“Give me long days in the sun, Preludes to the nights to come Previews of the mornings laying in all lazy Give me something fun to do like a life of loving you Kiss me quick now baby I’m still crazy over you” -a verse from Brooke Fraser’s ‘Something in the Water’ song “Love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.” – Khalil Gibran, “The Prophet”
As you may or may not know, on September 5, I boarded a plane in Atlanta headed for Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport and started a 31 day journey that would take me on 10 flights, to 7 weddings in 6 states and 2 countries. The first wedding in Minnesota was Lindsay and Peter, and then it was off to Ireland for a very intimate wedding with Laura and Mitch. The next wedding, I must admit, I almost didn’t accept. When I first read their email and checked my calendar, I thought to myself, there’s no way. But a little voice in my head (the good one, not the one that’s all smarty pants) said to me that I should at least hear their story. And then, when I learned a little more, the little voice said I should meet them. And then when I met them, there was no question I was going to find a way to get to this wedding. And so that’s how I found myself driving across Ireland on the M7 at 4am on a Monday morning toward Dublin to board a flight headed for Chicago. From Chicago, I would board a flight to Atlanta. Once in Atlanta, I would pick up a rental car and drive to the north side of Atlanta, where Jessie would meet me in a parking lot to hand off some fresh clothes and take a hard drive full of photos home to back up a few more times, as is our slightly paranoid habit. From that parking lot, I drove to Sewanee, Tennessee and checked into a hotel, where I could finally go to sleep for the first time in almost 30 hours. The next morning, I arrived bright eyed and bushy tailed at the rustic and beautiful Monteagle Sunday School Assembly to make photos of Eva and Kathryn getting ready for their same sex blessing ceremony at the All Saints’ Chapel on the campus of Sewanee, Tennessee’s University of the South. And now that you know all that, I will tell you that their story is much much more interesting than mine. I just wanted you to understand how important their story is. To learn more about their story, and how historic their day really was, I would suggest you read about it by searching #rethinkthissewanee. Prepare to be amazed. Because they are amazing women. You can always tell how amazing someone is by what others are willing to do for them. And now, here’s the story of their day in pictures…
Eva and Kathryn’s Creative Team
All Saints’ Chapel – Wedding Venue Sweet Home Alabama House – Reception Venue Ken Taylor – Taylor’s Mercantile (Event Coordinator, Flowers, Decorations, Tent, Dance Floor, Tables, Etc) Buddy’s Barbecue – Knoxville, TN Rev. Sharon Hiers – St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church, Atlanta, GA – Officiant And one last big Thank You to my good friend Raven, of YouAreRaven.com for having my back on this one. In the event of some major travel catastrophe, Raven was sitting on stand-by ready to hop in and save the day. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that there was a little room for error. Thank you, Raven.
