Stephen & Ashley's Wedding, Wequassett Inn, Chatham, MA

The day was rainy and cold, yet under the deck canopy of the Wequassett Inn of Chatham,

Stephen and Ashley exchanged their vows under blue and yellow lanterns, their loving smiles lighting up an otherwise dreary-weather day.

In preparation for their ceremony, Michael Gabriel played steel drums, their beautiful, delicate tones wafting across the balcony where family and friends eagerly awaited the arrival of the bride. Ice sculptures and gorgeous flowers decorated the great room adjoining, this lovely couple's photos adorning their reception table, complete with a beautifully painted Cape Cod dune scene mural along the back wall.

Ashley's mom is a florist, and it was no surprise that the flower arrangements were magnificent! The room was full of the beautiful aroma of fresh cut flowers showing brilliant colors.

Each couple has their own story about how they met. Ashley and Stephen's story is one of those special stories about an amazing series of coincidences one cannot ignore. I share with you their story, as incorporated into their customized wedding service for their family and friends to hear:

"What greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined - to strengthen each other - to be at one with each other in silent unspeakable memories. As is often the case we meet each other by chance, become friends by choice, still friends by decision, and when we say friends forever, that's definitely a lifetime. As I understand it, Stephen and Ashley’s “chance meeting” began in 2004 when Stephen was visiting a long-time friend, Jay, who worked with Ashley at Kay Jewelers. According to Ashley, Stephen would occasionally visit and, even though they were both in separate relationships, Ashley knew in her heart that “they both felt something for each other.” Time goes by, Stephen enlists as a combat engineer in the army; he’s deployed to the middle east, Ashley goes to work in her mom’s flower shop, and one day a call comes in from a soldier in Ramadi, Iraq . . . wanting to place an order for flowers. As a sidebar, Ashley’s mom has a policy wherein any order placed by soldiers serving overseas are to be processed free of charge. This came as a pleasant surprise to our caller, and needless to say he was very grateful for the gesture.

Again, time goes by, our appreciative solder returns to the States and, one day, walks into the flower shop to express his gratitude to the owner. As fate would have it the soldier turned out to be Stephen. But, the story doesn’t end here. Stephen and Ashley talk, they meet again at the flower shop on several occasions, he asks her out on a date and . . . according to Ashley, “. . . I was unable to go just yet.”

The odyssey continues . . . both Stephen and Ashley enroll at the same college, Ashley spots Stephen’s car in the campus parking lot, thinks about writing a note and leaving it on his windshield but, instead, waits for him by a door leading to his class. Our determined heroine wasted no time in informing Stephen that she was “unattached” and quickly asked him out on a first date."

Stephen and Ashley, congratulations to you both on your wedding day! May you experience all the joys of loving one another for many, many years to come!