Wedding in Luckenbach Texas - Kevin and Marsha

There's sort of a sad story that relates to the details on how I ended up photographing this beautiful wedding, but that's for another blog.  

Let me tell you about Marsha and Kevin.  It proves the point that you should never say "Never".  Marsha is a strong woman, and a tremendous personality.  She was a single mom, raising John Michael, and one look at John Michael and you'll understand the upbringing he had.  At fifteen, he is polite, respectful and intelligent.  In my book, that speaks volumes about his mother.


Marsha loved to dance.  When friends encouraged her to go to a dance that was sponsored by Match.com, she told me she initially wasn't interested.  The friends, forces of nature, karma, or God intervened and convinced her that she should go to this dance.  That's where she met Kevin.

Kevin is old-school cowboy.  He talks softly, stands tall, and wears a Stetson outside. (note to all the fake cowboys, a REAL cowboy knows when he's supposed to take off the hat)  I could tell right away that he has old fashioned values from a day gone by.  When these two got on the dance floor, there was magic.

Luckenbach is one of my favorite places.  Had it not been for the Waylon Jennings song, a lot of people would not even know about it, and it would remain a Hill Country secret from the world.  It's a popular destination for weekend motorcycle riders.  On any given Saturday or Sunday, the parking lot will be filled with hundreds of Harleys (and sometimes a Honda or two).  As usual during the summer, it was hot.

There was an informal jam session with some local musicians behind the post office, and the dance hall was gearing up for a concert that night.  I met Miss Geneva who was setting up the wedding tent, and asked her if I was in the right place.  She said I was, and put me to work helping her set up.

It was a beautiful ceremony, highlighted by a man that I truly enjoyed meeting:  Rev. Nolan Blank, and his wife "Willie".  At the end of the ceremony, Rev. Blank read something that I thought was a beautiful idea for couples.  I'd like to share that with you.  After he had pronounced the couple as man and wife, he gave them each a rose, and said, 

"Will you please exchange your red roses?  In this exchange, you have given to each other your first gift as husband and wife, which of course is the gift of love.  It would be my hope, that wherever you make your home, there will be a specially appointed place in it for red roses, and that on each succeeding anniversary of this holy occasion, you celebrate it, at least in part, by each of you bringing to the appointed place a red rose.  It is a reinstatement of your love, and a commitment of the holy vows you have made here today before God and those present."

"In every marriage, it is occasionally difficult to find words to resolve certain issues that may arise.  If, and  when, such issues may come to your marriage, if either of you will remember, and bring a red rose to the appointed place, the other will see it and understand it as a statement of love and accept it.  Because love makes everything all right."