What Do Marriage and Independence Have to Do with Each Other?

For one thing they are both late in making it into my blog.

Three weeks ago we had Jess home for the first of the Summer Weddings Marathon (which is extending into next year). David Manz and Heather Henningsen were getting married in Richmond, VT at a cross-country skiing lodge, and it was a wonderful affair. We were joined by members of the Morris family—James, Stephanie, Thomas and Robert—so much of our extended family were in attendance (sorry to not have Sarah and Margaret with us).

Rain held off enough that the affair took place around a gazebo and small pond next to the inn. Grandmothers were escorted in... Mothers were escorted in (along with Dan, father of the Groom)...My apologies to Charlene for not getting a picture of the Mother of the Bride coming down the aisle; as fate would have it I needed to change the battery in my camera just at that moment. The bridesmaids were all gorgeous...the ushers dashing...and David and his brother Matthew (best man) arrived in style in David's restored VW Bug.

Heather looked fabulous coming down the aisle on the arm of her father Ed and the couple looked extremely happy throughout the service.

David's grandfather, the Reverend Robert Woods, presided over the service which was very touching.

Following the service we moved to a covered area for cocktails and then the arrival of the wedding party. A DJ provided music and we had the bride-and-groom first dance before others joined in.


Dinner was held in a round lodge and it was an opportunity for visiting, a great meal and some traditional events—fathers toasting the couple, wedding cake lovingly shared between the newlyweds.


Then it was back outside for some more dancing.

After the DJ finished up we retired to a meadow just above the inn and lodge. There Dan shared some stories about his experiences with bows and arrows, and then how could we have a Manz gathering without a bonfire. Dan had decided to light the fire with a flaming arrow, and to quote Dan, “What could possibly go wrong with this?” Everything seemed to work our alright and you can see in the photo that the arrow is sticking out of the bonfire as it gets started.

Next in the marathon series we have Michelle Codding's wedding, then Sarah Manz's wedding, and planning taking place for the Matt Manz and Rachel Smedy wedding and Andrew Walker and Sarah Swenson's wedding next summer...let the marathon continue.

In the interim, our Adventures continued with the annual Fourth of July (Independence) Celebration in Andover, NH. Grampy joined us staying at Dennis and Margaret Fenton's house in East Andover. Deb and Scott Whitney along with Dan, Monica, Tim, and Laura were all staying at the Cottage, and we crashed there a few times over the weekend. Laura's friend Lauren was there for the weekend as well as several of Scott's family—his mother Adeline, brother Russ, sister Deb, and niece Ashley. It made for an active and very enjoyable weekend complete with fireworks, parades, good food and good wine.


Sarah was separately having an Independence Day and Engagement Party (aren't these two items somehow mutually exclusive) at her home in Gowrie, Australia, and you can read about it on her blog at http://dvlwearingkhakis.blogspot.com/2011/07/british-are-coming.html