4.1.16
You made it!! You’ve spent a whole week with me swooning over my own wedding like a selfish love obsessed geek and we’re all still standing! Thanks for sticking around! Again, not interested in my ceremony of loooooovvveee? Skip down to the bottom for a recipe making soft perfect Banana and Blueberry Bread.
It’s obvious that the whole point of a wedding is sharing this union with people you love. We decided to go all in with this concept for our wedding. We had a communal reading. I had found a children’s book called Wherever You Are, My Love Will Follow You. Yes it is just as sappy and emotional as you’d think. We decided to have different friends read different pages. That way, we were able to include so many people who’ve been close to us for so many years.
We loved having out friends be an integral part of the ceremony. We also had a friend be the guy who married us! When you’re surrounded by artists in life, it’s not difficult to find people who are more than comfortable speaking in front of a crowd. Our buddy, Chris, did an incredible job with the ceremony. We trusted him so much we actually didn’t hear anything he was going to say before hand. We sent him a few things we wanted to be included and was like, go forth and create. And he did. He even surprised us with this touching communal blessing which was another way all our friends and family could be involved, basically sending us their positive vibes our way.
And if I have one real piece of advice, especially for anyone who is going to be a bride it’s this. When you step into that space, whether it’s a church, a wooden loft, a barn, a field, and everyone stands up, take a moment. You have successfully gathered everyone you love in one room, and it’s probably never going to happen again. Look around, look at the faces of all these incredible people who have brought you to this moment. Smile, and take it in, because the feeling in that room is electric and overwhelming.
I’m going to share a few more photos that I love and move on with it. I could go on and on about how I loved my dress (I did), the photo booth we did ourselves for almost no money!!! (email me personally and I can help you out), the live band we had, the friend who took over DJing late into the night, or how our night ended in a deli, getting egg sandwiches with our friends who rented out the B&B with us and we played cards and ate and drank cheap champagne, which was the best ending of the night we could imagine. It was a great day, and I tell my husband all the time I certainly hope it wasn’t the best day because we have a long way to go. All I hope is that if you’re getting married, or got married, at the end of your night you and your significant other felt like this.
Don’t compromise on your wedding, surround yourself with people you love, and no matter what snafu’s you encounter throughout the day, they’ll seem minuscule compared to what you’ve created as a couple, and where you’re headed as a team.
A parade of images for your approval:
Oh and we exited with sparklers and everyone playing kazoos. No big deal.
I promised you another family recipe and that’s what you’re getting! My mother in law sent this recipe to me ages ago and I’ve wanting to make it for so long. This seemed like the perfect chance. And now I’m kicking myself that it took this long. Between the flavor of the banana and brightness of the blueberries and the added crunch of the walnuts, this bread is a total winner. Especially enjoyed warm, it’s great out of the oven, or heated up later for breakfast.
This recipes takes no time at all to prepare, it’s great for a family gathering, or a potluck, you’ll be the star.
For the Bread
Thank you for reading all this and sharing my week of wedding-ness. It’s been great to relive it, and eat my way through it all over again.
Banana Blueberry Bread
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 cup quick oats
- 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1 cup mashed bananas (about 3 bananas)
- 1/2 cup blueberries, whole
Instructions
- Preheat Oven to 350 and grease or flour loaf pan
- In a large bowl, gently toss together, flour, baking soda, salt, oats, walnuts, and blueberries until thoroughly mixed
- In a stand up mixer with a paddle attachment, cream shortening
- Slowly pour in sugar and beat until fluffy
- Add in eggs, one at a time, allowing each to mix in before adding the next
- Add in bananas and allow to fully incorporate
- Turn off mixer and add half of flour mix, turn on mixer to very low and combine
- Scrape down sides of the bowl and add the rest of flour mix, mixing until just combined
- Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 50-55 minutes, until tester inserted in the center comes out clean
- Enjoy warm out of the oven, wrap leftovers tightly in plastic wrap
