Lizzie and Jed happily embrace at the alter following the reading of their vows at Riverside Farm.
When people ask how my daughter’s wedding was, I hesitate to answer — a rare occurrence, I might add! With clients in the wedding market, I know that any words I use will sound trite when compared to the actual experience of all who were present for the deeply moving ceremony. Inspired by the wedding my husband and I had in Vermont over three decades ago, this was “VT Wedding – Round Two,” as Lizzie’s Instagram caption read, accompanied by an image of David and I sitting on bales of Hay, relaxed and in love after our wedding.
The same feeling came back three decades later. Everyone – across the generations, from one to ninety-five years of age – felt as though we were the only people alive in the whole world, nestled dearly in a meadow against the backdrop of redolent farmland and the grand Green Mountains.
When Jed surprised Liz on bended knee the afternoon he greeted her at the door of their apartment to pop the big question, immediate family were gathered at a nearby restaurant waiting to surprise her to celebrate after she accepted. Bear in mind, her glee was pretty much a fait accompli, as she had asked him only weeks ago, “So, Jed, what’s your timetable for getting married?” He’d responded, “two years.” The reason it came only weeks later? When Jed asked for my blessing over the summer he got right to the point, as Jed always does: ” Lorraine, there’s no time like the present.” I like a man who acts precipitously.
Finding the Perfect Venue
When Liz and Jed set out in Vermont to find the perfect venue, it was clear to them Riverside Farm was tops. Nothing could come near to the complete package of this property, comprised of multiple structures from Aimee Farm, which is an upscale bed and breakfast, to Riverside Farm, with the Bridal Cottage, Grooms Cabin, and splendid barn, which serves as the venue for the reception, and lodge that sleeps over 100. Riverside was, just as Arlington Farm was for my husband and I decades ago, indubitably the best of all they’d seen.
What About the Vows, Asked the MOB?
Lizzie and her bridesmaids pose for photos as they enter the tent after the ceremony.
In the months leading up to the wedding, I had gently asked Lizzie how the vows were coming, as I tried to remind her that the vows were the very essence of the ceremony, and after all, the real reason for all this hoopla we were planning – the main event. That “event” quickly took shape over the preceding months as a series of movable feasts from Sonoma wine trips for the ten (yes ten!) bridesmaids, to a classic engagement party in January at our home in Westport where all the guests gathered around a roaring fire and got to know one another (I finally put a face to the name, Beeno, and his better half, Becky, for example!), to a boozy, bachelor weekend where the ten (yes ten!) groomsman gathered in a Vermont Cabin for bonding.
I loved the way Liz and Jed took charge of planning the wedding. Our shared dropboxes (just like Petreus, I kept telling Lizzie) were full of spreadsheets and schedules and menus and all the rest, but for months on end the actual “ceremony” page was pretty darn bare bones. So I kept wondering about it. Lizzie kept reassuring me, ”Mom we have it under control.” I did send along my “Little Book of Love Poems,’ and was pleasantly surprised when I peeked at it prominently displayed on the coffee table in their apartment that my pressed marigold was still in the book on the very page we’d read from which we read all those years ago. Lizzie later showed me she would turn to that very same sheath on her wedding day!
The Main Event
So soon the day was upon us. And on that day, the seventh of September, 2013, there, under the arbor, stood my magnificent bride, so elegant, standing tall and proud to be marrying her dear, and dapper, Jed.
Mother of the Groom, Judy, had arranged for her dear friend, a State Supreme Court Judge, to officiate, and I can’t tell you what gravity and seriousness she brought to the occasion draped in her robes. She is one of the most awesome women I’ve ever encountered, and the bride and groom were truly privileged to have her officiate.
Well, at this ceremony Jed’s sister gave a very beautiful and very moving reading of the poem, “How do I love thee, let me count the ways,” by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, which she wrote to her beloved Robert Browning. Beth’s lovely voice resounded against the hills, and the poet’s pure sentiment came clearly through.
Sam, our son and Lizzie’s brother, sang a song he had written for Jed and Liz, and plucked away on his guitar. Ok, for trite? There wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd, especially in the front row where all the bridesmaids sat. Of course, I was barely keeping it together. I was so proud of my family – on one side my youngest daughter, the MOH, Justine, and on the other side my tall and stately husband, whose arm I was gripping to somehow ground the current of emotion I was entirely consumed by.
The bridesmaids’ dresses hang ready in a photo posted to instagram with #lizzieandjedwed
But, of course the vows were the penultimate. When the time came, I was riveted, but all I remember now about it is Liz and Jed facing one another, holding both hands with eyes locked, reciting what they’d written, with all the sincerity of youth and confidence. Clearly they were reflecting the love they felt for one another, and the depth of knowledge that the sum is, and will be, greater than the parts.
So, check out #LizandJedWed on Instagram for a sneak peak of what fun we had at the grand event. You’ll see the one of the family and wedding couple, and me — I’m in the gorgeous turquoise dress and my face is covered by a Kleenex, as I’m trying desperately to dab my eyes for fear my eye make-up might smear. But, of course, not to worry, Vivian had used “smudge less” eyeliner. She, as with everyone at Riverside, was a consummate pro.
As a gift at the bridal shower, I gave Lizzie and Jed a trip the Amalfi Coast arranged by our travel PR client, Kensington Tours. Just back, they are still glowing and gratified by the wedding of the year – for me at least!
Much luxe, Lorraine