Weddingbee Blog

As everyone filled their plates and found their tables, the rain outside our reception tent continued to fall. Warm and dry as we were, it didn’t dampen our spirits one bit, although we did worry what it meant for after-dinner dancing.

After everyone was seated, Mr. Cherry Pie stood and called attention to the front of the room, welcoming our friends and family with a brief speech of appreciation.

Then, we let the toasts begin!

It was admittedly strange being the center of attention and the subject of toasts. I’ve given wedding toasts before and raised many-a-glass, but to hear everyone speaking in our honor was quite humbling (and a little awkward).

First to offer words of congratulations was Mr. Cherry Pie’s father. Glass in hand, he spoke as only he can do, in a tenderly gruff, slightly rambling, and altogether endearing fashion.

I’ve known Mr. CP’s dad since our first summer visit to Glacier in 2000, and it’s always been clear that he has immensely approved of our relationship, but it was truly heartwarming to hear him say so in front of everyone. Even more touching were his words of affection for his son. As I mentioned before, Mr. CP adores his dad, so the most gratifying aspect of listening to this speech was seeing the love on his face:

It made me all teary-eyed and sentimental! But you may have guessed already that I just get that way sometimes…

Seeing as Papa Cherry Pie has witnessed our relationship since it began (when I was a senior in high school), he also had some embarrassing stories to share. I can’t recall now what he decided to tease us with - probably a recollection of how googly-eyed his son was for me, or some of the silly things we did when we were super-clingy - but whatever it was he told made my face change very quickly from this look of bemusement and surprise:

…to this “oh NO he DI-IN’T” facepalm:

In my honest opinion, that kind of reaction is the hallmark of a great toast.

Next up, Mr. Cherry Pie’s mom, who had changed from her swanky stripedy dress into a very Western button-down with jeans and cowboy boots (you saw ’em in the previous post).

She gave a very thoughtful toast, thanking all the “other mothers” in Mr. Cherry Pie’s life; those women who helped her in raising him after the divorce, including many of his father’s once-girlfriends (now close friends) who were at the wedding. Then, she turned the reigns over to me, trusting me to take care of her son, now my dear husband.

Here we are, listening to her speak about his upbringing, the “other mothers”, and how he has turned out to be such a wonderful, thoughtful (and sometimes delightfully feminine) man:

And here I am expressing my glee at having him declared all mine. AWRIIIGHT!

Remember how our Best Man, Micah, had spent every last moment that morning perfecting his toast? Well, now, it was his time to shine. And look at those notes!

Despite looking less-than-confident about his oration in the above photograph, Micah wowed us all with an incredibly detailed tribute to our relationship, comparing our story and the trials and tribulations of love, to mountaineering in Glacier. Climbing Glacier’s peaks is an activity that is dear to us, but also to Micah and his wife Rachel, who have joined us many years on our summer trips to the cabin and struggled with us up countless mountains. In 2004, they were engaged in the “Garden of the Gods” on the shoulder of Glacier’s Mount Siyeh.

Paired with Micah’s touching and true metaphors, there were plenty of subtle connotations: i.e. “climbing mountains” is better done together than alone, and it’s better when you “reach the top” together. Wink, wink.

I think bridesmaid Amy gets it:

We raised our glasses nice and high for Micah’s well put-together and topical toast. Afterward, he received so many compliments saying his toast was the best anyone had ever heard at a wedding. Cheers to that!

Following Micah’s speech, we received a very heartfelt toast from our dear friend Beverly. Beverly is one of Mr. CP’s “other mothers”, and was with his dad for eleven years throughout his adolescence and into the beginning of our relationship. I even lived with her for a while in Helena, Montana… she was previously the Editor of Montana Magazine and I worked as her intern for five weeks in 2004!

Beverly’s speech was just as relevant to our Montana location as Micah’s, and perhaps even more so! She had taken a walk the morning of our wedding and gathered in a basket some native herbs and berries, each of which was significant and edible.

Here, she is speaking about rose hips, and their bitterness versus benefits, all comparable to the trials and tribulations of married life:

Here, she is presenting us with fresh-picked thimble berries to wear on our pinkies and feed to each other. I can’t remember anymore what she said about thimble berries, but they sure are cute!

Finally, she had found some of the season’s last, ripest huckleberries. These she poured into our hands from her basket, and we ate them one-by-one.

Huckleberries are amazing and delicious, but also very rare and quite expensive to buy. This is because they can’t be cultivated and only grow on mountain slopes in very specific climates. Therefore, they’re hard to find and time-consuming to harvest. In Glacier, big patches are often eaten all up by hungry bears!

Another perfect metaphor for our relationship… except the part about bears.

After we munched the huckleberries, she left us with a stem from each plant to remind us of the lessons they could teach us:

Our final speech was by my Maid of Honor, Rachel, the wife of our best man who earlier gave the awesome mountaineering-themed toast.

By this point, we had actually managed to have a decent-sized dinner and throw back a glass or two of champagne while everyone was speaking. The evening was starting to feel like a party!

Not to be outdone by her husband, Rachel had also diligently prepared notes for her toast:

Peppered with lots of stories about how we met, and all her very astute observations of our relationship, including her conjecture that we are “the type of people who will try ANYTHING once”.

Apparently, this statement seemed kinky enough to my mom that she busted out laughing quite indelicately in a mostly silent room…

… which sent me into a paroxysm of laughter.

I think I even snorted. Because, you know what? It’s true… we ARE the type of people who try anything once. (HAR HAR!) Make of that what you will.

Rachel’s speech was lovely, and her conviction about our “fated” relationship showed through her words. She’s a very good speaker, particularly because she’s a teacher and is used to standing in front of a crowd all day.

It was so meaningful to have Rachel and Micah speak for us. It’s really wonderful to have friends who have been there to witness years of your life and stand by your side no matter what turns it takes. For me, moving from Michigan to Washington State in the middle of high school meant that there was a significant disconnect with my childhood friends. Ultimately, not one I invited came to the wedding, which stung a bit.

Yet many of the friends I made during college after I met Mr. CP, including Rachel and Micah, are closer to us than any childhood friends could be… and having them there to celebrate with us and toast our marriage was a true sign of support, and helped me look beyond the past and into our future together.

My only disappointment about the speeches that evening was that no one from my side offered us a toast. I know that my parents’ lack of participation wasn’t for a lack of support - they both love Mr. CP and were thrilled for our marriage. My guess is that they didn’t toast us either because they didn’t know they should (I didn’t ask them to, but I figured it was common knowledge) or because they hadn’t prepared anything.

Anyway, I’m sure they meant no harm by it, but I can’t help but wish they had said a few words, if just for the memories. It would have meant a lot to me.

OK, enough melodrama. I hate to end this post on a down note, so here’s a picture of my grinning husband. We’re just getting this party started!

Stay tuned for the cake-cuttingest, dessert-eatingest, marriage-licence-signingest post ever!

[Credits: All images courtesy of Piknik Studios.]

Previously:
Married in Montana: The Rehearsal
Married in Montana: The Girls Get Ready
Married in Montana: The Guys Get Ready
Married in Montana: The Bus Ride to Polebridge
Married in Montana: Pre-Ceremony Preparations
Married in Montana: Staging the Ceremony
Married in Montana: Our Wedding Ceremony (Part 1 of 2)
Married in Montana: Our Wedding Ceremony (Part 2 of 2)
Married in Montana: Receiving Line & Refreshments
Married in Montana: Cocktail Hour
Married in Montana: Bride & Groom Portraits
Married in Montana: Family Photos
Married in Montana: Wedding Party Portraits
Married in Montana: Our Rustic Reception