It begins with the words "I do"

Chip and Daisy Stewart Cartwright

Following are pictures that were taken, personal vows stated, and toasts that were given at our wedding. Hopefully you may relive those moments with us if you were there and experience them for the first time if you were not....have fun, we did.

Chip's and Daisy's entire families merged as one

Daisies everywhere

a little touch up here...

a major adjustment there...

The wedding party: Mike, Chip, Daisy, and Ricka and of course Josiah and Levi

Daughter Shannon and Best Boy (Man) Michael, all with the Cartwright smile

The Wedding Vows....

My Sweetheart, Charles Waddell Cartwright, Jr., better known as Chip:

Now hear this my husband to be...

Almost a year ago, I shared with you a brief item from the newspaper in which a local woman reflected on the title and lyrics of a song from the late 50s by the Del Vikings, which was covered by the Beach Boys in the early 80s. The title of that song is “Come Go With Me.” She said that it can sometimes be too easy to say “I love you,” and implied that the words “Come go with me” can be more oriented toward actions to be taken. 

Since then, Chip, you and I have had many discussions of these words and what they mean to our relationship. We decided to use the phrase “come go with me” as the theme for our wedding, but even more as one of the foundations of our marriage.

When we say “come go with me,” it may not mean for an elaborate international trip or luxury cruise. Instead, one of us might be inviting the other to take a walk around the neighborhood, or to simply go to our deck and sit together to watch the sunset over the lake. At other times, we may be proposing an excursion to one of the many wonderful locations in this great country of ours, via our truck camper.

Chip, the words “come go with me” also remind me of the powerful statement by Ruth in the Old Testament: “Whither thou goest, I will go; whither thou lodgest, I will lodge; thy people will be my people….”

Chip, you bring me such great joy and such sincere happiness that I can’t believe I have been so blessed to have you at the center of my life. I am so glad to be gaining special relationships with Michael, Shannon, Matthew, Josiah, and Levi. I’m excited to be expanding my family with more brothers and sisters and nieces and nephews.

I give you my vow, Chip, to join you for this wonderful journey that will be our life together. I promise to share with you in planning our travels, yet also to be spontaneous enough to take advantage of the unexpected possibilities and unforeseen events that become available to us along the way.  I affirm that our destinations will be less important than our travel along the highway of life, and that together we will climb to new heights. I will share with you both the joys and the sorrows that we know we will experience. I vow to nurture our love as it continues to grow. Together, we will explore new paths and blaze new trails.

Chip, come go with me….

Daisy's side of good looking people

 The Wedding Vows....

Dearest Daisy Louise Stewart

Let's see, where do I begin....

I will always remember the first time we met and the effect it had on me.  I was escorting Linda, my reunion classmate, back to her table.  When I saw you I said nothing…not even hello.  Neither did you, for the record.  I opened my arms in an invitation to dance and you flowed into them with such a boldness and confidence that I was lost for words.  The music was Unchained Melody by the Righteous Brothers and we did not even go to the dance floor.  All of my warning alarms went off, yet there was a comforting ease and peace that I felt that encouraged me to sing the words to you.

Oh my love, my darling; I've hungered for your touch; A long lonely time.
And time goes by so slowly; And time can do so much, Are you still mine?
I need your love, I need your love; God speed your love to me.

Before I met you, I met wonderful ladies who made my life fun and meaningful. Before I met you, I had decided that being a footloose and fancy free bachelor was a condition I could live with happily.  But it was only in meeting you that brought back my heartfelt passions and dreams that I had buried deep and lost the key. It was your assertiveness and patience that pried opened my reserve and relit my passions for living a shared life. I will be forever grateful to you. I again see the world thru a shared lens of rainbow colors of joy and anticipation of wonders just around the bend.

Anne Murray has a song that asks: Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?
That is why I am here now.

I look forward to the next 30 years of laughing, travels, dancing, and being there for the other as we jointly deal with the sorrows of life.

We are seasoned adults in the relationship game of life. I know our marriage will succeed. Let it be a dance of shared leading and following of all the daily events of life.

I promise to try and remember to put the lid down before flushing. I promise to place the TP roll so that it feeds from the top and not off the bottom. I promise to not mix the darks with the lights in the washer.

I am proud to marry you this day. I offer you the autumn of my life, brisk and vibrant. I promise to be a companion worthy of your precious friendship. I pledge to you passion in good times and good health. I pledge to you compassion in bad times and sickness.  It is my intent that our life together includes our large circle of friends and loving families. I came here today to join my life to yours before them. In their presence I pledge to be true to you, to respect you, and to grow with you through the years. Together we will cherish the memories of our individual pasts. Together we will create new experiences and memories.

