as the north wind [blaine & lindsay's wedding]

When love beckons to you, follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

[picture by emily giese - photographer extraordinaire]

the biggest reason we chose to go home in august was so that we could witness & celebrate my [amanda's] brother blaine's wedding. he & his bride, lindsay, got married on a warm summer day in the finger lakes region of ny state.

the wedding was at a quaint little chapel on the grounds of a beautiful old victorian home. the service & reception were simple, elegant & lots of fun - just like the newlywedded couple themselves!

[picture by kristen hamm]

it was a joyful celebration with the whole hastings family & the many, many friends who came to celebrate too.

[pictures by tim hack]

daniel played violin for the ceremony & i read a poem by Khalil Gibran, a Lebanese poet & philosopher, during the service.

On Love

When love beckons to you, follow him,

Though his ways are hard and steep.

And when his wings enfold you yield to him,

Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.

And when he speaks to you believe in him,

Though his voice may shatter your dreams

as the north wind lays waste the garden.

For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you.

Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.

Even as he ascends to your height

and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,

So shall he descend to your roots

and shake them in their clinging to the earth.

...

All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart,

and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.

-Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

c + a = cranny

[picture by infinity photography]

while we were home we also had the great fortune to witness craig & anny's wedding. from adventures in rural cambodia to dancing the night away in vancouver, we've made some really great memories with these dear friends & celebrating with them was a highlight of our time at home.

[wedding exuberance by infinity photography]

poetry collides [katie & nathan get married!]

another exciting part of our sabbatical this summer was the happy occasion to join with katie & nathan to celebrate their wedding.

[photo by the amazing Christopher Kuehl, Denver Wedding Photography. click on the link for the most beautiful wedding photos ever]

to my great, great fortune katie & i were matched as roommates during our freshman year at university. we spent the next several years taking lots of naps, avoiding social situations, hiding in our room (with hannah too!), listening to our evolving tastes in music, & generally working out who & what it was that we wanted to be. i can still remember how completely heartbroken i was the day we moved out of our little dorm room - katie bound for martha's vineyard & i bound for alaska.

[ok, we have a bit of a height difference, but she must have been wearing heels in this photo, right?]

it turns out that katie wanted to be a whimsical, creative & beauty-inspired artist + musician better suited to the east coast than our indiana cornfields. & in that endeavor she stumbled upon nathan, just the dear partner, muse, encourager, & dreamer for her.

[& yes, they are hipster super models - a perfect fit! photo also by Christopher Kuehl, Denver Wedding Photography]

& so they decided to get married. & it was a beautiful, whimsical, deeply inspired creative celebration.

you can check out their latest musical endeavor, Faux Fix, here. full length album coming early 2011!

to weddings we go

last month sona, the director of women peacemakers (the local NGO amanda works with) got married, so we got the chance to attend another traditional cambodian wedding.

cambodians go all-out for weddings so we enjoyed all the extravagance (the bride & groom change outfits 7 times!), the food (daniel ate pig's ear!), & the interesting traditions (just before they cut the cake the wedding party spray the bride & groom with silly string while "happy birthday" music plays!)