Last week, I was able to revisit the tiny outdoor wedding chapel where Larry and I were married, lo these many moons ago. It was an emotional moment for me, standing on those very steps where we stood and exchanged our vows… where our daughter stood for hers, and where Larry’s brother was married to my dear friend.
We managed to squeeze 35 people into this tiny space… and Larry & I, plus the kids, were six of them! It was a family affair, as my two sons stood up for Larry, and his daughters were my bridesmaids. What a day! Steamy-hot even at 9:00 in the morning, but we loved being in this little garden setting.
Years later, when we decided to build our own wedding chapel in this cool woodland cove of the Great Smoky Mountains, the little Florida chapel served as the inspiration for the design. We wanted to incorporate a cross into the back wall, just as the one we stood before when we married. And we really liked the stairstep design.
Of course, we wanted to simplify it to suit our mountainside setting, and it should be fitting in the forest. We opted for a wood deck, and lined it up between two soaring trees -a tulip poplar and an ancient hemlock we call the Grandfather Tree.
And it still takes my breath away, every morning, to walk down the path to the chapel. It’s a very special place to be, for all our brides. But for me, it evokes the memories of that day, long ago, on a steamy Florida morning, when Larry and I said, “I do.”
