A HUGE thank you to Joseph for selflessly giving of that day to take pictures. He started photographing at 8:30 a.m. and the final pictures were taken at 6:30 p.m. Thank you, Joseph, for your sacrifice! He also spent many hours processing the photos.
Sarah
“Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations” (Deuteronomy 7:9).
Goodbyes!
This was supposed to be the final installment, but we will share just a few more in one final post early next week.
“What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder” (Mark 10:9).
“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalms 118:24).
The use of silly string only happened after the car doors were safely closed.
Christopher drove down the street a little ways and then turned around.
Can you see the hand waving admist the silly string?
Picture time in a nearby park (next post will have lots more).
“And thou shalt rejoice before the Lord thy God, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy manservant, and thy maidservant, and the Levite that is within thy gates, and the stranger, and the fatherless, and the widow, that are among you, in the place which the Lord thy God hath chosen to place his name there” (Deuteronomy 16:11).
“Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race” (Psalms 19:5).
“Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour” (Ecclesiastes 4:9).
Thank you very much, Jeremy and Rachel, for running the Live Stream cameras and doing an excellent job!
“House and riches are the inheritance of fathers: and a prudent wife is from the LORD.” (Proverbs 19:14)
“Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.” (Revelation 19:7)
“Whoso findeth a wife findeth a good thing, and obtaineth favour of the LORD.” (Proverbs 18:22)
“And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” (Revelation 21:2)
Christopher and Anna Marie met for a few minutes in the sanctuary around 10:30.
“Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.” (Psalms 19:5)
We’ll be posting the pictures in a number of sequential installments, as you can tell, we’re just beginning 
.
“That prepareth his heart to seek God, the Lord God of his fathers. . .” (2 Chronicles 30:19).
Our dear friends, the R. family, made it possible for our nursing home friends to watch the wedding. It was such a delight that they were able to see! Here are some thoughts from Mrs. R. on how it went.
“The residents truly enjoyed the ceremony. We all did; it was beautiful and so Christ centered. It was so special to the residents that they could watch. And, of course, they were completely amazed that it was taking place so far away and they could see it through the computer!”
Watching
Our dear friends.
Sweet Mrs. B.
Christopher had ordered a cake for them to enjoy after the ceremony!
Cutting the cake.
“Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world” (James 1:27).
It’s hard to know where to start with sharing about the wedding. We’ll wait to post some thoughts on the day itself for another post, so I’ll back up to Friday. Friday morning, after several “groups” of us were out running errands, we met together at the Hamilton’s to have family Bible time and lunch. It was wonderful to be all together: Grandad, Grandma, Aunt Tami, Uncle Rob, Nathan, Melanie, and the girls all flew in Thursday evening. We are excited that they made it safely.
Friday afternoon was busy as details came together, with the rehearsal starting at 3. Christopher had everything organized, and we ran through the rehearsal twice. It was starting to feel real as we practiced . It was a joy to be apart of the rehearsal and all the work Christopher and Anna Marie had put into planning a God-honoring wedding. Afterward, we all gathered in the fellowship hall for dinner and time to share. We want to express a huge thank you to Mrs. Mari, who posts comments here on the blog. She graciously planned and organized the entire dinner, which was such an incredible blessing. Thank you, dear Mrs. Mari.
After the delicious dinner, we had a time where several shared, and then Joseph, John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary shared through music. One VERY special part was a song Joseph wrote to be able to sing at the younger five’s weddings, but they decided to share it at Christopher’s. It was an incredible sweet time as we all listened. Christopher had no idea they had been working on the song (and practicing MANY hours). Then, we also surprised Christopher and Anna Marie with a slide show of their growing up years. I had scanned in pictures over several Sunday’s in the summer, and Anna compiled ours and the Hamilton’s this week, which was a big project. It was a wonderful way to be able to reminiscence over their lives.
What a sweet, sweet, afternoon/evening we had! Truly, when the Lord brings the right person into one’s life, it’s worth the wait .
Sarah
Family time
Gifts for the bridal party.
Family times.
Grandad and Grandma
The rehearsal
The cutest flower girl ever!
Aunt Mary, Aunt Anna, and niece Abigail
What can I say?
Christopher made Anna Marie a balloon flower, since she didn't have her real flowers yet .
O Perfect Love
Recessing as an engaged couple, but the next day, as Mr. & Mrs. Christopher Maxwell.
Mrs. D. helping!
Thank you to everyone who helped.
Mrs. Mari even had special glasses for the bride and groom!
Dessert
Decorations
Christopher and Anna Marie
John sharing.
We surprised them with a slideshow of their growing up and single years. Anna spent many hours compiling it, thanks Anna!
Watching the slideshow
“And there ye shall eat before the Lord your God, and ye shall rejoice in all that ye put your hand unto, ye and your households, wherein the Lord thy God hath blessed thee” (Deuteronomy 12:7).
We’ve decided to make it so that you can actually watch the Live Stream on our blog.
You should see the “play” button approximately 10-15 minutes before the wedding starts. If, five minutes beforehand, you don’t see the play button, click the little arrows in the bottom left corner of the box above which will refresh your page and should allow you to click the play button. After you have the live stream working, you can click the full screen button in the bottom right hand corner above.
Important note: There will be a special welcome to our Internet guests 10 minutes before the wedding officially starts, so if you don’t want to miss that … You may also view the Wedding Program at this link (which will open up a new page on your browser).
Remember, the wedding begins Saturday, October 23rd, at 1 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time. We will go live about 10-15 minutes beforehand, so this translates to:
Thank you for rejoicing with us as we celebrate the marriage of Christopher and Anna Marie.
Sarah for the rest
“Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: and let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified” (Psalms 70:4).