a witness to great beauty and love....

this past weekend was the wedding of daphne and caleb. i had the honor of being one of daphne's witnesses, as she threw out the traditional "bridesmaid" position. it was great because i got to be a part of the wedding party and all that it entails, but did not have to buy or wear a bridesmaid's dress or carry an awkward bouquet. instead we got to dress ourselves, within the wedding color scheme, and wear beautiful handmade corsages, made by audra mcavaddy. this dress idea came in handy for me, because i am in maternity wear now, being 5 months pregnant, and we all know pregnant girls and bridesmaid dresses just don't mix. thank you daphne and caleb, for including me. it was beautiful and so fun and definitely one of the most unique and memorable weddings in my experience.

the weekend's highlights for me (in words and images):

witnessing daphne and caleb exchange vows. after all these years of watching their love grow, it was touching to watch them bond their lives together. after being so moved emotionally and spiritually by the ceremony, matt and i both commented later about how anyone could take the act of marriage lightly. it is so serious and God-ordained. all wedding ceremonies should be done with this much beauty, depth and spiritual signifigance. the spirit of God was in that chapel.

hanging with sarah lance, all the way from india. it was so great catching up with sarah who flew in from kolkata for the festivities. she brought with her all the beautiful saris that were used as table runners and she wore a beautiful sari herself. i loved hearing about her continued work with wmf india and the women of sari bari.

seeing my boys walk in dressed to the nines. i was away all day doing wedding duties, so matt had to bathe, dress and bring finley to the church on time. and he did! they came in like such gentlemen and i was so proud. finley even behaved himself mostly, though he spent most of the time on the floor.


meeting baby sarah and baby ada for the first time.
the landreths came down from fargo for the wedding bringing 10 week old sarah maya with them. she was even more precious in person! we have already arranged the marriage between her and finley, so their first meeting was important. apparently she made an impression on him, he's mentioned "baby seer-ah" at least once a day since, even in his bedtime prayers!

and twyla o'callaghan came out from atlanta with little ada brigid. also more precious than words. i didn't get to see much of her though since chris heuertz never put her down the whole weekend.

getting the whocares girls together. all but two of the girls from the whocares blog were present at the wedding. i got to see everyone in person and put faces to names and blogposts. what fun!

hanging with caron easley and hearing her sing. caron came out from illinois and was also part of the wedding party.
we haven't been able to hang out since she moved from omaha a few years back. but we laughed and had fun like we did in our troublemaking asbury college days. also, i got to hear her and ali serenade the crowd during the reception and it was lovely!

receiving caleb coppock artwork as a wedding party gift. everyone in the wedding party received a different print of a caleb original. it was such a unique and meaningful gift to receive. we all know starving artists can't just be handing their art out for free. so this one will be framed and cherished!

dancing to the voyage music of breaksea caravel. breaksea caravel is the minneapolis "theatrical orchestra" who performed at the wedding and at mick's the night before. they were so talented and fun, and a blast to dance to. it was great seeing everyone sweat and jive to the music, especially the bride and groom. (here they are performing on another occasion):


and last, but not least, watching brent anderson play the trombone with the band. after the crowd chanted his name to hit the dance floor, he blew us all away by picking up the trombone and playing along with the band to a whole song. we only found out afterward that he had never touched a trombone in his life. perhaps that explains why he was holding it upside down and why he pulled the two pieces apart while trying to play the deep notes. funny and unforgettable - thanks brent.

best wishes, mr. and mrs. coppock, and enjoy your honeymoon in maui!