Scott and Sarah Have a Unique, Joyful and Playful Wedding at Seeds Educational Garden in Durham

Many thanks to Sarah's sister Carla of Carla Duran Photography for these great pictures.  You will immediately see why I just had to write a blog about Scott and Sarah's wedding.  I am so impressed, too, that they planned this all so well to everyone's enjoyment.  

They wanted a relaxed informal ceremony with a rustic earthy tone held in Seeds Educational Garden in Durham.  The reception would be held in the outdoor classroom.  Here are some pictures of Seeds.  I'd never been there before and I doubt if anyone else had the creative thought of using it for their wedding.  But it worked wonderfully. 

Below are the guests during the ceremony gathered around the gazebo.

And here is the outdoor classroom.

At 11:11 in the morning a bagpiper piped the wedding party into the gazebo at the center, Scott and Sarah at the end of the line.  Their friend Amy welcomed everyone and led us through Om three times to center into the moment.

Their friend Cristian translated the ceremony, paragraph by paragraph, into Spanish, too.  He had the cutest children and it was wonderful that we had two languages of celebration.

Then they had me tell a lovely story about two very different trees, a Cottonwood and a Sycamore who have different rhythms of blooming and shedding leaves and honor, support and care each other in their difference, during their times of being bare and vulnerable.

The story ended with, 'It is from these two trees that I learned what it is to truly honor and love one another and to honor the timing of everyone and everything.  My Dear Friends, my Dear Companions, the greatest bloom is surely coming and when it does, it will be the most beautiful bloom in the forever of forevers.'

And so, too, with Scott and Sarah.  They chose to perform Saptha Padhi, one element of a Hindu wedding ceremony, as their vows.  Saptha Padhi translates as 'seven steps', which are taken by the bride and groom as the seven promises they make to each other are recited.  It is a lovely ritual.  And of course, we ended with a kiss!

During the picture taking there were opportunities for face painting, you can see that Sarah and Scott had fun with this, too, and for adding soil to the tree that would be planted by Scott and Sarah in the tree planting ceremony later during the reception.

 And of course there is always time for cake made by Guglhupf Bakery also in Durham.

 In the tree planting ceremony everyone adds some soil to the pot, just like they nurture the ground of their friendship with Sarah and Scott.  As they added their soil, they added a blessing for Sarah and Scott and their marriage.

 Then Scott and Sarah finish the planting.

While we planned the tree planting ceremony together, since they did it as part of their reception, I wasn't there to see it.  I love how it turned out.  And it is a fig tree they planted.  Since I love fresh figs, there can be no better tree in my mind for this ritual for them.  May they have many many happy years of fig preserves and many other blessings, too!