Hello friends! This is such an exciting blog to prepare, but as I only finished unpacking the suitcases from our Louisville trip last night, it's also two weeks overdue! The newlyweds are on their way back from their honeymoon, will move into married housing (in Isaac's original dorm as a freshman/sophomore!) in early July, continue working this summer at Memoria Press, and resume classes in August.
Our photographer, a close friend and cousin of Isaac's, was simply the best. https://www.sienamariephotography.com/
While it will take her a while to edit them all, here are some of the photos we have thus far:
The first look, prior to the ceremony:
The "golden hour" photos at 6 p.m.:
Family and wedding party photos earlier in the day:
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| Marcie and her new sister - another M name in the family! |
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| Gracie also adores her new sister. The quints refuse to say "sister-in-law," and they're all convinced her sister (who was her maid of honor) is also their sister now. 😆 Honestly, Gavin and I want to be that closely related to her parents! We couldn't have asked for better, more natural, fun, Christ-committed in-laws! Sure wish we lived closer!
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| Our handsome (somewhat goofy) sons! |
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| Isaac's groomsmen have been his best friends, roommates, and accountability partners - his best man and his wife were also his ride to church for a year! They've become family. |
They are married, and all of us are awed by the depth and breadth of God's goodness and love to us as we went through the months of planning (Meagan's mom especially!) and the whole wedding weekend. I cannot tell you how many times I prayed, "Lord, please help me," as I juggled so many more things than usual. And He did! It was the MOST BEAUTIFUL, FUN WEDDING WEEKEND, even better than our own. 😁 Meagan's family and home church family are the most hard-working, organized, creative, kind people you could ask for in celebrating your son's wedding! And I ended up with the most lovely, joyful, jolly, kind, funny, loving daughter-in-love. Again, we are just in awe of the goodness of God, His many big and little faithfulnesses and provisions, sending just the right people to help with the tiniest details at the perfect time. 💗
Marmi took care of one of the biggest, most important jobs: The wedding music on both the piano and the incredible pipe organ at the church! What a delight and blessing to have her giftedness displayed at the first wedding among her grandchildren! It was so very special. Papa helped her tremendously, too, keeping things level in all the chaos of lots of people and not a few changes. You can tell she and Isaac are quite fond of each other! She very much helped raise him as a baby when I had severe postpartum depression. We moved in with them for a few months to help get me over the hump, and I am eternally grateful. The first two photos are also by Siena, just screen grabs (hence the black lines since I "grabbed" them imperfectly).
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| Marmi and Papa with the kids, all dressed in their wedding finery! The girls were flower girls or junior bridesmaids, and the boys were the ones who unrolled the bridal aisle carpet ahead of Meagan's entrance and then rang the celebration bells at the end (the ropes lifted Will, who is the lightest, right off the floor!). |
Aunt Peggy, Marmi/Marcia's dear friend from decades ago and a second grandmother to Isaac and Meagan in Louisville, helped with so many small and big items, including all the reception floral centerpieces and my girls' bouquets. She dealt with the insanity of helping me get the groomsmen suits in the right sizes, and then she hemmed them to the right length and pressed them. They were perfect! Her house serves as both storage and garage during these early weeks of their marriage. She will also be hosting the newlyweds for a couple of weeks this summer when they are between housing.
Pre-ceremony photo time!
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| My poor mom ruptured a disc in her back a few weeks ago. She was a great sport and just sat down as needed! |
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| My parents with the quints, being photographed by Aunt Cynthia and Siena. |
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| The delightful in-laws! She is fixing the corsage I had put on the wrong lapel. |
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| The wedding party |
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| Our new Jones "party!" Meagan makes everything better and more fun and meaningful. |
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| A moment with Marcie |
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Two darling 12-year-olds
 | Cousins! That was one of the most fun parts of the weekend!
The girl in the middle did the hair for most of the wedding party, including Meagan and me! |
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Now a few photos of the actual wedding, by various photographers and of varying quality. We're grateful for them all, though!
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| Preparing to enter the church. Isaac seated me. 💕 |
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| Awaiting his beautiful bride. |
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| Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Jones! They were so joyous! We all were. 💞 |
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We are thankful to this young lady for effectively "setting up" Isaac and Meagan by hiring them on the same day to work in the school's café! She said she thought to herself, reading their applications, "They seem like nice, friendly people!" So now they are nice and friendly together. 😁
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One of the most surprisingly emotional parts of the whole weekend, for me, was seeing Isaac's classmates. The girl hugging Meagan has been like a daughter to me (I was even there for her birth!), her mom one of my best friends since college, and our next door neighbor in Papua New Guinea! She and Isaac have been friends since they were babies. Oh, the pictures I could show you! One is of them sword fighting on the trampoline with Isaac's [clean] underwear on their heads at age 4 or so.
The girl in the green dress to the left once announced, as a three-year-old, that she would "marry Isaac because he is a Christian." Three of those girls were Isaac's dates to the annual banquet in Ukarumpa! And the young men in the photo were frequently at our house; one even went on vacation with us. Sadly, Isaac's best friend, Kori, couldn't get here from PNG. His absence was severely felt by the whole class and by us! He featured prominently in the Isaac half of the slideshow, though! I have LOVED these young people. |
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Dancing to "You'll Be in My Heart," which I heard for the first time while grocery shopping when I was pregnant with Isaac. I was tearful back then, and I've only gotten more tearful and grateful with age!
Photograph by https://www.sienamariephotography.com/ |
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| The getaway car was very seriously guarded by heavy Security who doubled as door-openers. |
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And here we are, thrilled beyond words with our 7th child. She's been the easiest to raise, ha ha!
We couldn't be more grateful. God is good.
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More later - I've run out of time and space! This is already far too long and too large. Love to all!
Carrie
