Wild West Wedding Weekend!

I think I might have to keep saying I LOVE MY JOB until somebody begs me to stop. Because, yet again, I had another great time this past weekend. Things kicked off early with my Unicorn Mask wedding on Thursday. Then on Saturday I had two weddings in the Hill Country. The first was in Wimberley and the second was in Blanco.

Actually, back up. I had a rehearsal for the Blanco wedding on Friday. As occasionally happens, the rehearsal was in a different spot than the wedding. So I found myself at this cool place in downtown Blanco-- some shops/restaurants that open up onto a courtyard out back. This is an added perk that comes with my job-- I wind up discovering places I might never know about otherwise. And in these places, I find things I never saw before. Case in point-- at the Blanco rehearsal there was a Flower Kaleidoscope. I have no idea if that's what it's really called, but I saw this planter/sculpture thing with a sort of telescope attached to it. I looked through the telescope and WHOA!!! But don't take my word for it, see for yourself:

Saturday dawned and I headed out of town a bit early to stop at the Thyme and Dough Bakery in Dripping Springs, since I love it there and it's right on the way to Wimberley. I mention this because I had an accidental religious moment of sorts at the bakery, and I wrote about it over at my other blog. I think from now on when I meet couples who want to know about my religious beliefs I'll just direct them to that piece.

Job perk: I drive on roads like this a lot as part of my work. 

Then it was time to actually get going. I arrived at the Wimberley wedding-- held at the home/ranch of the bride-- around 4 in the afternoon. Truly a glorious day. The guests hung out on the porch until it was time, and just before 5 I invited everyone to gather in chairs around the fountain out front. Then up rode bride and groom on horses-- wow. Talk about a dramatic effect.

The first wedding included a sand blending ceremony, and the bride's son participated. I like using this ritual to bring in family members and make them part of the big day.

I had to scoot almost before the kiss was finished since I only had a half-hour to get to Blanco. GoogleMaps and the first bride both assured me this was doable. But even though I carry a GPS and have a very patient partner who will take phone calls from  me and help navigate, I swear I could get lost inside of a paper bag even if I had a professional guide at my disposal. That said -- and not to jinx myself-- I have spent enough years driving the backroads of the Hill Country now that even if I do feel a little bit confused, I also know I can usually figure it out quick enough. Still, in this case, I had not a second to waste.

An intimate reception under the Live Oaks at wedding #1.

Fortunately, even though I was on a lot of winding little country roads, I did manage to find the second wedding no problem. This one, too, was held at the family ranch. In fact it's where the bride's parents had gotten married thirtysomething years before. They told me the day they got married it just poured rain. That was not going to be an issue for the younger couple-- it was just a stunning evening.

I just loved looking at all the seats before the ceremony, waiting to be filled.

While Saturday's first wedding was a really intimate affair, the second wedding was one of the biggest weddings I'd ever been to. Over two hundred guests filled chairs that had been set up out in a pasture near a couple of trees which, come to think of it, remind me a bit of the trees in that popular Khalil Gibran reading, On Marriage, used so often at weddings (but not at this one).

I should say that one big reason Wedding Number Two went so smoothly is because at both the rehearsal and the wedding Jessica from Pearl Events was there coordinating. Very often the weddings I preside over are fairly small and the couples don't have event planners and day-of coordinators. But sometimes I am tag-teaming with another professional. I'm down with either option and with the latter I get to meet some very cool, very organized folks.

As I was driving home from the later wedding, off into the sunset, I felt like some JP from the Wild West or at least a character in a Larry McMurtry book. All I needed was a horse as I traveled the countryside from event to event to offer my blessings. I imagined getting called to my next duty-- presiding over the trial of an outlaw in some tiny courtroom. Then I spotted the ever-growing Austin skyline and remembered what century I'm in.