i married isis on the fifth day of may



 it was the most magical wedding, the most glorious celebration of love and community, the kind of event that leaves you absolutely swirly and breath-taken with purest love.



there is something about the anticipation, all that getting ready, seeing everything come together, gathering together little by little all the various members of your tribe...people showing up, everyone helping and carrying things and working busily...
you just know it is all going to end in an explosion of light and color and wonder and happiness.








sooooo so so good when all my family is in town.
there is nothing like it.
they are my best friends in all the world.

saturday, the girls hanging out in the motor home next to the barn.
there were ten bridesmaids and ten groomsmen, quite a group! we each got to choose our own outfit as long as it was some bright shade of blue or purple. i love how all the colors looked together.

i thrifted a calvin klein dress (not maternity!) in a nice ocean blue that fit my belly perfectly.
(this photo and a few others courtesy of addie)

becky handmade emily's gorgeous princess-style wedding dress. it was all sewn from organic fabrics and becky hand crafted the bunches, rosettes and ruffles on the bodice. she is one talented and creative woman and i think making special uniquely designed wedding dresses is becoming a true calling for her :)





 meanwhile all the boys were gathering too, in high spirits ;)

joey and emily had asked darin to perform a "water ceremony" with this special native american double sided vase that they found together a long while back. darin wrote a blessing and created a water drink with herbs and citrus. the little ritual turned out to be a very special moment during the wedding ceremony and i, for one, couldn't stop the tears from flowing. here he and joey are practicing...

 it was so crazy surreal and blissful to be surrounded by all my loved ones for a whole day of radiant joy.
orion gets more quirky and amazing by the day.

amy is the picture of color and beauty! i really feel like all the colors of this wedding reflected all the vibrant spirits who were gathered together.

one of my new favorite photos in the world. my sisters and i. that's amber (mikie's lady) on the left, then addie, then em, me and amy with bella. my heart could break with love for them.


my handsome man.
more proud than ever to walk by his side.


getting ready to line up.....

the beautiful bride.

being in the wedding party, i obviously couldn't get photos of the actual ceremony, so i borrowed this one from ashley of the water ceremony, as well as the one at the top of this post. 
their ceremony was so beautiful. our friend jamie was their officiant and joey and emily's vows were full of wild, open, joyous love like the truest heart of the world and life.

group photos and goofing off afterwards:

us five kids and our mom. i love us. i am so lucky.


amber, katie, carly, me, amy, em, her sister christy, jackie, addie, brittney, and jessie.


my other new FAVORITE PHOTO OF ALL TIME.
my own little family.


this was a wedding full of the cutest guests in the world.
becky, jorden and oliver.....he was a busy boy running around partying and dancing and shaking maracas most of the night!

justin and zillion....i can't believe i didn't get a picture of elsie (the mama) who was wearing the most adorable red and blue vintage peplum dress.

the gathering. that's chelsea in the knee socks, her outfit ruled. she made the cupcakes too, pineapple coconut decorated with sweet flowers, they about killed me!

first dance:


toasts. em's sister christy made me weep. she expressed their relationship so perfectly, telling about growing up with em as her precocious and wise little sister and best friend, a tiny wonder child who was giving christy (the older sister by several years just like joey and i) advice since emily could talk! she just completely reminded me of the true depth of these two souls and their unique capacity for empathy and open-heartedness.

a buddy, charlie charm (his real name) takes the mike to pay a quick tribute.


mother-son dance....joey loves mariah carey's song "always be my baby" and it was the greatest moment: my mom was already bawling after her own wonderfully sweet toast to the couple, joey was glowing with joy, the sun was going down, the music was lively...orion (my five year old nephew) heard it was the mother-son dance and asked his own mama to dance and suddenly, the dance floor filled with happy people who just couldn't resist joining in the love.



sweet mama-son love!
 

after that things took a turn for the CAH-RAZZZZYYYY!



cameron swoops up emily's mama:

bella dances with a one-eyed dog:




sooooo glad ryann got to come home from college in walla walla to dance the night away and spread her love and meet my growing belly!

it turned into a late late night of rambunctious celebration. midnight jumproping with a string of lights. i couldn't believe how well drunk people can jumprope ;)


and now they are a married couple and the world is a little richer in love and happiness and my heart is glowing tonight.
thanks, friends, for joining in this revelry!

Comments

Nichole said…
Every person in this post is so beautiful, it's ridiculous. What is in the water up there?!
Anonymous said…
What a post. So full of color, energy, and love that it hurts. Y'all are so neat.

xo
Milla said…
What a beautiful celebration! A million years of happiness and luck and blessings and joy and sunshine to these two beautiful people! And love too, though there seems to be no shortage of it. Maybe I'm a little emotional, but these pictures totally brought tears to my eyes. Your family, as I've said before makes me happy.

lots of love to you and Darin as well, you look so blissed.
ashley said…
It was so so so good to see all of you! I'm excited for all the summer activities coming up- epic dust, river dips, hanging with the new married couple, meeting your little girl! My goodness!

And I must admit, that wedding got my wedding wheels turning...it was just so dang perfect down to every sweet little detail. Anyhow, congrats again on your rapidly growing family ;)
mmgood said…
this whole post is so glorious, but what i came away from it with is this: that i love how you love people. i love how you love. your posts always remind me to open my heart to the beauty in people and life. xoxoxo
anne said…
what a beautiful wedding! may they have many, many years of love and happiness together!

love the family shots, what a fun group you all are! the one of you and darin is awesome too.
"but i could not hold on to her very long..." i LOVE that song. that whole album actually, is perfection from start to finish. you look fantastic in that blue. your belly has seriously bloomed. you look amazing. congrats to your brother and new sister.
lasophia said…
Everyone and everything looked so beautiful! What a great looking group of folks. Congrats to the newlyweds.

Sophia
http://lasophialasophia.blogspot.com
Elizabeth said…
What sweet happiness!!!!!!
And the colors are so beautiful. A beautiful couple, so romantic and lovely. All so lovely buttercup: )

And your belly looks just lovely too with that little bright one in there. What a blue that is. I love it!

Blessings on you and your bright sparkly folk x
Cel said…
Oh wow, what an amazing day! You're right about the colours. This post had me misty eyed some moments and grinning the next. The world is definitely a little richer now that those two are braided all the closer in their love.
Whitney said…
LOVE that last pic. I am so happy for them.
Violet Folklore said…
I so heartily love it.

So... Mikie's up next!
Violet Folklore said…
(Your family totally ROCKS the wedding scene, every time).
Thank you darlin' girl for this post of the most fabulous Cinco de Mayo Mexican Fiesta Wedding ever! It was a beautiful day, the moon was glorious and everything looked beautiful. My memories of that day will always be held close to my heart as with all my children's wedding days. And now we have our precious Em as our family forever. We are lucky!

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