Pictures below

   At the beginning of a very windy day, myself, Amber (the "bride") and four others, 
Angel (Earth), Dana (Air), Cindy (one of the pristesses) and Brandy (our professional hairdresser), 
set out to Zoom beach, Thunderbird lake, in Norman, Oklahoma to get ready for the ceremony 
that afternoon, schedualed to take place at three pm.
 
   The guest and ceremony list is as follows. My two 'sisters' were one of four elements. 
Angel and Dana. I had a friend drive in from Tx, Mel to be Water and a friend of 15 years, Leesa 
to be Fire. Aaron, my fiance and I were to be the Spirit element to be combined. Cindy and 
Sherry were the two priestesses. 

   Other guests included my mother, father and brother. My mother's friend, Tammy and 
her husband (who graciously video taped the whole thing onto a video cd for me). My cousin's 
Michael and Michelle, Cindy's daughter Cora, her date (who's name i didn't catch) and another 
friend of ours, Castle. 

   For the next five hours, we took turns lying down on the long tables in order to staple the 
table cloths on, so the wind wouldn't blow them away as well as putting the maypole in the ground 
and chasing balloons off into the woods, where they were never again found. *sigh* Fortunatly, 
we were able to wrap up the poles in beautiful pink and white garland flowers before setting out 
to do the impossible. 

   Start a bonfire.

   In Oklahoma, on a windy day.

   Fortunatly, the fire worked throughout the ceremony, though all of our clothes were 
permenatly attatched to our bodies via the wind. 

   At two pm, we all got dressed and I took Brandy home after having almost all of our hair done. 
(I did Angel and Dana's hair and Leesa's was too short to do anything with...). My elements 
each wore handmade dresses tailored to them (cheaply) of their color. Red for Leesa, Blue for Mel, 
Green for Angel (which she loved) and Yellow for Dana (which she loathed...and still does). Cindy 
wore a pretty green crushed velvet dress that reached her knees and Sherry wore a black dress (for 
the life of me I don't know why) with a black cloak. Cora was adorable in her seafoam green flower 
girl dress (though she hid behind Cindy most of the ceremony and behind me the rest of the time 
when she wasn't near the cake). 

   I myself was dressed in a long satin and velvet gown (and noone told me my bra *and it just 
had to be bright blue* was showing *glares*) with a satin front, lined on the edges and around 
in velvet. Long bell velvet arms with satin underneith as well as a double layered skirt, satin 
under velvet again. Two cords tied the sides 
together with lace trim. My hair (which i loved, THANKS BRANDY!) was braided up the front and 
back and came together into barrel curls (which promptly blew away at the first chance the wind 
got). Over all we looked stunning next to the pavillion full of blue-jean-clad guests.  

   Aaron and Kyle, my brother, wore robes of white satin with a cord of gold around their waists 
and thankfully they both shaved that morning. I had to make due with the hair...

   The ceremony went smoothly aside from a few small blunders. Sherry missing some words...lines...
going the wrong way around the circle, the wind knocking over things and Dana taking a tumble 
to the ground (though she was laughing) and we were handfasted successfully, exchanging Claddagh 
rings to each other on necklaces. Claddagh rings are gold or silver rings made of a heart in the 
center for love, hands holding it for friendship and a crown on top for loyalty. It's a very old 
Irish tradition. (kiss me, I'm Irish!)

   The reception went well too, becoming very amusing. As my new husband and I danced, 
I heard Angel count out '1,2,3' and then everyone said 'awwww'. Very cute, Angel, very cute. 
Could I blush more? Probably, when Aaron decided to push the cake into my mouth instead of letting 
me take a bite. Don't worry, I got him back my smearing the rest all over his face. =^_^=  
Gotta love it. Then of course there was the realizing that Cora the whole time had convieniently 
left her panties in the bathroom and was commando the whole time when she nearly flashed the camera. 
 And of course the fun didn't end there.

   The Maypole, the last of the fun, was probably the best. And they all doubted me when I suggested 
a Maypole. I wasn't sure people were going to actually do it, but they did (though we were 
missing one ribbon so we end up with 9, which turned into 8 people instead of 10) and it made my 
day. Through the trying to loop one another the right way (which we finally mastered) and keeping 
hold of our ribbons, even when it started to sprinkle a bit, we made it and the Maypole came out 
incredibly beautiful. An incredible weaving of colors around wood (fake). I was truely proud of 
everyone there for trying something new and everyone, even those watching, had fun! 

   Thanks to everyone who was able to make it 
and sorry to those who didn't. They missed out on an incredible day. I know that there were at least 
five people who were unable to make it because of work or previous engagements. Thanks again 
to everyone! Hope to see you in one year!

Photography
Black and Whites
The Ceremony
Group
Amber and Aaron
Other Handfasting Pictures
The Honeymoon