I vow here that this love will be my only love. I will make my home in your heart from this day forward. You make me smile all the way to my liver.

Chip's side of good looking people

Don and Mary Lee, Daisy's siblings

Kaye, Pam, Mark, Debbie, Bruce and Angel, Chip's siblings

Typical wedding gifts: a bottle of a favorite wine and a travel note

The Unity candle and ring pillows will play their role.

Champagne glasses and cake utensils awaiting use.

Rev. Alex welcomed all to the ceremony.

Bruce escorted his wife Ann and opened with prayer.

Mary Lee, escorted by her husband Rick , gave the reading.

We all had fun in planning and participating in this holy ceremony.

Part of the 200 family members and friends who attended

Notice grandson Levi flaked out later, after tossing the ring pillow down the aisle.

Chip's classmates and their spouses

Michael and Shannon performed "Unforgettable"by Nat and Natalie Cole.

Frank and Lindsey performed "Come What May."

Let's see, I put this on your finger, right?

This was the best part...

Well, eating the cake was a best part also...

Our theme

Daisy likes chocolate...

Another best part...I took my time here...

Heads up...Incoming! Jean (in orange) body blocked for it.

Toasts by Michael and Ricka

The Wedding Toasts:

From Michael:

July 14, 2012

Dad,

You the man!

Today, I am so proud for you. Not many sons have had the opportunity to witness the joy of new love on their father’s faces. I can honestly say this is one of the coolest experiences have ever had.

Daisy, I’m so happy that you are here. I knew from the first time my father spoke of you that you are special. I imagine what it felt like for my dad, at his college reunion, while surrounded with great friends of 4 decades past, he meets a lovely stranger on the dance floor, his heart skips a beat, and he thinks “oh boy.” The way that my dad has lightened in heart and mind over the last year, I believe he has discovered the fountain of youth.

As a proper best man should, for you Daisy I’d like to share two things about my dad to help you maximize his potential as a husband.

1.      My dad may often suggest things that “you might like,” for example a dessert after dinner. It might be true that you will like it, but the motive is more that he would like you to order it because he will like it. That’s just him being a good politician.

2.      My dad is a social butterfly and thrives on meeting new people, so always keep dancing, dining, and going new places. No one is a stranger in my dad’s eyes, which is good because he leaves a positive wake wherever he goes. I call him the “original charmer.” Make sure you share him with others. The world needs Chip.

I truly wish you two the best. I’ve recently learned that success does not automatically grant happiness, but happiness guarantees success. So be happy together, and may your home be filled with laughter and fun every day.

Dad, I have learned so much from you over the years. I can remember you teaching me to add with the fingers on your hand. You passed down to me your high quality of patience, your showmanship, your old-fashioned charm, and now through you I see that love can come at any age, and it is never too late.

Cheers!

Your son,

Michael

 

From Ricka:

 

July 14, 2012

"People who can make gravy and people who can't."

Two beautiful bouquets

Hello everyone, I'm Ricka, Daisy's niece, and being such, I've known her my entire life. Most of my memories of Aunt Daisy center around family summer vacations and celebrating the holidays together, specifically Christmas.

As the years have gone by, our family traditions have changed some. However, one aspect that has stayed rather consistent is our family meal. We all gather at Uncle Don and Aunt Maggie's house, and cook and bake and talk and mostly just eat. Everyone has their jobs to do (granted, some of those jobs are just sitting and making commentary about what is happening in the kitchen, but all the jobs are important). Uncle Don handles the bird, Laura and I manage to get the vegetables and potatoes ready. Everyone steals bites of Aunt Maggie's sugar cookies. And we all worry loudly about whether or not Annie can handle taking the frozen rolls out of the package and manage to bake them for the appropriate time at the appropriate temperature.

But Aunt Daisy always makes the gravy. And in this world there are two types of people: People who can make gravy and people who can't. To make gravy you have to have many important life skills: Patience, attentiveness, care. These are all qualities that Aunt Daisy has in spades. Whether it be through a special note on your birthday or anniversary, or a souvenir brought back from a recent trip, or another Hokies T-shirt, Aunt Daisy is always showing her kind and generous spirit to her family and friends.

Knowing all this about Aunt Daisy, it came as no surprise that when we met Chip, he shared many of these same endearing qualities. It is my honor to be able to wish them well as they start their life together. I wish them many years of loving companionship, and the rest is just gravy.

Here's to Daisy and Chip!

Love,

Ricka

Could I have this dance...

Making it legal: Mr. and Mrs. Cartwright

Here is the proof

and away we go!