A few months back, a similar request came our way. A CJP graduate and his fiance had enjoyed being at our place for various events and were looking for a small outdoor venue for their wedding. This time around we decided to stay put and lend our hands, as well as then getting to enjoy seeing how such an event unfolds at Tangly Woods. And we are so glad we did!
From the time we said yes to the wedding day, the event did grow from what we had initially envisioned. Not in a bad way, at all, but in a way that had me checking the weather every other hour for a week leading up to the wedding - and had me trying to think about how 150 people could comfortably enjoy a wedding and reception at our home! Anyone reading this that would like to remind me of the futility of checking the weather 10 days out is welcome to do so, but I assure you I will do the same thing next time. It's a completely ridiculous practice!! It went from various percentages of scattered storms, to 80% chance of thunderstorms to mostly sunny, back to various percentages of afternoon or all day storms. It was a bit of a roller coaster ride for those doing the frequent checks (I wasn't the only one!).
As the day neared, the predictions moved more in our favor and by set up day we were at a 40% chance of afternoon scattered storms. Not great, but not horrible. The set up day was warm but gorgeous! Friday afternoon folks begin arriving to set up tents and prepare for the rehearsal. Jason and I turned into gophers at that point - which we both have an affinity for so it worked just fine, and was more or less what we expected. When we weren't needed, we kept going with our normal activities (ok, so kind of normal - I don't normally make 3 huge batches of ricotta for a wedding and Jason doesn't normally pull a bushel plus of poison ivy with his bare hands, feeding it to the pigs who relish it, to prevent guests from coming into contact with it). I will also admit that it was kind of hard to not keep staring out the window as things unfolded - especially during the wedding rehearsal. I've never enjoyed missing things and when someone's special day is happening right outside my house it was hard to not take pretty frequent peeks - the girls were no less curious than me!
The wedding day dawned sunny and hot and it wasn't long until the place was a buzz with folks setting up tables and chairs, flowers arrangers milling around the place cutting greens and flowers for bouquets, signs going up, lights being strung, decorations going all over the place, plates being washed for the reception, tables being set for the meal, an arbor going up, and then the mad rush of people getting showers and getting fancy! Fun times!! Jason and I continued the task of being present as needed to fetch various things and got a kick out of a few of the requests. We fully expected providing things like extension cords, a hammer, highchairs for kids at the reception, an extra table cloth, tables for various things, etc... I was a little more surprised when someone poked their head in to ask if we by chance had a violin (we were able to offer a mandolin which played a few notes for the wedding!) and then again when the groomsmen were getting ready and requested two belts. My dad has yet to know that I scrounged around the in-law quarters until I found what I think is the only one he has up there. And then the only other belt I knew of on the premises was the one on Jason, who was at the end of the lane parking cars. A text back and forth and the girls were headed up the lane with his belt to save the day! It was fun to see various things from our home take their places as part of the celebration - including the two "fancy" chairs used for the bride and groom at the reception that Jason's parents rescued from the side of the road, set out for trash pick up.I didn't hear a single rumble of thunder all day and as the shade made its way over the wedding spot the area cooled off considerably (and I was so grateful the gnats decided not to attend the wedding in droves!). I had made herbal bug spray and some clearly used it, but either they preferred the scent of the other guests and left me alone or they were not bad at all! People streamed in steadily starting shortly after 4 right up to the start shortly at 5 p.m. And then we got to sit back and take it all in from the swing set. It was kind of relaxing (other than trying to keep Terah quiet on the swing set - a place she doesn't associate with quietness) until right towards the end of the ceremony when we heard our neighbor's four wheeler start. Jason and I looked at each other in horror, realizing that we both had completely forgotten to tell them we were hosting a wedding. I grabbed my phone and texted the mom, while Jason tore up through the woods to ruin their son's fun! The noise stopped before they were pronounced husband and wife and our neighbors were very understanding, though we were still chagrined that we didn't communicate with them ahead of time (to also warn them of the noise that would no doubt be headed their direction all evening).
