Last weekend we were happy to be in Western NC for a beautiful fall wedding for my cousin Robert and his lovely new bride, Crystal. The wedding was held at Lake Junaluska Assembly Chapel. I've driven by the little lake community for years but never had occasion to stop and visit. The chapel sits right on the lake, facing high mountains all around the valley. The setting was serene and quaint, reminiscent of a quiet New England village. Everyone looked their best for the big day and had a great time at all the events from rehearsal and dinner on Friday through the ceremony and reception Saturday night. A few of the photos we took are shown here and in the slideshow to the left, but to you can see the gorgeous professional photographs by Jon Bowman by visiting www.pictage.com/619436 or http://www.jondbowman.net/ .
The day of the wedding Ben, Luke, Rob, and I went out for lunch and a little trip to Cataloochee Ranch to see the horses. At nearly 5,000 feet, Cataloochee Mountain opens up to meadows on the very top. There is a horse ranch on one side and the ski lodge and lift on the other. We only visited the horse ranch, walking around and letting Luke briefly ride a horse around the paddock. We thought they might have pony rides, but a few minutes on a big horse is plenty when you’re two. He was excited to tell everyone back at the lodge he rode a big horse! 
During rehearsal on Friday night, Luke broke free from me to join Ben, a groomsman, up front. We joked he’d probably try it the next day, hoping we were wrong….but we weren’t. All was going so well at first; Luke was sitting very quietly with his cousin Delaney who came over with Grandma Allen, Aunt Lydia, and her parents Lindsey and Mac from Murphy. After the bride arrived, Luke thought it was a good time to rejoin Ben. I had to take him out into the adjoining vestibule for the remainder of the wedding, but I could hear it and was able to be there all the same. You never know what will happen when a two-year old is in the mix!
Luke also had a big time at the reception...on the dance floor all night, literally. We sat at a table directly beside it, and he started out there during dinner and kept going until it was time to send the newlyweds off through an arcade of sparklers. It was a wonderful wedding weekend and a great time to visit with family. We were grateful to be a part of it and wish Rob and Crystal all the best in the coming years. Auspiciously, the couple was blessed with perfect weather for their wedding. It was fairly warm and completely clear in the day, starry and crisp at night. It reminded me of a poem about October, but I think one could say all the same of early November in the North Carolina mountains.
October’s Bright Blue Weather
by Helen Hunt Jackson
O suns and skies and clouds of June,
And flowers of June together,
Ye cannot rival for one hour
October's bright blue weather;
When loud the bumblebee makes haste,
Belated, thriftless vagrant,
And goldenrod is dying fast,
And lanes with grapes are fragrant;
When gentians roll their fingers tight
To save them for the morning,
And chestnuts fall from satin burrs
Without a sound of warning;
When on the ground red apples lie
In piles like jewels shining,
And redder still on old stone walls
Are leaves of woodbine twining;
When all the lovely wayside things
Their white-winged seeds are sowing,
And in the fields still green and fair,
Late aftermaths are growing;
When springs run low, and on the brooks,
In idle golden freighting,
Bright leaves sink noiseless in the hush
Of woods, for winter waiting;
When comrades seek sweet country haunts,
By twos and twos together,
And count like misers, hour by hour,
October's bright blue weather.
O sun and skies and flowers of June,
Count all your boasts together,
Love loveth best of all the year
October's bright blue weather.
