Attention to Detail

On Tuesday I posted about the emotions of the wedding: what I was feeling that day, etc. That is one aspect of what my wedding meant to me. As an anthropologist, I believe that weddings are all about bringing families together. Marrying for love is a very new concept; it used to be nothing more than a contract between two families for their children to marry one another for social, economic, and political reasons.

Cynical as that may be, I still think that. Of course I love Grant unconditionally but if it were just about us then I would’ve just had a small, private ceremony. This wedding was about our friends and family becoming one to celebrate our union. This meant that I incorporated a lot of details from friends and family that had personal, historical, or symbolic meaning.

First it’s important to point out that we got married in a church. Neither of us identify as Christian but it is a church that I adore, and a Pastor who I have the utmost respect for. The ceremony itself was very short (under 20 minutes) and it wasn’t too heavily religious. It was just the right mix of everything we wanted.

The reception took place at the Elkridge Furnace Inn: a historic manor house that played a role in the civil war (including part of the underground railroad). We had a tent outback so that guests had a view of the garden and of the river.

The history and beauty of the place was heightened by the gorgeous Spring day. The history didn’t stop there. As I mentioned before, our wedding was all about the melding of the different families. We incorporated a lot of different historical and personal items from various family members and friends. Below is the list of those items:

- Toasting Glasses: My parent’s that they used from their wedding, bearing a green stem and a Celtic knot

- Cake Topper: Bells from my parent’s wedding

- Engagement Ring: My mother-in-law’s grandmother’s ring from Germany
- Pendant: My Bestemor’s (Grandmother in Norwegian) opal
- My garter: My something blue with a Penn State logo, made by the lovely Renee over at Sosanna’s Closet

All of these things were essential, and though most people would not know the meaning behind them, it meant the world to me. The fact that we could incorporate all these different items really felt like a mix of all the great things in our families. Little details and rituals like this were important in capturing the true meaning of our union.