My Daughter's Wedding

Posted: 04 May 2006

This site is a continuation of the celebration associated with my daughter, Heather, marrying my new son-in-law, Michael Graff. In order to appreciate the content of the photos, I should mention that Heather and Michael have a major shared interest in the Society for Creative Anachronism, or SCA. They met via this connection and this shared experience forms a theme for this wedding ceremony.

The marriage unfolded over a period of two days. For some complex reasons not necessary to explain here, the "official" marriage took place on Friday (28 April) in a small church in north Oklahoma City. It was a small ceremony, with only family in attendance, officiated by Pastor Peggy Risenhoover, a Methodist minister-in training, and longtime friend of Heather's. The vows were something special, apparently derived from some materials found on the Web, but they were especially apt for this particular couple. It was an emotional experience for us all, but a happy one. Pictures during the ceremony were prohibited, but afterward, the orgy of photography began ..

All the family members present (except Vickie's camera-shy sister Carol) after the ceremony - Heather's family on the left and Michael's family on the right.

At the end of the ceremony, Peggy presents Michael and Heather Graff to the attendees.

Vickie and I stand proudly with the newlyweds. Yes, that's a suit and tie - Heather is one of the few people who can ask me to wear a suit and tie and have some chance I will actually do it.

After the ceremony, the group went to Royal Bavaria on Sooner Road in Moore for a meal and some well-earned celebrations. A good time was definitely had by all. But it couldn't go on too long, because we had the next day's continuation to anticipate.

The wedding party, having changed into more or less ordinary clothes, enjoys the fine food and service in the private party room of Royal Bavaria

Overnight and on into the late morning and early afternoon, wind and rain buffeted our preparations for a special Saturday celebration at Zoom Beach, Lake Thunderbird state park. The goal was to have family and friends join in on the party, with a simulated version of the marriage ceremony. Fine smoked barbecue was provided by Heather and Michael's SCA friend John McCuan ...

John, hard at work at his smoker, getting ready for the meal to come.

We were pleased to have many of our friends in attendance, including some of our friends in Boy Scouts ...

Left: Rich Ice and Don Carter. Right: Jane Harris, Audre Carter, Marian Ice

After some visiting and last minute-preparations, the faux ceremony, reprising the one from the night before (sans the emotional part) got under way.

The ceremony, underway. To the left is Katie Mosely, the bridesmaid and another longtime friend of Heather's.

The traditional end to a wedding ceremony!

From there, we went on to the wedding feast, enjoyed by all, of course. A number of participants from Heather and Michael's SCA friends were there, in regalia, as well as other friends and family members

Once everyone had their fill, we moved on to the process of cutting (and eating) the wedding cake, which had been baked and decorated by none other than my very talented Vickie:

With that over , we enjoyed the evening with our friends for a while - some departed, while others stayed on. Late in the evening, Heather provided belly dancing instructions to those willing to shed some inhibitions and don the appropriate regalia, with rhythm provided by Micheal and friends ...

Alas, the hour grew late, and the celebrations finally closed. On Sunday evening, Vickie and I returned to help with clean up, which wasn't too bad, and we had a chance to consume some leftovers in the process.

I can say that this was a lot of fun, and especially so with the help of all our friends and family. A few more photos to close the page ... the first showing of a shirt that Heather made for me (she also made others for other participants):

This great shot of Heather and me was taken by Vickie's brother, Mel, shown below with his lovely wife, Brenda. Mel is a professional photographer (among other things), who shoots weddings and portraits. He's obviously an outstanding photographer, I think you must agree. It was great having them able to be here for the wedding, and a little beyond!