{"id":533,"date":"2012-10-17T15:00:27","date_gmt":"2012-10-17T15:00:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.com\/?p=533"},"modified":"2012-10-17T15:00:27","modified_gmt":"2012-10-17T15:00:27","slug":"a-great-love-story-chapter-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/?p=533","title":{"rendered":"A great love story . . . chapter 1"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/10\/aunties.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-535\" title=\"aunties\" alt=\"\" src=\"http:\/\/kandynolesstevens.files.wordpress.com\/2012\/10\/aunties.jpg\" height=\"330\" width=\"497\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/aunties.jpg 4288w, http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/aunties-300x199.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/aunties-1024x680.jpg 1024w, http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/aunties-624x414.jpg 624w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 497px) 100vw, 497px\" \/><\/a>Over the weekend, my family and I had the honor to attend and participate in our oldest nephew\u2019s wedding.\u00a0\u00a0We had a\u00a0fabulous weekend and experience.\u00a0 Despite earlier forecasts of cold rain, gray skies and wind,\u00a0it was a beautiful, North Dakota fall day with sunshine and a\u00a0temperature warmer than predicted.\u00a0 The weather however wasn\u2019t what made the day so special.\u00a0 More so, it was the love that was shared among our family.<\/p>\n<p>If I were completely honest I would say that the bride and groom, Jeanette and Derek were somewhat disappointed with several things that happened that day.\u00a0 None of which were within their control.\u00a0 Knowing their feelings was what prompted me to write this blog.\u00a0 I have many more years of life under my feet and a few more miles on my marriage which will be celebrating 20 years in May.\u00a0 I promise if I were J &amp; D, I would have been let down as well, but through my eyes a great love story is just starting to be written.<\/p>\n<p>No matter which way I looked all I saw was love.\u00a0 Love for Derek and Jeanette and for those that love them.\u00a0 Instead of writing that chapter (which really isn\u2019t mine to write), I am choosing to share snippets of what I experienced that day.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>A buzz of excitement at several houses as details were tended to get people ready.\u00a0 For Cloie alone, it took one and half hours to do her hair.\u00a0 At 7, that is a long time to sit . . . for love.<\/li>\n<li>After a wardrobe malfunction (think white tux on a 4 year old ring bearer), the best man runs to the only store in town to find a Clorox pen.\u00a0 All that fuss. . . for love.<\/li>\n<li>The bride asking how the groom was doing only to be told, \u201cHe\u2019s nervous.\u201d\u00a0 A spirit of panic filled the room, until it was explained that he was nervous not about marrying the girl of his dreams, but because he wanted the day to perfect for that same girl.\u00a0 A real human emotion . . . for love.<\/li>\n<li>Even though the aisle was too small for my request and I did get some raised eyebrows, I was escorted by both my son and my godson down the aisle to my pew seat.\u00a0Despite the fact that we didn&#8217;t fit real well, my boys obliged out . . . of love.<\/li>\n<li>Insistence on the couple\u2019s part to not see each other before the ceremony was firm as family and friends executed spy-like missions to transport one or the other throughout the church.\u00a0 None involved have espionage experience, but all willingly participated . . .for love.<\/li>\n<li>When the big moment finally came, nary a dry eye could be found watching as both the bride and groom cried during her processional into the church.\u00a0 I have been to many weddings in my lifetime, and I can only recall one other time that occurred.\u00a0 Overcome . . . by love.<\/li>\n<li>Family pictures following the ceremony went very smoothly. (As a former photographer\u2019s assistant for weddings, that is a rare.)\u00a0 No protests of \u201cbeing as photogenic as a dishrag\u201d were uttered and no hunting for family needed for pictures occurred.\u00a0 Willing participants . . . for love.<\/li>\n<li>There were moments of missing family and a friend who passed away the same day.\u00a0 But other family stepped in and loved on those feeling that grief \u2013 not to take away the hurt, but to recognize the raw, conflicting\u00a0emotions.\u00a0 Their presence and encouragement only based . . . in love.<\/li>\n<li>At the reception, things were a little hectic.\u00a0 Aunties, uncles, and parents choreographed an amazing dance of filling bowls and bellies with food and refreshment.\u00a0\u00a0 Not done because of obligation or duty, but . . . for love.<\/li>\n<li>\u00a0When cake cutting time happened, aunties and cousins sprang into action to cut and deliver that ornate confectionary delicacy to the guests.\u00a0 Teenagers and younger serving just because help was needed showed nothing but . . . love.<\/li>\n<li>Dancing time was a family affair with an opportunity that melted my heart, I had the honor of dancing with the groom\u2019s brother.\u00a0 (I will admit I was second choice because Erin had been swept away by the ring-bearer.)\u00a0 But having an opportunity to privately visit with my nephew while twirling around the dance floor filled my heart . . . with love.<\/li>\n<li>The bouquet toss was quite an experience (as was the garter toss).\u00a0 But seeing the tiniest girl out there literally perform a dive that would rival a spectacular end zone touchdown reception was a sight to behold.\u00a0 Yes, Cloie caught the bouquet which sits on her dresser now.\u00a0 Even though we agree Prince Charming can wait many (MANY) years to show up here, Cloie\u2019s motivation was to take home more than memories of a day filled . . . with love.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Anyone who has ever planned or participated in a wedding knows that something ALWAYS goes awry.\u00a0 There is always a hitch in getting hitched.\u00a0 Hopefully, it becomes something that you can look back and laugh about like the cake at our wedding (that almost caused me to cancel the wedding) or the bridal party that was stuck in the gondola for over an hour coming up to a mountaintop wedding.\u00a0\u00a0My hopes are that\u00a0instead of dwelling on the things that went wrong, my nephew and his bride can look through my eyes and see their wedding day was filled with more than just the love the two of them shared.<\/p>\n<p>They were joined in marriage before God and blessed by family.\u00a0 In my opinion, that is the greatest beginning to a love story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over the weekend, my family and I had the honor to attend and participate in our oldest nephew\u2019s wedding.\u00a0\u00a0We had a\u00a0fabulous weekend and experience.\u00a0 Despite earlier forecasts of cold rain, gray skies and wind,\u00a0it was a beautiful, North Dakota fall day with sunshine and a\u00a0temperature warmer than predicted.\u00a0 The weather however wasn\u2019t what made the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[69,380,440,478,653],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=533"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/533\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=533"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=533"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.realsweetgrace.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=533"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}