom out of wood for a bonfire to celebrate the occasion. Friends and family set up and enormous charcuterie spread for all to enjoy. We ate, shared memories, and danced away the night around the burning mushroom sculpture.