August 14, 2026, is eleven years ago since we prepared for our first wedding. Happy Anniversary Tim and Liz! We wish you many more happy, healthy years together! For this column I’m going to share from the columns I wrote back then.
August 2015
On the day of the wedding, we serve a meal after the services and marriage, which are usually all done by noon. Then we serve a 5 p.m. supper for guests and a 7 p.m. supper for the youth and family. The bride and groom usually open their wedding gifts in the afternoon.
We are renting a wedding wagon, which comes with seven stoves and two sinks, plus all the pots, pans and dishes you need for the wedding. It also has a big cooler/freezer to put all the food in after it has been prepared. An 8-foot-by-16-foot trailer comes with it, carrying all the tables, shelves and dishes.
Yesterday we had a lot of help getting the tables set for the wedding. There are enough place settings for 350. We have enough room in the new pole barn to seat 350 people at one time plus the bride, groom and their four witnesses. The wedding wagon, cooler, and trailer with dishes and tables have to be ready to leave here at 7 a.m. Saturday morning. It will go to another place for another wedding.
My thoughts and prayers are with my firstborn this afternoon as I think of her taking this big step in life. She will have a lot of changes, but I have no doubt in my mind that they will be good ones. It is just a mother’s nature to worry for her children, but there needs to be a time to let them experience life without the presence of their parents.
Elizabeth has been a great daughter and never caused us any trouble. She was always obedient to us, which means so much to parents. My advice to her is to always start her day with her husband in prayer together and to end it with prayer together. What a great way to start and end your day with God being the guide. Every marriage has its ups and downs, but if you have love and respect for each other, things can always be healed. Marriage vows should be taken very seriously. Elizabeth, I pray that you and Timothy will always remain in love as much as you are now. Joe and I were fortunate to have parents who encouraged us and let us make decisions on our own. We asked for a lot of advice, but parents can only give so much advice. It takes husband and wife alone to work things out together, with God as their guide.
Elizabeth and Timothy, may you have a long and happy married life together. May God grant you both good health and a family to care for. I hope and pray your wedding day will be a day you want to remember. My love to both of you. Now we will gain a son, not lose a daughter.
The wedding day of Timothy and daughter Elizabeth is now past.
It was hard to believe this day was finally here after so much preparation to get ready for it! Joe’s cousin Samuel started grilling the 350 pounds of chicken at 4:00 a.m. on Friday. Around 6:30 a.m. the cooks started arriving to get the food prepared. Wedding services were held at our neighbors, Joas and Susan’s. Timothy, Elizabeth and their four witnesses—Mose, Susan, Ernie and Martha (Tim’s sister and her husband)—left to go to the neighbors soon after 7:00 a.m. where the wedding church services were held.
Elizabeth likes the color burgundy and Timothy likes purple, so the wedding colors were those two colors. Elizabeth got married in a burgundy-colored dress with a white cape and apron. The grooms always wear a black suit and white shirt, as do the witnesses. Susan and Martha wore purple dresses with white capes and aprons. Family members wore a shade of rose, and the tablewaiter girls wore another shade of raspberry-colored material. Timothy’s mother and I wore dresses of a dark plum color, and some of the helpers wore purple. The cooks all wore dark gray.
Around 11:30 a.m., toward the end of the service, Bishop Leroy asked Timothy and Elizabeth all the marriage vows, which they responded to with yes. There are six questions that are asked. Then everyone is asked to stand for a prayer for the couple. After the prayer the bishop takes the hand of the bride, places it in the hand of the bridegroom and pronounces them man and wife.
After the service ended around noon, everyone came to our house for the noon meal. We estimated that there were more than 500 people here for the noon meal. Our menu consisted of barbecued chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, noodles, dressing, corn, cheese, lettuce salad, homemade bread, butter, strawberry jam, angel food cake (with frosting and Danish dessert topping), dirt pudding, mixed fruit, and cherry, pecan, and peanut butter pies. We made 25 of each kind of pie. Candy bars were passed around after the meal. The same menu was served at night, but smoked sausage and ice cream were added to the meal. We served around 575 for supper.
God’s blessings!