April Ceremony
On 4.3.21, we forced our immediate families to sit in the sun on a warm spring day and watch us promise to like each other forever. (We did give them sunglasses and bubbles to alleviate the brightness and the boredom, it should be noted.) Vows included Laura promising to let Ryan do the edges of jigsaw puzzles so long as Ryan agrees that Laura can buy plants whenever she wants.
To the tune of "San Francisco" by the Mowgli's, Laura was preceded down the aisle by Quinn Hood escorting Oliver Wendell Holmes III in his finest floral bow tie, Zoe Hood with photos of two loved ones who have passed, and Sebastian Hood with the wedding rings. Following the ceremony, we served brunch, played lawn games and drank champagne until early evening, when co-host Rich Markey unveiled the ham he was insistent on purchasing. (Turns out he was right; it was a hit.)
A close friend to both of us, John-Mark Zini, served as the officiant for the ceremony, during which he mostly talked about Pixar movies, to our great delight.
While Laura's ring was purchased new, Ryan was given his ring by his father, Bob Rambusch, who was also in attendance.
Thank you to our broody goose overlord for graciously allowing our ceremony to proceed in her backyard.
Laura's favorite pothos lined the aisle. And several of them actually survived the move to the new house! Well, some. A couple.
Quinn Hood and Oliver Wendell Holmes III (Ollie) raced down the aisle in matching florals. Quinn teamed up with her mother, Megan, and her sister, Zoe, to pick out beautiful flower girl dresses.
Zoe Hood carried pictures of Ryan's step-sister, Kelsey Thornton, and Laura's grandfather, Bill Markey, and we know we have them to thank for orchestrating the beautiful weather.
Technically, because the ceremony occurred in Kansas, Ollie could have served as officiant but Laura was firmly told no when she suggested this.
Sebastian Hood carried the rings down the aisle. We wondered if he might throw them in the pond, but he performed beautifully and isn't to blame for any of the times we've lost our rings since then.
Who doesn't love donuts? We thought we overbought and only ended up with a couple leftovers, so as far as we can tell, no one.
Megan Hood, Laura's sister, served as a witness and doubled as a coordinator because she kindly allowed us to put all three of her kids to work.
We provided tradescantia, syngonium, pilea and more as parting gifts for our attendees, along with notebooks and pencils so everyone could journal about how much they adore their new plants.
Cody Calkins, Ryan's step-brother, served as a witness. Cody helped us move into our first apartment together in 2014, and unbelievably, he still hasn't called in that favor.
A setting for our al fresco brunch in the goose's backyard.
Our photographer was lovely, but in retrospect this might have been a good moment for her to advise Laura to put her heels back on.
Turns out we're easy to entertain: just give us beer and lawn games. Pictured here: Kan Jam, but Ryan and Jeff Markey, Laura's brother, are on the hunt for worthy competitors in Polish Horseshoes.
Special thanks to Rich and Patty Markey, current owners of this wedding venue, who were eventually able to wrangle the yard back from goose.
Hat tip to Jeff and Ellie Markey for lending us their bounce house as an alternative to giving the kids a couple bottles of champagne for entertainment.
For all the days along the way
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