By Beth Carpenter
This month, my husband and I flew to
Of course, nothing ever goes perfectly. There were misunderstandings, someone got sick, and with no breeze the outdoor reception was so hot that most of the wedding party ended up in the pool, wedding gown and all.
But none of that mattered. Two people who love each other pledged their lives to one another, and that’s a pretty amazing thing.
Happily-ever-after doesn’t mean there won’t be squabbles, sickness, discomfort, and hard times. It means when those things come, there will be someone there who loves you to help you through them. It means when good things happen, there will be someone there to share the joy.
At my own wedding, our minister called me by my sister’s name. Twice. But eventually he got it right, and we were married. The photo below was taken a few minutes after the wedding, and the other one thirty-five years later. A lot changes in thirty-five years, but the important things don’t.
That's why I love romance. Because it promises two people will come together to support each other and build a life. All because of love.
Have you been to any weddings lately?
Beth's first Harlequin, THE ALASKAN CATCH is on sale now at these outlets.
You can find out more at her website or facebook page, or for book news, giveaways, and recipes, sign up for her newsletter.
I love all your pictures! Good luck with The Alaskan Catch. I haven't read it yet, but it's there on the Kindle. Waiting.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Liz. Hope you like it.
DeleteI love that everyone jumps into the pool...even the bride! Thanks for sharing this wonderful event with us. Actually, its been a while since I've attended a wedding.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't believe it when she jumped in.
DeleteThank you for sharing the beautiful pictures, Beth . . . especially the two of you and your husband.
ReplyDeleteI've read The Alaskan Catch and loved it! In additional to the wonderful HEA, you evoked such lovely images of Alaska, I really want to visit!
Congratulations and best wishes for much success with your debut Heartwarming book!!
I'm thrilled that you liked it, Kate. If you ever make it up, be sure to contact me and we'll get together.
DeleteI think the things that don't go according to plan in a wedding are what makes it most memorable. :) Thanks for sharing the pictures, and congratulations on your release! Alaska seems like such an exciting place to live!
ReplyDeleteI agree. It's the challenges that make it a great story later. Thanks for the congratulations. Alaska can be exciting, although at the moment I'm a little tired of rain. It just won't stop.
DeleteThe wedding sounds great. I can't believe your mom went at her age! In PA barn weddings seem to be the thing right now. We just went to one last weekend and two last summer.
ReplyDeleteI've never been to a barn wedding, but I think I'd love that. Do they have hay bales and such, or is it just a big empty barn?
DeleteBeth, this is such a lovely post and the pool photos! Well, I thought that would only happen in a movie...What a loving couple...you and your husband, I mean.
ReplyDeleteThe Alaskan Catch is on my nightstand. This weekend for sure!!! I can't wait. Good luck with it!
Thanks Catherine. It was so hot, I wasn't surprised to see a few people in the pool, but I was shocked when the bride jumped in.
DeleteThat pool photo would make an AWESOME final scene to a Heartwarming story! Thanks so much for sharing your family pictures. Yours and many other HW stories are waiting on TBR pile for when I get off deadline.
ReplyDeleteIt would, wouldn't it? Enjoy your reading once you get that deadline met.
DeleteBeth, first--loved the book. Second, your mom looks so young. I'm glad you all got to attend the wedding. I went to a California beach wedding a year ago for the daughter of one of my nephews. So funny as the day was hotter than normal so the minister moved the wedding quite a ways farther down the beach---but the person who was supposed to come back to tell everyone at the hotel forgot. The majority of us wandered around like fools until a stranger said, "Oh, I saw them putting up chairs about a mile down the beach." Sure enough...the poor bride thought no one was coming.
ReplyDeleteThat's funny. Nothing like trying to attend a wedding at an undisclosed location.
DeleteMy mother finally quite coloring her hair, and it turns out she has less gray than I do. I apparently take after my dad.
I'm so glad you liked the book. Thanks, Roz.
What a fun post--those pictures are wonderful. Funny what stands out in a story like the one you told. You mother really does look terrific, but the milestone of getting her first passport touched my heart, probably because my passport is one of my favorite possessions! I was still a little kid when my mother got her first passport way back in the 1950s. She was a librarian and when she died, I put aside three items to keep in a special place--her library card, her reading glasses, and her last passport. Needless to say, she was a big fan of my writing career. That pool scene looks like something we'd see in a movie! Very funny. Thanks for your post.
ReplyDeleteI love that you kept her passport. I'll bet your mother had some wonderful stories to tell. My mother and dad traveled all over the US in their Airstream. They'd been to Mexico and Canada several times, but this was the first time she'd needed a passport to travel out of the country. So she went up and got one.
DeleteOh, I remember those no-passport-required days. I'm glad your mom "got with the new program" and enjoyed the wedding. How fun.
DeleteBeautiful pictures and despite the heat, I'm sure it was a beautiful wedding. I love reading about weddings, probably because I never had one. And I love the passport story!
ReplyDeleteIt was lovely. IMHO it would have been even better in January, but it was fun.
DeleteHow sweet. I love the picture of you and your husband then and now. And your mom looks wonderful.
ReplyDeleteI haven't been to a wedding in probably a year.
Thanks, Laurie. It had been a while for me, too.
DeleteGreat photos, Beth and it must have been a lovely wedding! I've never been to a destination wedding and they sound like a lot of fun, even considering the unexpected glitches. Got to be a book in that!
ReplyDeleteAll those friends and family gathered at an unfamiliar place - got to be some stories in that. Muriel Jenson's New Year's Wedding is about wedding planning and a serious wedding disaster. Loved those characters.
DeleteBeth, I'm so sorry I'm late to this post (blame deadlines). I LOVE it and the photos! That photo with everyone in the pool is too funny. And I especially love the pics of your wedding and seeing the love between you, then and now.
ReplyDelete