Mary Beth and Hollie incorporated both Native American and Celtic traditions and personal symbolism into their wedding ceremony on Wayah Bald. It was a wedding composed like a poem.

Following the tradition of handfasting, Mary Beth and Hollie bound their hands together with ribbon to symbolize marriage vows and their devotion to each other. The officiant read the Four-Directional Prayer (see below) during the binding of the wedding couple’s hands.

The burnt trees of last year’s fire atop Wayah Bald provided a backdrop that gave emphasis to the couple’s theme of fire and renewal. Plants emerge from blackened soil to start a new forest cycle. Fire delivers the opportunity for new growth and hope. Two people come together in marriage to start a new life cycle.

Mary Beth’s father gave her a blue, heart-shaped stone the day of the wedding as her “something blue.”

A single feather represents a new chapter in your life. Hollie wore one on the lapel of her jacket, and Mary Beth wore one in her hair.

Mary Beth warmed herself on windy Wayah Bald with a scarf bearing her new initials: MEH for Mary Elizabeth Hunter. The scarf was an engagement gift from Hollie.

Four-Directional Prayer

In times past it was believed that the human soul shared characteristics with all things divine. It is this belief which assigned virtues to the cardinal directions; East, South, West and North. It is in this tradition that a blessing is offered in support of this ceremony.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the East. Communication of the heart, mind, and body.  Fresh beginnings with the rising of each Sun. The knowledge of the growth found in the sharing of silences. Blessed be this union with the gifts of the South. Warmth of hearth and home. The heat of the heart’s passion. The light created by both to lighten the darkest of times.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the West. The deep commitments of the lake. The swift excitement of the river. The refreshing cleansing of the rain. The all-encompassing passion of the sea.

Blessed be this union with the gifts of the North: A Firm foundation on which to build. Fertility of the fields to enrich your lives. A stable home to which you may always return.

Each of these blessings from the four cardinal directions emphasizes those things, which will help you build a happy and successful union. Yet they are only tools. Tools, which you must use together, in order to create what you seek in this union.