I'm Ruth, Lovina's British friend, and I had the opportunity to help Lovina with her grocery shopping, photograph the wedding preparations, and attend Daniel and Lovina's wedding on Friday 21st June.
Lovina asked me to share with you all what happened in the days leading up to the wedding, and she will be sharing more details about the wedding in her next column.
Lovina and Daniel asked Lovina's sister Emma and her daughter Elizabeth to be the head chefs for the wedding, which was a special responsibility because they were in charge of all the food preparation, deciding which dishes to prepare in the days leading up to the wedding, writing out and posting the recipes in the different areas where the food would be prepared, and making sure the cooks had what they needed to do their jobs each day.
They prepared the lunch that the women ate together every day and cleaned up afterwards. They were the first to arrive each morning and the last to leave. Although they had many other responsibilities, they were always cheerful and happy to answer questions or give directions.
Food preparation often takes place two days before the wedding, with some taking place on the morning of the wedding. For example, on Wednesday, a group of women came to help make fresh strawberry pie crust, chop the strawberries, make the filling, and assemble the pies. They chopped potatoes, carrots, and onions for the homemade dressing. They chopped fresh rhubarb from the garden for the rhubarb custard pie, browned butter to mix into the homemade noodles, and carved the chicken.
On Thursday, the women baked fresh bread and pecan-rhubarb pies, cut fresh fruit, cut and cleaned vegetables for lettuce salads, and made homemade ranch dressing. On Wednesday and Thursday mornings, 20-25 women came to help prepare meals. They were hard workers and had most of their work done by noon, which was good because it had been a very hot week with temperatures in the mid-90s every day.
The bride and groom asked family, church members and friends to help with the wedding, and about 150 men and women were involved in preparing, setting up, serving and cleaning up the food.
On the day of the wedding, the staff will wear dresses in the colors requested by the bride and groom. All the cooks will wear the same color and the servers will wear different colors. If you are asked to be a cook, server, dishwasher, or food preparer, you will do that job throughout the entire day of the wedding. You will start work around 8am and work until everything is packed up around 8pm.
The workers sit down to eat together before the noon and 5pm meals are served. After the wedding ceremony, which starts at 9am and lasts until around noon, the workers bustle around preparing to serve food to the guests.
The tables in the pole barn were set the previous Saturday, along with all the plates and silverware, and covered to keep them clean throughout the week. A large tent was set up outside the second barn where the wedding ceremony would take place for additional seating and a gift table. A smaller tent was set up between the two barns to provide shade for the women preparing the food and washing the dishes.
There is a cook wagon available to rent, which is a large RV with seven burners, counter space to work with, and shelves to store pots, pans, and utensils. There is a refrigerated wagon to keep all your food cold, and it runs on a generator.
There is also a wagon that holds all of the dinner plates, silverware, serving dishes, tables, and racks at the end of each row to hold the food while it is being served. There is also a church district wagon that holds all of the benches for a regular church service, and they also have benches for weddings.
Lovina and Daniel decorated their corner table, “Eck,” with a rustic country theme. Many young Amish couples choose to decorate with a theme that is special to them, rather than traditional décor. The traditional quilt made in her colors was left intact, and special plates and glasses were used as tableware.
As an outsider, it's always great to see this community come together and support one another. No one complained about work or the weather. They were cheerful and efficient at their jobs. They enjoyed each other's company and took advantage of the opportunities to be together to catch up on family updates.
They welcomed me and even switched from Pennsylvania Dutch to English to allow me to join in the conversation when I was with them. They are deeply rooted in their faith and in their commitment to helping each other.
God bless you both, Daniel and Lovina, as you begin this new chapter in your lives, and thank you for letting me share in your special day.
