Married

“Are you ready?” My Dad asked me. “Yes” I quickly replied. I knew it was right. I wasn’t nervous as everything in me knew this was right. I could feel it at my core.

Then it happened. Yup, you have to plan for everything when you decide to get married in the mountains. There’s the distance to travel, the bears, the worry that your friends and family won’t be able to handle the altitude, and of course, the mountain weather.

It started to rain, then pour, then hail. It was really coming down hard. I watched the rain pour down on the beautifully set up chairs with babies breathe neatly tied on by our friends, the decorated archway that faced the waterfall behind it, and the bottle of sine qua non we had placed in a box to hammer shut and open on our first anniversary. Now I was nervous. I was only nervous for my bride. She’d spent countless hours planning this day – making sure every detail was just right. The time was here. We were getting married in just a few short hours.

It was time to pull this ceremony inside and just like that, everyone sprang into action. Groomsman were sprinting out into the rain grabbing candles, wine, flowers, and anything else they could get their hands on. Dressed in linen suites, they ran through the rain. My brother, who was a one of my groomsman, slipped and hit a rock hard on his side – arms still in the air holding two large candles encased in glass, he saved the candles, but badly bruised his leg. Man down – candles saved.

It seemed that everyone was helping out, doing something, to make this special. Our friends and family had traveled from all over the US to be here for us and now they were pitching in to make it happen. Everyone was invested.

I ran into Erin with obvious concern on my face. I was worried about her until I saw her face (yes, we saw each other before the ceremony so we could take pictures with the idea that it was most important for us to be able to spend as much time together with our friends). Erin was calm. She had a sense of peace, almost as if the rain was the best thing that could have happened, and it was.

When we realized that the weather was changing from sunny to rain, we had many ways to take it. It’s safe to say that most people would expect us to have been upset; Erin did plan this special day for almost a year after all. We weren’t. We decided to celebrate the rain and out of that celebration came something magical. Instead of simply going to a wedding, sitting down in a chair, and enjoying the ceremony, our guests got involved. Everyone pitched in and turned what could have been a disaster to some into the most magical day of our lives. It was community. It was family.

We spent the rest of the night dancing and celebrating. On several occasions, the staff working at the reception on property told us that our wedding was one of the best they had ever had. The dance floor was packed, young and old, and we closed the venue down. We chose to dance in the rain.

When it rains in your life, or in your business, what choices do you make? Do you sit it out until the sun comes up, or do you choose to dance in the rain?

Here are some pictures our friends took (professional pictures were also taken, but these are more fun if you ask me).