Page 9 - Mega Bridal Issue

Have you ever been across the sea to Ireland?
Destination Wedding – Ireland
Rebecca Harvey and Russell Bowers – October 11, 2011
By Barbara K. Cooper
Photos by Tracy Poy Smith
To have the wedding of your dreams…..
San Diegan, Rebecca Harvey, Captain, US Marine Corps, and
active duty Marine Judge Advocate, did just that and married her
beloved Russell Bowers at the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin Village,
County Clare, Ireland, October 11, 2011.
Intimacy, originality, heritage, military deployments, financial
factors, a movie plot, kilts, an Irish lace wedding dress and an Irish
Saint are all woven into this real life modern fairytale.
On lunch break the previous June, a Justice of the Peace at the
San Diego Administration Building officiated at Becca and Russ’
‘do it now wedding’, then a quick lunch and toast to each other at
a pub along the harbor. After seven years of dating throughout col-
lege and law school, then following each other across the USA on
various military deployments, the couple knew they were destined
for a whole lifetime together. They promised each other of their ‘real
wedding’ in Ireland when time and money allowed.
The ‘wedding/blessing ceremony’ date and all the guests finally
arrived, as did the fog! Not to worry, on with it! Even when the
piper was a ‘no show’, a bridesmaid stepped forward and sang
‘Songbird’ after being escorted down the aisle. The idea of a formal
blessing came to the couple from a book by John O’Donohue, ‘To
Bless The Space Between Us’ and was officiated by Russ’ cousin
from Georgia who read ‘Excerpt from The Velveteen Rabbit,
Reading 2: ee. Cummings poem, a repeat of the wedding vows and
blessing. Champagne all around to toast the bride and groom!
Becca’s Lilly Pulitzer lace wedding dress and vintage veil which
had been worn by Russ’ Grandmother and Mother, had been
delicately transported from Charlottesville, Virginia, along with her
bright blue high heels. Luckily, a pair of bright blue ‘wellies’ were
loaned the bride by the photographer to tread the slippery walk- San Diego
ways around the Cliffs - a wee bit more of that ