By writing this blog I may be revealing to you the craziest business woman you've ever met. You see this blog is going to be very transparent. I’m about to peel back the curtain and show you a very real side of our family run business, Still Water Hollow. I teetered back and forth between exposing our reality and praising God for the wonderful family we encountered yesterday or just keeping it all to myself because it also exposes that we are not perfect. In the end, telling you this story won. It just turned out too beautifully not to share.
The truth is every family-run business faces moments when everything goes wrong. Without the support of a big corporation, you are simply left to your own devices to make things right. In just a year and half in business we’ve had water lines break, air conditioners stop working, and crucial deliveries not delivered. And of course there are the realities of being a country venue: gaggles of pooping geese deciding to make this their home, the occasional stray farm dog, bugs, and weather. Most of the time our clients have no idea that we’ve been frantically dealing with these issues in the hours before their big event. That’s the way it should be, but yesterday it wasn’t that way at all.
We woke up as usual to a beautiful summer morning and headed out to the Country Village (where most all of our receptions are held) for final preparations before our wedding family arrived to decorate. To my horror, the Country Village was completely flooded. It was like a second pond had popped up overnight. We only had two hours to fix it and I was overwhelmed.
As many of you reading this know, I become perhaps a little too intimately involved with our Still Water Hollow brides… to the point that I almost feel as though it is my wedding day. So, when I saw this disaster I instantly had a heart ache thinking of how this could ruin a wonderful couple's wedding day. We frantically started grabbing shop vacs, even went and bought a few more and called in some helpers to start vacuuming and dumping this massive amount of water. As the clock kept ticking I just kept thinking, "We've got an hour before they get here. We can get this looking like new by then right? Right?" Well, unfortunately it was a much bigger task than an hour would allow us to overcome.
My heart sank as the family pulled up knowing full well that they would have every right to be disappointed, angry and even rude when they saw the problem. I prepared myself for the response that anyone would expect to get at a moment like that. But that isn’t what happened. Their response was full of grace and love. They immediately started reassuring us that they understood and could see we were doing everything we could.
Grace, not what we deserved, but what was given. What a gift that was and in hindsight, not only grace toward us but grace that spilled over for the entire wedding day. As the bride’s dad placed decorative signs up that said, "Love. Kindness. Patience." our hearts filled with joy. Because you see, those signed weren’t just cute decorations. This wonderful family was actually acting out those words. Showing us the grace that God so perfectly gives us everyday and on this day gave us through a family. In a moment when it might not have been easy to be patient, or loving or kind they chose to be all those things and that decision completely set the tone for an absolutely amazing celebration!
So the water did get sucked up. Although silly me for thinking it would be a two hour project! We were out there for nine hours in hopes of keeping the wedding party from donning galoshes in order to dance at this wedding, but in all honesty the soaked grass did not look it's best even with our best efforts . We did all we could to dry it out and we strategically placed tables and decorations to cover up the less attractive areas. But despite that, I tell you this wedding was bursting with fun and laughter. Everyone was smiling and dancing. The joy that filled this place was undeniable. It could have been a very different scene. Had they not made a decision to be understanding, loving and kind- their day could have been filled with frustration and a cloud of disappointment could have hung overhead. Instead the only clouds that moved in were the kind that make pictures even that more spectacular and guests that much cooler.
I have a number of reasons for sharing this story. Wanting to acknowledge the kindness shown to us is first, but there’s also this - As you plan your wedding day, I’d encourage you to keep it all in perspective. The decorations, food and attire are all fun and exciting but all those things don’t embody what the day is about. Your wedding day is about making a commitment to the one you love, for all your life. And through your life together you will be faced with moments where, "For better or worse" is tested. You will have moments when being loving, kind, patient and understanding is more difficult than you think you can bear. I hope we can all learn from this family, to choose love and joy and know that the things that go wrong sometimes make the best stories. That just might be the secret to the best wedding ever!
I also share this with all of our future couples in mind. This is my confession, that we are not perfect and although we promise to always do our very best and everything in our power to make Still Water Hollow beautiful and perfect for your day, we also surrender to the reality that sometimes life happens. Know that you have a family at Still Water Hollow that loves you and is praying that your day is all you have dreamed it would be. So by golly we are not going to rest until we have done all we can to make that happen. But when those moments arise when everything isn't perfect (hopefully not on our end) embrace your inner country girl and don't let any hiccup get in the way of a joyful celebration that you will remember for years to come.
Finally, I am humbled and filled with emotion as I think of the Methner & Cason family, the families at the heart of this story. You have forever made an impression on our lives. We deeply thank you for showing grace to us and for being true examples of how to love others. There is nothing we wish more for your family and for the new Mr. & Mrs. than a life filled with peace and joy - love, kindness, patience and understanding.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."
