Wonderfully Windy Wedding

It seemed at first that things were not going as planned. Something to do with a hairdresser to initially send things in the wrong direction. Then the planned venue — Cathedral Ledge in North Conway — denied access for the wedding because of the high winds. The manager of the State Park was worried the arbor, flowers, and other elements might blow off the cliff possibly injuring climbers. No arguments, the concern is valid, and of course the bride and groom had to agree. They were given drive-up summit access for photos, nonetheless. That said, this started a bit of a panic. Where would the wedding be held now, here in this 11th hour?! They really wanted to tie in Cathedral Ledge. A field with good sight lines would work. But where?!

The bride and groom weren’t from this part of New Hampshire and the wedding coordinator was from Manchester. She called a local farm whose fields seemed to fit the bill, but she got no response. The land is private and this level of event might be deemed too intrusive to just set it up without some acknowledgement from the property owner. They needed local help. They called their officiant, Redline Guide Mike Cherim. Mike knew of a town access area, with some parking, adjacent to a large field. The field, in a fallow state, is private land, but it is regularly used by the public for walking in the summer and cross country skiing in the winter. Moreover, the location offered stunning views of not just Cathedral Ledge, but of Whitehorse Ledge and the Moats, as well. Perfect. “Better than the first spot,” Mike heard someone say.

The weather, however, continued to provide challenges. The winds seemed to be building. Being on the east side of a large field, the fetch caused greater wind speeds. Fortunately the coordinator had solid base weights for the scene’s elements and it looked like the wind would not ruin the show. Then a gust would come and they would wonder — Mike helping the coordinator set up. The clouds were also thickening and getting gray. Is that a rain cloud? No! It is not a rain cloud! Everyone kept glancing to the west, though. The time was getting late, they were getting way behind schedule. They’re ready for the bride, groom, their families, and the photographer. Where is everyone?

Meanwhile the bride and groom, stoked to know a substitute location — and a really awesome one, at that — had been found, started driving down Cathedral Ledge’s auto road. Upon reaching the bottom of the road, however, they found the gate was still closed and locked. And worse, the Park Ranger expected to meet them was nowhere to be found. After a couple of phone calls they learned of a near-drowning at Echo Lake. Nobody is going to come and let them out for a while. The sun will be setting in a couple hours. Things are already behind schedule. They wondered: what next?! Will this happen?!

Well, what happened next was the drowning victim was saved. The Park Ranger came and opened the gate. The group then promptly went to the wrong location (we won’t go into details about that part), but finally got pointed in the right direction and arrived at the location of the new venue. Mike waited by the Arbor. The coordinator had her finger on the Play button, the families arrived and sat in the chairs provided. The groom stood with Mike. Then the bride came into view as the wind blew and the music played. As she saw the field for the first time she smiled, delighted. And when she did the sun finally came out shining brightly on the scene making it all look radiant. It’s possible the wind died down at that point, too, but they only remember it was no longer a problem. Almost instantaneously the pieces came together. It was absolutely perfect.

And what about the bride’s hair, you may wonder? That, too, worked out. Her hair looked great! Photos courtesy of the bride and groom.

Congratulations on your marriage — hopefully the pieces will always come together for you both when times are challenging.