Camp Wedding

Okay, so, I didn’t commit felony arson. I didn’t really have time, or actually know how to burn down a building. And several other issues. A life of crime just wasn’t going to work for me, no matter how much the insurance money would have helped.

Instead, I got married. 10/4/14 (a great date for an anniversary!). It was a perfect weekend… okay, well, it was a weekend filled with near disasters and so many “camp” things. But it was prefect to me. I married the man that I love. All of my family and friends (not to mention bulldogs) were there. And we were at camp… the place I love.

A, M, B and I spent the week at camp, decorating, setting things up, getting ready. It was like a wedding themed pre-camp. We laughed a lot and had a lot of fun. I couldn’t stop thinking about how important this camp is and how I need to save it.

‘N’ arrived Thursday and we headed to the dining hall for last minute decorating. I was lecturing him about the golf cart being a camp tool and not a toy. We walked into the dining hall and heard a giant crash. The golf cart, which I have driven every day of the summer for many years, the golf cart that is not a toy and must be treated as a tool, the golf cart I wouldn’t let my to be husband drive… it had rolled backwards down the hill and crashed into the propane tank. The dining hall was NOT the building I had considered burning down.

There was a small gas leak, but we got the tank shut down and luckily, the gas company was able to come out first thing the next morning to repair the tank.

Friday was the rehearsal, which was supposed to be followed by a cookout and campfire for 80 people. It rained on and off all day, and by the time the rehearsal came, I was not wearing the beautiful lacy dress I’d bought for the occasion, instead, I was wearing rubber galoshes. The “cookout” got moved into the basement of the dining hall. The cooks were amazing and grilled everything in the rain and brought all of the food inside.

Near the end of the rehearsal, in typical camp fashion, the power went out. I’d insisted on having a generator for the weekend, so we were only in the dark for a short period of time.

The weekend before the wedding, it was 80 degrees and sunny. Our wedding day, however, was 37degrees and windy. As we were taking photos, I held out hope that we could get married outside. My husband to be, my mom, my best friend- each was sent to reason with me throughout the morning. It wasn’t until a little less than an hour before the wedding that it finally hit me that we couldn’t possibly be outside for the ceremony. At that point, the whole wedding team (several former camp staff had come back to help with set up, clean up, serving meals, etc) went to work setting up the chapel.

As photos ended and I had the realization that we couldn’t get married outside, I noticed Olivia’s face was puffy. And within minutes, her eyes were almost swollen shut. I don’t know if she got bit by something or rubbed her face on some kind of plant. I gave her 2 benedryl and FREAKED out as I was practically dragged from the house to the chapel. I was prepared to drop everything and rush to the emergency vet, but luckily the wedding party didn’t agree with me and we all (still swollen, drugged Olivia as well) made it down the aisle.

The ceremony was actually really lovely in the chapel and then we were married! Olivia’s face seemed to be less swollen, although I made ‘A’ check on her several times during the reception. The reception was super fun and everything I’d imagined. We danced all night and it was a blast.

The next day, everyone was back for brunch and then ‘N’ and I went to a bed and breakfast for a few days of rest and relaxation. ‘A’ and the wedding staff pulled out docks and shut everything down for the season. We still don’t have a plan for selling camp, so at this point, it’s just packed up like normal.

I had a perfect camp wedding. It was everything I’d imagined. Now that the madness of wedding planning is over, I can focus on my new task at hand- fight for camp. I’m not ready to give up yet.