Most of you have come to my blog to see photos and hear about Vern & Melissa’s wedding. After all, that was the whole reason for us driving 9 hours to Minneapolis, and here I have made you wait for 3 posts. This weekend was the first Jon & I had gotten away in awhile, and so it was a serious little vacation for us. (Our BIG vacation will come at the end of October – Florida here we come!)

They chose the historic quaint town of Stillwater, Minnesota as the backdrop to their wedding photos and a place for guests to stroll around before boarding the riverboat. After driving 45 minutes northeast of Minneapolis, we could see why they chose to host their wedding in this beautiful place.The local courthouse proved to be the perfect location to take their wedding party pictures. We decided we needed to seize the opportunity of a gorgeous backdrop for some of our own photos. Can you see the river just pass the tree line? I’m almost positive a sunshiney day would have made the view even more amazing.


The paddlewheel boat provided by Andiamo Showboats, was ideal for a wedding to remember. Unfortunately, the rainy weather prevented an outdoor ceremony of the top level of the riverboat Empress, but with some quick thinking and speedy hands, the lower level was re-arranged to host the guests and the wedding as we embarked on the Cook-Schrock Wedding along the St. Croix River. Vern & Melissa were married in a lovely ceremony by their pastor from Pensacola, Florida, Bobby Lepinay. Despite the uncooperative wet weather outside, the fun of the festivities in the riverboat made our journey well worth the trip.

One of my highlights was Jon dancing, and not only with me when he was supposed to, but during other moments of merriment. I think he danced more with Lamar & Jeanna than with me! and that was perfectly ok with me, since watching him and laughing at their pure enjoyment was all I really needed.

We disembarked from the riverboat close to 10:30 pm after helping clear the boat of the decorations and presents, and said our goodbyes and blessings to the happily married couple.

Monday morning seemed to pass us by as we recuperated from all the excitement and fun of the previous day’s activities – we didn’t check out of our hotel until noon! So our long journey back to Goshen was non-eventful, but we were all glad that we had the opportunity to celebrate with our friend as he committed himself to his lovely bride for as long as they both shall live…

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