Allan and Erika's Wedding in Lincoln, New Hampshire

We had managed to tackle the vast majority of our wedding research in those first six months - wrapping up our final contracts for an autumn wedding by late January of 2020. I imagine you can see where this is going. By April 2020 it was clear that our wedding would have to wait - I was worried sick about my little sister at her job as an ER nurse and my partner's mother at her job as a care home nurse. We made the hard decision to postpone by early May 2020, ignoring the debates about how soon things would be back to normal - we postponed a full year in the hopes that covid would be a memory by then. Somehow we managed to keep virtually every vendor despite the postponement, and I will forever be grateful to how caring, kind, and generous they each were in helping us completely rearrange. 'Change the dates' were drawn up and sent out (with a cheerful 'Plot Twist!' heading) and we settled in to do our best through a proper lockdown, somehow growing even closer while the world turned upside down.

Fast forward to October 2021. After watching our wedding countdown jump up to 400+ days, it felt a bit like the scene in Monty Python with the knight running forward across the field but never really getting any closer. Until suddenly, there we were.

We dragged 75 of our closest friends and family up North to Loon Mountain in Lincoln, NH. If you've never been, autumn in the White Mountains is possibly one of the most breathtaking places on earth - the foliage is a flame of color that stretches across miles of mountains. That morning went by in such a flash - our astonishing team of hair and makeup artists joined us in our cozy cabin and suddenly I felt more beautiful than I'd ever felt before. My groom and his fellows were bustling in and out, bringing coffee and treats for everyone to snack on. Our florist Anne drove up from our hometown with a car full of the most beautiful flowers I've ever seen. Our photographer Alisha cheerfully arrived and started calmly arranging my invitations and jewelry into beautiful tableaus. The skies had been threatening to unleash holy heck on us for a week - yet somehow the sun shone through as my mom helped me button up my wedding dress.

The first look was when it finally hit me that we were really about to be married. I started shaking as I walked up behind Allan - he was looking away from me out across the riverbed with his hands clasped patiently as I navigated the boulders in my wedding shoes! I took a deep breath and reached out for his shoulder. He turned and his excited grin broke into a joyful smile of astonishment. I'm told that this time I made a sound like a happy hamster rather than a dump truck, which seems like an improvement. Then we were off to the mountain.

Allan and I and all of our guests rode gondolas to the summit of Loon Mountain. The view was breathtaking. The skies were moody and wild. As we walked down the steep stairs to the platform that overlooked the cliffs, I couldn't believe that so much planning and organizing and time and effort was finally coming together into this exact moment. It felt downright magical.

We were utterly surprised when one of our dear friends actually SANG her reading! An antique silver box kept our rings safe. We joyfully recited to each other vows we had written but not yet shared - promises to feed the cat early in the morning, to join in the occasional session of tabletop wargaming, and shared astonishment that we had found in each other our perfect person - our best friend. We finally became husband and wife - ten years after we had each whispered 'I love you' for the first time.

We joined our loved ones back at the base lodge which had magically been transformed into a cozy, romantic, woodland wonderland. Purple and green mosses speckled with mushrooms draped across every table, with vintage books and twinkle lights tucked among the autumn leaf table numbers. My best friend and Allan's brother gave toasts that utterly touched our hearts. The food was delicious, the signature cocktail (named after our beloved cranky kitty) was a hit, and then the dancing began in earnest.

Did I mention that Allan and I love to go dancing? We knew we wanted a special sort of night, and found the perfect DJ to help us bring our vision to life. He worked with us to curate a playlist than spanned the decades and genres with a little something for everyone - and a LOT of something to dance to. We found ourselves rushing back to the dance floor again and again as the night went on. Possibly the best moment of the night was when Backstreet Boys 'I Want it That Way' came on and every single person started frantically looking for the groom. Allan came RUNNING from the patio to take up center stage and belt out the entire song, to a crowd of cheering friends and fans. We only took a break to cram the photo booth and destroy the cookie table (all sourced from our favorite hometown coffee shops). The evening wound down and we settled in for an 'afterparty' hour of pizza and coffee, hugs and goodbyes.

The night went by in a flash. If I were do it all over, I wouldn't change a thing. We crafted (and then recrafted) our day to focus on our guests and making sure they were comfortable, cared for, and joyful - and that joy was returned to us tenfold. The whole weekend was suffused with an overwhelming sense of love, and I will cherish the memories we made for all my days. The little hiccups (and there certainly were a few! That rain did eventually come and drench us all on the rush out to our cars!) never actually mattered. Just like it began, it was only ever about the love between two people - what a joy to share that on a mountaintop.