Wedding Bells Ring

 A few weeks ago we drove to Oxford, MS to attend the wedding of one of our Tuesday night group. She was marrying a man she met at the Wesley Foundation while in college so they were getting married at the UMC there in the pretty town of Oxford, MS. The church was lovely. It was interesting because this was the first event we attended where very few, and I truly mean one or two, were the only ones wearing masks. It has been so interesting to move back toward a more normal life.

The bride was not only lovely but the whole service was filled with love of family and friends and most importantly the love of God. The groom has recently graduated from seminary and has taken a position at a local UMC here in town.

The reception was held at a fun venue in the downtown area of Oxford. It was perfect because it was within walking distance of the church. I remembered to throw comfortable shoes into the car when we left the hotel and changed shoes for the walk. Game changer - really!

Here we are with some of our Tuesday night group. The young man standing beside me is Billy. Billy attended our group and about the time that he was moving back to Mississippi, Kate was moving to Birmingham. Billy invited Kate to the group. We always kid that Billy got a replacement when he moved on. So Eliz was coming to the group and Kate was coming to the group and they didn't know each other before the group yet ended up roommates. I love the wonderful connections that are made on Tuesday nights.

The reception venue was really cool. The number of people attending the wedding and the reception was smaller than pre-pandemic weddings and I have to admit that I have loved these smaller weddings. They seem so much more intimate.

We stayed in a hotel right on the edge of campus and as we were heading home on Sunday, we drove around through the campus. I've always heard of "The Grove" but had never seen it. It is indeed beautiful. I wonder if all of the leaves change colors just in time for football and tailgating. 

There was also a beautiful bell tower at the chapel and I failed to get a picture of it but I found this image on Pinterest.

It was a fun and quick get-a-way to a place we had never been before. We ate some great reception food (really good shrimp and grits among other things), had a glass of wine (beer for Mark), spent the night in a hotel, and experienced friendship and fellowship - all in all, that is a good weekend, isn't it?