Stephanie and Zeke

You have to say that young Zeke has style.

About a year ago, he took Stephanie up into the Colorado mountains, along with brother Malachi and his fiance, Katie. At dusk, as the setting sun painted the sky with romance, our couple paddled out onto the lake in an inflatable raft so that he could pop the surprise question.

Stephanie had no idea what was coming although, in hindsight, she remembers Katie asking such revealing questions as "Do you think he's THE one?" Apparently she was more concerned about floating in the middle of a remote lake under a darkening sky with, what she feared was, a leak in an inflatable boat!

Her fears were soon forgotten as Zeke opened his heart and asked her to marry him. She forgot where she was and just said yes... major props for Zeke... !

Our young groom, Zeke, might look familiar to you. I photographed Malachi's wedding to Katie last December in Branson, MO. It was only on their wedding day that I discovered that Malachi had a twin brother named Zeke when, after telling "the groom" all about our plans for the day, he said "uh, I think you want to talk to my brother..." Poor Zeke -- I think I called him Malachi an embarrassing number of times over the weekend...

Stephanie grew up near Auburn, Nebraska, -- classic small-town USA -- where the wedding was held at the Auburn Christian Church. Once again, all the weather forecasts held gloom and doom for that afternoon but, apart from a small sprinkling as the ceremony ended, providence ensured that it stayed dry enough for all the outdoor festivities planned for the day.

The first thing that struck me as I drove into Nebraska for Stephanie and Zeke's wedding celebrations was the corn... corn everywhere! I remember seeing fields like this years ago in that movie "Field of Dreams" (set in Iowa), but I'd never considered seeing such fields for real. The fields rolled over hill after hill and all I wondered was how to get a bride and groom in the middle of all that for a picture...

Zeke is a firefighter in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Stephanie had a couple of related surprises for him during the day. First, the groom's cake had a picture of a fire engine on it and, second, she arranged a surprise old-time fire truck ride for Zeke and the rest of the wedding party through downtown Auburn immediately after the ceremony. Although the second one was not a surprise by the time it happened, it was a fun ride and all the townspeople we passed congratulated our new couple in whatever way they could.

The reception was held at the Whisky Run Creek Winery, but we took several detours first for photographs. Stephanie's uncle has a vineyard and an old barn that proved wonderful for scenic backdrops. Then we went to Brownville's main street and to their folk art museum (set in an old-time white church). Both Zeke and Stephanie are naturals in front of the camera and we got some really great shots.

One of the day's poignant moments: Stephanie seemed convinced her father would not dance with her at the reception. But as the new couple's first dance came to a close and Zeke and his mother started to dance, Stephanie's father walked over to her and, without a word, took her in his arms and danced with her. You could see it was a very special moment for Stephanie and, if you had been watching her father walk her down the aisle earlier, you knew it was just as important to him. It was a magic moment...

I started with corn; now I'm ending with corn.

Instead of tying cans to the back of Stephanie's car, guests had tied corn cobs together and attached them so they would drag behind when our new couple drove off (certainly more eco-friendly!). As I was walking up to the cars at one point during the reception, I ran into one of the flower girls holding the strings of corn in her hand and walking back to the reception hall.

"Where'd you get those?", I asked.

She looked up at me in all innocence: "From that car. It must have driven through a corn field!"

Trying not to laugh, I explained that perhaps the guests had put them there to decorate the bride and groom's car. "Oh....", she said looking suddenly worried. I suggested she just put them back and everything would be OK...

Stephanie was the first person to tell me she actually followed my blog entries and enjoyed each new wedding story -- so I hope this one has lived up to her expectations as it certain was a special day for a special couple. Many thanks to you both and to all your family and friends for their kind hospitality on my first trip to Nebraska (hopefully not my last). I hope you've had fun in the Keys and best wishes for a wonderful new life together.