I doubt that Miss. Jones, their 6th grade English teacher, knew what events would eventually be set into motion when she seated Lee Ann next to Steven at the start of the year. An outgoing, optimistic and chatty girl, Lee Ann would constantly get both of them in trouble for "talking his ear off" and drawing and writing all over his arms--all of the time. Steven was quieter, but obviously a willing participant. The truth is Steven has always been absolutely crazy about Lee Ann.
As they grew up, they eventually started dating and love was hard to deny. "We've never really been neutral" confesses Lee Ann. To date, Steven's the only man who has ever had the power to leave Lee Ann speechless--and that was when he surprised her on top of the Empire State Building by getting down on his knee and asking for her to spend forever with him.
They got married on the Fourth of July at the beautiful Shawnee Inn at Golf Resort in front of a gorgeous group of very patriotically dressed friends and family. Naturally, such a warm and loving couple wanted their guests to feel included in their ceremony.
As guests arrived they were invited to contribute a flower to a circle
in the ceremony space where Lee Ann and Steven were going to exchange
their vows. Since the ceremony was outdoors, this was a wonderfully
visual way to differentiate the space the couple stands in,
while not trying compete with the natural beauty that the Delaware
River provides.
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| Wedding party adds their flowers to the Circle of Love before taking their places. |
| As the wedding party came in, they all added their flowers to the Circle of Love before taking their places. Lee Ann and Steven's parents were the last to add their flowers before taking their seats. | ||||||||
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| It's a joining of two families as Steven waits with both his mother and father for Lee Ann to arrive. |
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| "The Circle of Love is a physical representation of all the support and well-wishes that all of you--their family and friends-have already provided for this couple throughout their lives."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant |
After they each said "I do", exchanged vows and then rings, Steven and Lee Ann participated in the Common Cup ritual. Many cultures believe to share from the same cup is to open yourself to shared experience, to share life's joys together, thus doubling them; and to share life's sorrows, thus dividing them in half. Sharing a glass of wine for Steven and Lee Ann was just another way to reinforce their promise to be committed to sharing all that life brings them.
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| "Many cultures believe to share from the same cup is to open yourself to shared experience, to share life's joys together, thus doubling them; and to share life's sorrows, thus dividing them in half."--Alisa Tongg, Celebrant |
My hope is that life brings them many more occasions for watching stars in parks, slow dancing in parking lots and leaving Lee Ann speechless.
Thank you to Doug Nevick at Douglas James Photography for providing these amazing images. For more of their work visit: douglasjamesphoto.com
