Though the wedding was simple, Mary and Stevie had been working hard with their families over the past week to make sure it'd be beautiful.
When guests first arrive at the park they'd be greeted with a
small set up to send them in the right direction. They'd first walk through the reception area, where there are tables set up to drop off any food people might be bringing with them, in between the one holding Sookie's beautiful cake and one holding coolers full of food to be grilled later and lots of drinks, even some with
edible flower ice cubes Mary had made up. Across from those there are lots of
mis-matched tables and chairs, covered in jars full of bright flowers-which would be a theme running through the wedding. They reminded Mary Ellen of the years when she and Stevie had been young, playing in Peggy's garden together.
Once through the reception area, the ceremony is set up a little more formally, with flowers again lining the aisle,
dark wood chairs set up to face a simple
floral and birch archway where the two of them would wed. There are no programs, but hanging on the back of each chair there are 2-3
paper cones filled with more flower petals, with instructions printed on the paper that the petals should be thrown both as Mary Ellen walks down the aisle with her dad and again when the newlyweds walk back down after the ceremony.
Almost as soon as the ceremony is over, the grill would be started and all the food and coolers opened up. Guests would be told to help themselves whenever they like for their meal and once everyone seems done eating some of the tables would be pushed aside to form a make-shift dance floor and the music would start up louder. Then, after the ceremonial dances and a few more songs, the cake would be cut and shared all around. The party would go as long as people are interested, with Mary Ellen and Stevie being some of the last to leave.
Along with the food and music there would be other things gathered around to keep guests, especially the little ones, entertained. One table would be covered with butcher paper with crayons and markers, there would be a basket full of bubbles, a twister game, and every table would have a few
I spy cards with a note to send all the favorite pictures to Mary and Stevie at the end of the day.