Welcome to the very start of a year-long blog party where romance writers show and tell about their lives. Thank you to the talented contemporary romance author Lauren Christopher (aka ‘mizwrite’) for coming up with the idea!
Our first installment “Wedding Highlight” was suggested by Kat Cantrell whose wedding-themed romances Newlywed Games: From Ex To Eternity and From Fake To Forever release this month!
And now, for my contribution…
I married my husband twice, once back in 2001 and again to celebrate our 10 year anniversary. We both wanted our first wedding to be simple and heart-felt. So, we married in the a Quaker wedding ceremony in a small, unadorned Quaker meeting house in Yarmouth, MA. The service was one of silent reflection, and after the silent reflection, we rose and exchanged our vow. The ceremony was everything I hoped it could be: simple, sincere, and spiritual while surrounded by the love of our family and friends. After, everyone in attendance signed a traditional Quaker certificate I had (somewhat unevenly) created. That certificate hangs in my hall, and every time I pass it I think of the love that was shared that day and the simple vow that sustains us.
The day was perfect. HOWEVER, my husband and I do love a good party. So, on our 10 year anniversary, we headed to Vegas to be married (for the second time) by Elvis. This time, the wedding was followed by a raucous Karaoke reception at the Flamingo Casino and attended only by the family and friends zany enough to think Vegas-Elvis-Karaoke a ‘capitol’ idea.
My father passed on less than a year later & I will always treasure the fabulous time we all had that night. My favorite highlight? Watching my father do the twist with my niece (who is getting married next weekend!) 
If you want to visit the stories of the other participants, you can find them here:
Contemporary Romance Writers Tamra Baumann – Jamie Wesley – Kat Cantrell – Priscilla Kissinger – Lauren Christopher | Paranormal romance writers Kay Hudson – Pamela Kopfler | Romantic suspense writers Carol Post – Sharon Wray | Novels with romantic elements Natalie Meg Evans – Jean Willett | Faith-based romance writers KD Fleming – Kristen Ethridge | Historical romance writers Kathleen Bittner-Roth & Me (Wendy LaCapra)
Love this story, Wendy. What a juxtaposition from a Quaker ceremony to an Elvis wedding.
And congratulations on making it to ten years. That’s a huge accomplishment!!!
Thank you, Sharon! Next year it will be 15 🙂
What a great story, Wendy! I love the Quaker wedding certificate–what a wonderful memento. And who doesn’t want to be married by Elvis in Las Vegas?
Thanks for stopping by, Kay! Loved reading everyone’s stories!
Wendy,
I LOVE that you got married a second time and by Elvis no less! What fun!!!
🙂 Thanks. He sang I can’t help falling in love with you at the end & then Viva Las Vegas
Wendy, you hit both ends of the marriage spectrum– one intimate, religious/reflectful ceremony and another zany and kooky and fun! Sounds like a perfect mix for whatever life will bring your way. 🙂
I love both ideas!!!
Thanks, Pris! Both were special in such different ways 🙂
Wendy,
Both sound like the perfect way to show your love. The first for your man only. The second for all the family that had grown closer because of your joining 10 years earlier.
We had a close-family-only, private ceremony with an open reception because my father had died 3 years before, and I have 2 older brothers. I thought one would feel slighted if I chose the other to walk me down the aisle.
I have a baby brother (baby only in years, he was already over 6ft and I’m 5’2″ if I stand really straight) who had just turned 17 a few days earlier. He walked me in from a side door.
He told me a few years later that the pastor had wanted him to kiss me on the cheek before he walked away.
Not! He patted my shoulder in a rather awkward, “my sister has cooties” sort of way.
But it was the perfect day for us. We will be celebrating 17 years this fall.