Commitment Ceremony

I promised I would put some photos on this site showing the Commitment Ceremony from last night. I will add some more details later but I wanted people to see these when they viewed the blog.


Yesterday was such a special day for Nancy and for both the Stephenson and Richter families. Thanks to Sue Valentine and Carol Kolar, a very intimate and classy Commitment Ceremony Reception was prepared and everything was perfect.

Thanks to everyone who sent flowers and best wishes to the young couple. Although I have posted a few pictures of the ceremony and post-ceremony festivities, Kelly and Doug mentioned that they were planning this event to their wedding photographer when they had their engagement pictures taken last Friday. Mark, of Anmar Photography, offered to come out to the house to take a few pictures so they would have this extra special ceremony as a part of their wedding album. Well, Mark may call 360 pictures a "few" but that seems quite allot to me. Mark took the pictures at Amy's wedding last October and we all were very pleased with the results -- and we really like the way Mark gets all the good shots but never seems to be "intrusive". We are anxious to see how he captured the sensitive emotions and exuberance of the evening.

The ceremony was outside, so that meant getting Nancy dressed, make-up included, and into a wheelchair for a trip to the backyard patio for a 20-25 minute ceremony. Nancy hasn't had to get dressed for quite awhile, but she was determined to be a part of this event -- no matter how exhausted she got during her participation. The ceremony was beautiful. Kelly had burned some CDs earlier in the day for some light music to accompany the ceremony. As you can see in the photo, Nancy & I were on the patio (near the patio door) and Doug's parents were beside us. Rev. Janet Pillman put together a beautiful and meaningful ceremony describing how this commitment was just a beginning for the couple. There were vows of commitment and Rev. Pillman included some pertinent and meaningful scripture readings as well as a special ritual in which each person attending the ceremony passed around an object that had special meaning for Doug and Kelly. While holding the object, we were asked to ponder the meaning of Doug and Kelly's commitment and to offer a silent prayer for them. The object was a "snow globe" that was the first gift Doug gave to Kelly when they were sophomores in high school. That present had even greater meaning for Kelly because it also played music, "Edelweiss", a song that Nancy and I sang to all our children before they went to sleep as infants and toddlers.

Although the weather was beautifully clear, it was hot. There was a welcome breeze once and awhile but Nancy was definitely exhausted and ready to be back in bed as the ceremony concluded. We all (even Nancy) shared a champagne toast to the couple, enjoyed some very tasty food and then topped off the evening with that beautiful Commitment Cake from Party Pastries. Unfortunately, Nancy only got the champagne and she didn't like it that much... back to Gatorade, Popsicles, Coke and other clear liquids. Thanks to all of the family members who endured the heat to celebrate this special event with Doug and Kelly. I don't think any of us would have missed seeing how much meaning this ceremony had for Nancy and Kelly.

Today, we had a quick storm pass through just after noon while I was visiting with Carol Kolar -- just before she returned home to the Chicago area. The winds picked up, a little rain fell, and then it was all over. In my peripheral vision I thought I had seen something move outside the patio door, but it didn't register that the object was something big. Later I looked outside to see a very large branch on the ground, right where family members had been sitting just last evening. I am so happy that branch didn't fall last evening when one of those breezes came through. The weight of that branch could have posed a serious health hazard to the people sitting under that tree.