Rehearsal dinner at Hillside Estate & Winery - Penticton, BC
The view of the lake
An up past his bedtime ring bearer!
The wedding venue - La Punta Norte B&B in Summerland, BC
View from our room, stunning!
Natalie the flower girl
As the mother of the ring bearer, I got to keep the rings!
Pictures before the ceremony
Reunion with my cousin Amy and meeting her baby Kingston
Runaway Ring Bearer!
Also stay tuned for updates on their real wedding pictures, you can follow her on her blog, Kristen Marie!
This is the reading I did at the ceremony:
WHY MARRIAGE?
~ By: Mari Nichols-Haining ~
Because to the depths of me, I long to love one person,
With all my heart, my soul, my mind, my body...
Because I need a forever friend to trust with the intimacies of me,
Who won't hold them against me,
Who loves me when I'm unlikable,
Who sees the small child in me, and
Who looks for the divine potential of me...
Because I need to cuddle in the warmth of the night
With someone who thanks God for me,
With someone I feel blessed to hold...
Because marriage means opportunity
To grow in love in friendship...
Because marriage is a discipline
To be added to a list of achievements...
Because marriages do not fail, people fail
When they enter into marriage
Expecting another to make them whole...
Because, knowing this,
I promise myself to take full responsibility
For my spiritual, mental and physical wholeness
I create me,
I take half of the responsibility for my marriage
Together we create our marriage...
Because with this understanding
The possibilities are limitless.I also have a video of about 1/2 of Ben's vows the rest of the ceremony that I will post with permission from Ben & Jess if they want. Currently they are enjoying their honeymoon in San Francisco! Enjoy you two, and welcome officially to the family Jess! So happy to have another sister!
Oh, and I forgot to mention, that I would have paid a lot of money to have my camera on hand at the time, but Natalie was very interested in Braden, so Braden went up to her and I said "Braden, give Natalie a hug!" He just stood there, but she gladly hugged him. Then I repeated myself and what does he do...leans in and gives her a BIG KISS!!! That's my boy! First kiss, we were there to witness it and it was the most adorable thing ever!!
