A Multi-Wedding Weekend: Love, Chaos, and Miracles - Oct 24
Some events become legend in a family — the kind of stories everyone will retell for years, laughing, shaking their heads, and remembering the whirlwind of it all.
For us, that weekend was the “double wedding weekend”: hosting my son’s wedding in our backyard on Thursday, then packing up the entire extended family and driving four hours to Saratoga Springs for wedding #2 on Saturday.
Wedding #1 — Trace & Shayna’s Backyard Celebration
Hosting my son’s wedding at home was one of the most meaningful, stressful, beautiful things I have ever done.
The Pressure Cooker Summer
The Setting
To make this day possible, I worked all summer long preparing the property. Landscaping, renovating, cleaning up acres of outdoor space, AND finishing a 1,500 sq. ft. house addition at the same time. It felt like juggling beauty, construction dust, deadlines, and dreams — all for one perfect day. We had 20 family and frinds staying in our five-bedroom home, bodies and suitcases everywhere, laughter in the hallways, people grabbing towels and curling irons and shoes, and the house vibrating with anticipation. Then there were the 100+ guests coming for the ceremony and reception under a tent in the backyard — so the stakes were high.
The Plumbing Disaster
And then, at 10 p.m. the night before the wedding, while we were all at the rehearsal dinner, the plumbing system gave out. A burst pipe. Water pouring through the ceiling. Emergency repairmen in boots and headlamps. A huge hole cut in the ceiling hours before guests were due to arrive. It was chaos — but somehow, it was also hysterically funny, or maybe that was the champagne influence.
My Army of Helpers
Suz on the gift bag assembly line.
The week leading up to the wedding everyone pitched in: Chris and Suz came down and spent an entire week putting finishing touches on the house. The bridal party arrived a few days early and helped with decorating the tent, arranging the pool patio, hauling flowers, setting up the bar, staging the firepit, and calming nerves. My friend Jo arrived the morning of the wedding bringing extra decor left over from her daughter Jess’s wedding, and it was the perfect addition to the few gaps we had not thought of. It was one of moments where you see the true strength of a family — everyone stepping forward, together.
A Wedding Filled With Heart
The bride arrived in a horse-drawn carriage, the kind of fairytale moment that makes everyone gasp. The ceremony was tender and emotional. For the reception, I had secretly planned a choreographed mother-son dance, which surprised everyone and ended with a full line dance takeover as the entire family and half the guests flooded the dance floor. We danced late into the night, and afterward everyone gathered around the firepit with blankets, talking, laughing, soaking in the glow.
The Lost Necklace — and the Miracle
My gift to the bride was deeply personal: a diamond pavé necklace that belonged to my mother — a family heirloom and a blessing passed from one woman to the next. In the excitement of the night, it somehow vanished. The bride, sweetly devastated, felt terrible. But I was determined. I went through every single garbage bag one piece at a time — sticky cups, napkins, food waste, everything. By the last bag, exhausted and emotional, I turned to our family’s tradition: a prayer to St. Anthony, the finder of lost things. I opened the final bag…and there it was. We all cried. It felt like a small miracle layered into an already unforgettable day.
Wedding #2 — Kevin & Meredith in Saratoga Springs
The next morning, running on adrenaline, coffee, and leftover wedding cake, the entire family loaded into cars and caravanned four hours to Saratoga Springs.
Where the first wedding was rustic, heartfelt, and homemade, the second was elegant and refined — held at a beautiful golf club with manicured grounds and classic décor. Two completely different atmospheres, back to back, but somehow it made the weekend feel like one long celebration of love, family, and endurance. We laughed through our exhaustion, raised our glasses, and marveled at the fact that we had pulled off not one, but two weddings in 48 hours.
It was madness. It was beautiful. And it was absolutely a Kindred Spirits adventure — full of family, chaos, teamwork, joy, and the kind of memories that last a lifetime.
