Our hearts are filled with joy, and we are incredibly thankful for our daughter’s marriage, for our new son-in-law, and for all the wonderful people who pitched in to help us celebrate! If you’ve followed our journey, you know our days are always “full.” Between growing and preparing food from scratch, running our businesses, and the two of us working together to teach and train our children, there is never a dull moment. Our kids are a huge part of everything we do, helping alongside us, learning every day, and spending a lot of time running and playing across the farm. Yet this week, our main focus was far sweeter: we celebrated our very first daughter getting married!
With a family of 12, life is already full of teamwork, and pulling off this celebration was a true labor of love. From setting things up beforehand to the massive effort of getting everything cleaned up afterward. We were so thankful for our dear friends and family who pitched in, rolled up their sleeves and worked diligently with a great attitude to complete the work with us. We worked hard, but we had so much fun laughing, sharing stories, and just enjoying being together from start to finish. Of course, there were a few minor hiccups along the way, but that’s okay. Life is not perfect. Having grace with yourself and others, and choosing to laugh through those moments makes all the difference.
Some ways we kept things stress-free were by having as much done ahead of time as we could. My daughter made a lot of lists and was very organized, which made a huge difference! We dedicated Monday to prep all of our food for Tuesday’s decorating day and Wednesday’s wedding. I want this to be an encouragement to anyone reading this: even when life gets incredibly busy, with the right plan, we can still eat well and nourish our families without feeling overwhelmed!
More than anything, we spent a lot of time praying—praying for a deep, abiding peace throughout the week and that God would be truly glorified in their ceremony and their marriage. So many other people were praying for us as well, and we greatly appreciated it. He blessed us with that peace, and we trust that He will bless their marriage as well.
In a world that puts so much pressure on couples to do things a certain, extravagant way, Noah and Kailey chose a different path. They didn’t listen to the noise, and the result was a beautiful, low-stress, and thoughtfully planned wedding that felt reverent, joyful, and completely them. True wealth is not measured by what a wedding celebration costs, but by the hands God sends to help, the people He gathers to pray, the laughter that fills the room, and the holy covenant He brings together to His glory.
Some of my favorite parts of the whole day were the meaningful messages from our pastors, the powerful prayers from the fathers, and the beautiful music. My absolute favorite part was at the very end of the ceremony when Noah lifted Kailey right up into his arms and carried her all the way down the aisle!
Of course, no celebration is complete without nourishing food. For the wedding reception, Kailey and Noah really wanted a baked cheesecake, which was entirely new territory for me. I am certainly no professional baker, and it took a lot of trial and error in the kitchen to get it right for them! I kept the recipe simple and focused entirely on using the best, wholesome ingredients—most of which we sourced right here from our farm. Since I had never eaten or made baked cheesecake before, I really wasn’t sure how it was going to be received, so we were especially grateful for the kind compliments it earned from quite a few of our guests. We served it slightly frozen alongside organic fruit, homemade lemon curd, and chopped pecans. I’m sharing the recipe here, so you can try it at home with your own family!