Amber and Adam (Part 2)
Amber and Adam are a wonderful and special couple. Yes, I know I am a bit biased, as I am married to Amber’s brother, Aaron, and I happen to think that my entire family of in-laws is amazing. (And NO, I’m not just saying that because I know several of them will be reading this. 😉)
These two people have a fun and unique wedding story. Amber brought Adam home to meet the family on January 26, and five and a half weeks later on March 6, they eloped! I wrote a blog post that includes photos from their engagement style post-elopement session here. Make sure to check it out if you missed it!
As part of the deal in their decision to elope, Amber and Adam planned to hold a reception later in the year for their friends and family to be able to join them in the celebration of their marriage. However, it turns out that this was not simply a reception. It took place at their church in Hillsboro, and included a wedding-like ceremony, complete with Amber walking down the aisle in a stunning white dress.
The ceremony was officiated by Amber and Adam’s pastor, Scott Muse, as well as Amber’s dad, Don Griffin. This has become a special family tradition that originated with Don officiating his eldest daughter, Annie’s, marriage to Tristan, followed by Abbey’s marriage to Tom, and then of course his son, Aaron’s, marriage to me. It is an incredible thing to be a part of, and it was immensely important to Amber and Adam to have that element woven into their wedding story as well.
As if being the father of the bride and officiant wasn’t enough, Don also baked and decorated the cake with flowers that matched the bridal bouquet. Meanwhile, Amber’s mom, Martha, created the bouquet and coordinated with an army of local church volunteers who showed up to provide a delicious feast of pulled pork sandwiches and an array of colorful vegetables.
There were too many special moments for me to be able to include all in one blog post, but here are a couple more highlights that are just too sweet not to mention.
Weddings (or in this case, post-elopement ceremonies) are joyous occasions where two families come together as one to celebrate the new couple, but they can also be bitter sweet when important family members are not able to be there to join in the celebration. The holes left by their passing will never be filled, but Amber and Adam found a way to make Adam’s dad and Amber’s grandpas a part of their special day by remembering each of them and saving a place for them with a special framed photo of each.
Tears again sprang to my eyes when Amber explained her choice for the Father/Daughter dance. White Christmas didn’t seem like it quite fit the warm September day until she told us all that as a baby, her daddy was only able to get her to sleep by rocking her in his arms while playing that song over and over and over again. I was barely able to pull myself together to be able to capture the special glances that passed between them as Don sang along one last time while whisking his baby girl around the dance floor.
In closing, I just want to say, “Welcome to the family, Adam!” We seriously hit the jackpot with this family we both married into…and Amber obviously hit the jackpot with you, too!
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