Get Us to the Church on Time

Only one thing was on my mind as we headed off for market on Saturday morning. No, it was not the 3 bushels of beans that Howard and I had picked the day before, or that I had to remember to set aside a quart of Cosmonaut tomatoes for Patrick, or how long it was going to take for the morning stiffness to wear off. The only thing on my mind was, “ Get me to the Church on time. “

Carmen, the daughter of our great friends Grace and Mark Evans, was getting married at 1 p.m. that afternoon.

It was going to be a bit of a trick to get there on time because market ends at noon, and vendors are not allowed to pack up and leave before the clock strikes 12.

We also had a heavy crop, meaning we’d be selling right to the end, and packing up would take time.  Besides, there is always a vendor traffic jam as we all pretend the market lot is the start of the Guelph Indy, and our vans and trucks are race cars as we take off through the first corner through the laneway beside Harveys.

We had warned Carmen and Luis or rather told Grace to alert Carmen and Luis that we’d get there on time, but most like as scruffy oldies who looked like the couple in that painting American Gothic minus the pitchfork. We had promised to remove our aprons before running in to take our pew and that we would go home and change and return respectably dressed for the garden party after . 

The only thing on my mind, as I pondered the placement of beans, eggplants, and tomatoes, greeted customers, and checked out the other stalls, was ……  THE WEDDING. 

I was thinking about Carmen’s dress.  Grace had told me it was lovely.  I didn’t doubt that; I just couldn’t quite picture it. Since there was a brief lull in business, I was trying to see that dress in my mind’s eye.

When suddenly, what to my wondering eye should appear  - but a bride, she had blonde hair, and for a second, I wondered what had possessed Carmen to come to market. 

She wore a simple brown linen ankle-length gown and carried a bouquet of colourful garden flowers..  I knew she was a bride because she was wearing a white sash that proclaimed in gold writing. “ Bride’.  

So that was what I shouted out,  “ Bride!!  A bride. Can we take your picture? “

As we lined Jessica, the bride,  Lisa, the groom’s mom, and the groom’s sisters Rachel and Brittany up,  we learned that the wedding is taking place in Provence this September, and they love gardens.  They told us that they were at the Guelph Farmers Market because “ beautiful produce is a nice start to the day. “  

So is the arrival of a bride at the Guelph Farmers Market.

P.S, Howard and I made it to the Church on time - so did Carmen and Luis. Carmen’s dress was lovely. It was a short simple peach ivory with a train. Grace says that the train is removable so that Carmen can wear her dress again.  Maybe she’ll wear it to market so I can take a picture for our Facebook pages.  Until then, I’ve included a picture of the  wedding cupcakes we got to take home with us.