The Spiegel's -i do, i do- Kelly Hornberger Photography

Life is comprised of millions of moments. Those moments are all about impact. Everything that we do creates an impact on someone. And a wedding ceremony is a moment when your impact is made in front of all your family and friends.

Let’s just say that the impact that Zee and Garrett made on their wedding day was far beyond special. It was breathtaking. Not one person who attended can say that their life was not touched and impacted by the ceremony, the weekend or their whole relationship with them.

Their whole relationship has in someway impacted those around them. A pair who could have “service” as their middle name…there was no instance that they do not relish in serving all of those around them. So when it came to their wedding weekend never have a group of friends and family been more serving of this amazing couple. It was so calming to our souls to sit and watch Zee & Garrett WATCHING us serve them.

The entire wedding weekend was performed on the farm where Zee grew up in the hills of beautiful Virginia. The day was a HUGE moment in time with lots of little moments throughout. Moments like a “no peaking” prayer between Zee & Garrett before the event, jammin’ on the guitar and then getting hyped with her girl friends to certain songs before the big walk, the grandmother’s being the “ring bearers”, both receiving heirloom rings from their grandparents, taking communion, my sweet Joe performing their ceremony and announcing them husband and wife. I am beyond words in being able to describe the beauty. It was so God…glorifying from end to end and beyond.

The rest of the evening was all about running around, playing sports on the lawn, eating crepes, dancing, toasting and celebrating.

I cannot wait for the day when we stand in judgment and maybe I will get to hear God say to Elizabeth & Garrett from afar, “well done my good and faithful servants, that was a moment I will never forget”.

Thank you Zee & Garrett. Joe and I would not have wanted to be anywhere else!

Some of Zee & Garrett’s memories from the day:
Q. What was your favorite part about the wedding?

A. Garrett: This is a tough one – I loved taking communion together for the first time, the soccer game the morning of the wedding with our friends, my groomsmen lifting bales of hay to setup the ceremony, then praying for me before we walked out, our families’ toasts during the rehearsal dinner and wedding – the love was just palpable.

Zee: I agree with Garrett, that’s a tough one. There were too many awesome moments. One of the sweetest was getting to spend just five minutes alone with Garrett half way through the reception. I think it was the only time we were ever truly alone, and it was incredible to just stand back together and watch everyone celebrating our marriage.

Q. What was one quirky of crazy thing that happened on your wedding day?

A. Garrett: I forgot to buy myself a tie. In the rush of getting ties for all of my groomsmen, I didn’t count myself. I grabbed two of the more fashionable groomsmen and we ran to Z’s dad’s closet to find a tie that matched my outfit. It was great.

Zee: For me, it was the tie too. In the week leading up to the wedding, my grandmother Nana told me that at her wedding she could hardly pay attention for the entire ceremony because my Pops decided last minute to wear a different tie than they had picked out. Her mind was racing the whole ceremony trying to figure out why he was wearing that darn tie. I thought Garrett was playing a funny joke on me by wearing a different tie, but it turns out he’s just all too similar to Pops.

Q. What was the most special moment on your wedding day?

A. Garrett: Making our vows – to God and to each other – with the communities that raised us there to present us to God. Seeing the groomsmen beside me and my family out in front of me as I committed my life to Z was such a surreal and perfect moment. I was also spoiled and got to watch Z walk all the way from her house out to the ceremony…

Zee: The moment before I walked down the aisle with my dad was one of the sweetest of my life. I’ll never forget what he said to me just before we walked down the isle. The moment I turned the corner and saw Garrett standing at the other end of the aisle, I just about lost it. My dad must have noticed, because as he dropped by train and took my hand in his, we both turned to each other. I will never forget what he said to me in that moment. “You’re okay. Garrett’s there. Joe’s there. Look at them, focus on them.” He gave me a familiar look of confidence and support, nodded, and said “You ready?” before leading me to my husband.

Q. Did you do anything yourself?

A. Garrett: I’ll let Z answer this one… it’s a really long list. This is what made our wedding so special though. It was truly a community event and almost everyone pitched in in some fashion.

Zee: Simply, no. We did absolutely nothing ourselves, and everything with the help of our amazing community of friends and family. Every single detail of the wedding was put together by someone we love – from the hay bales coming from our own fields, to my veil made by Garrett’s Grandmother, to the bouquets made by my Aunt MaryAnn and maid of honor Kate, to the beautiful bridesmaid skirts made by Kelly Hornberger’s aunt, to the signs and cupcakes made by my Mom’s friends, to the potted flowers and table cloths made by my grandmother Nana, to all of the decorations set up by the bridesmaids, and most importantly to the ceremony site that my mom mowed and weeded and sprayed and perfected even up to the day before the wedding. The list could go on for pages. We couldn’t have done any of this by ourselves, which is exactly how we wanted our wedding to be.

Q. Any special details you would like to tell us about?

A. Garrett: Z’s brother, Daniel, wrote an INCREDIBLE summary of the wedding here: http://danielnesbit.tumblr.com/post/26015223321/wedding
Also, that we were the most blessed couple ever to get to spend so much time with Kelly and Joe and to have them be such a huge part of the wedding

Zee: I agree with Garrett, Daniel’s blog post says it really really really well. We are so blessed by Joe and Kelly and everything that they have given to our wedding and marriage. Honestly, the weekend felt a lot like a FCA mission trip. Everyone was serving each other selflessly with a common goal, and in the end we hope God was glorified.

Q. Where will you be as a couple in five years? Hopes, dreams, kids, etc.?

A. Garrett: Probably not kids… maybe a dog though (…if Z is lucky ). I think we’re in an awesome place where we have NO IDEA where we’ll be in five years because of Z’s med school. It makes it an awesome adventure though and is fun to go through uncertainty with the trust in God that we have together.

Zee: Garrett, be careful what you say here. Remember what happened to Joe and Kelly when they said they weren’t having kids for five years!? That could be you if you don’t get me a puppy! But seriously, we are in for an adventure, that’s for sure. Since Garrett has already quit his job and moved across the country for me once, I’m hoping I won’t have to make him do that again. All I can say about where we’ll be in five years is – more love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. We’ll go from there.

Q. What do you look forward to the most about being married?

A. Garrett: A clear calling of service, an amazing opportunity to learn what it means to be humble and serve and an awesome chance to practice the love of God that we freely receive.

Zee: Tax benefits. Juuuust kidding. I’m looking forward to learning how to serve together and to serve each other.