Mary Magdalene | Creative Potager

We are celebrating with biscuits, jam and dark roast coffee this morning.

Three years ago today is the day we surprised our family and friends. We eloped. Well, technically I suppose a person must run away to elope. We just didn’t tell anyone until after we were married. I suppose that isn’t exactly true either because we asked our closest friends in our Mayne Island community to marry us and be our witness. Then of course we had to also swear our local baker to secrecy in order to have a cake to serve with coffee and champagne after the ceremony.

But considering that we had lived together for eight years and had given no indication that we would ever marry, we did take most by surprise.

It was a cold December day that year as our friend John drove us to the local Mary Magdalene church.

We were like deer in the headlights as we walked up the isle of an almost empty small church.

Neither of us had expected the emotional significance of a decision we had thought we were making for some very practical reasons. This part of the surprise was on us.

The ceremony was short and included a poem written to me by David. The signing of papers happened with grace and ease.

It was so cold we could see our breath. Thankfully the candles gave off such warm light. In very short order we were leaving the church.

It was snowing when we stepped out that door and headed back to our home – la casa de inspiracion. The warmth of our heated floors in our strawbale timberframe house and the smell of freshly brewed dark coffee added to the festive mood of the morning.

There was the ritual slicing of the cake.

As you can see we are not a pair of youngsters but we giggled with the same nervous delight of a couple twenty-year-olds. After all, we were going away on a honeymoon. But before we could change there was one last requests from our witnesses. They wanted a picture of me in my shoes.

They look pretty non-impressive from this angle don’t they? Let’s try this again.

I can tell you honest and true – these shoes were NOT made for walking. But I also think that the photo op request was because I am usually barefoot or in walking shoes or hiking boots and so these shoes were particularly amusing to our guests. I will quietly admit to you that even at just past the age of fifty-one, I felt like such a beautiful bride in this dress and these elegant shoes.

Today, we give special thanks and warm hugs to our friends Thomi, John and Joyce who were a big part of this intimate elopement and to our family and friends who we love and who love us back. Thank you all for just being you and letting us be us.

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Creative Potager – Visit with painter and photographer Terrill Welch

From Mayne Island, British Columbia, Canada

Terrill Welch Artist website at http://terrillwelchartist.com