Wedding over in less than an hour and on to the party! The caterers worked SO hard - it was a hike from our kitchen to the buffet line, through a sea of happy people (but not people that were all that attentive to people there trying to work hard to get food ready for 150+!). There were only two of them and I can only assume they each made that trip 50 or so times over those few hours! We learn something new every time we host an event and we'd definitely want to think through through the "food flow" and help needed for such an event in the future. I was so glad that the day was cooling off beautifully as evening came.
From there on out there were outdoor games to enjoy, delicious food, good dancing, people enjoying each other and the music, some toasts for the new married couple, strolling through the gardens, enjoying the animals, more food, bubbles to blow, an outdoor fire, and sparklers for a send off. Jason was on for the outdoor fire and it added a nice touch (for some of the kids anyway!), but most people hung out by the tents and in the side yard. Jason ended up being on fire duty during a good part of the reception time as the kids were mainly the ones interested in the fire, and were displaying various levels of understanding about responsible behavior around fires. Ok, so our first inclination that maybe some monitoring was in order was when we learned that some boys were lighting the paper fans on the tiki torches and trying to walk the lit fans through our yard to the fire ring to light it (without adult assistance). We curbed that activity so the evening did not end up having more excitement in it than we had hoped for!The animals were kind of skirting around the edges of what was happening. I didn't see the free range ducklings out and about (until we saw one boy carting one of them around!) but a few little chickens were at the edge of the reception tent during the wedding. Jason and I kept a close eye on them, begging them to show a reasonable amount of caution around the new things and not enough curiosity to jump up on the tables. They stayed on the ground! At one point in the evening, Kali exclaimed, "the ducks are out." I guess someone saw that some chickens and ducks were ranging and had sympathy on the pen of closed in ducks and let them out. They happen to be the ducks that are only out under close supervision, because Kali is rather attached to Duckie and it will be a sad sad day when his life comes to an end! She handled it great, went and herded them back in, came up to the house and made a sign to put on the door asking that no one let them out. No other drama on that front for the remainder of the festivities! The most exciting moment for our pigs came when I took down a watermelon fruit bowl for them to enjoy, with an audience of 15 or so people. They devoured that thing in less than a minute!
..and then the bride and groom were gone! Weddings always shock me - the weeks and weeks of preparation, the days of intense set up and final details, and the it goes by in a flash. Before I knew it, folks were folding up chairs and breaking down tables and grabbing the little party favor flashlights to make their way back to their cars. Many hands certainly make light (or lighter) work and so a good number of folks lingered later into the evening to help with the first flush of cleanup and then others returned yesterday for more tear down, haul away and clean up.
As of right now the last loads of laundry are waiting to be taken off the line and beds made, and the last towers of cups have been washed (I just can't bear to recycle/throw out cups that have only been used once). The bride's parents took off this morning and I got the in-law quarters back in order and for my parents to come later this week, without hopefully being able to tell that well over 100 people had made their way in and through their space (thanks again, Mom and Dad, for sharing your lovely space!)Our yard looks strangely open and empty again, and what remains is lots of fun memories of good times and a bit of a sleep deficit that we are working on! Jason and I slipped out for a morning jog together today for the first time in months and it was fun to debrief the weekend. We both really enjoy hosting events. We love having folks get to enjoy our place, and savor the view that is by no means ours to own or keep to ourselves! We wouldn't want to do it every week or even every month, but from time to time it's a great fit for us (I think all of us! The girls were so excited about picking out their wedding clothes and our littlest was even making friends by the end). So we'll see who comes our way next!
Other than the fact that I felt like I was about to fall over yesterday afternoon, the timing was perfect to go on an outing (a mommy's version of a "playdate") with my three women friends that gather together quarterly to mark each of our birthdays. This one was for a fortieth and we strayed from our normal breakfast date and went with the birthday girl's wishes for a hike to a view! It was not hard to oblige and I'm already looking forward to taking our family to High Knob sometime on our way to/fro West Virginia. Though it won't likely be nearly as relaxing as it was to do it with three reasonable adults - I soaked in that time. I like big events (when I have a clearly defined role, like hosting), but for true self-care and staying healthy it's the small intimate times with those in my inner circle that really sustain me! 
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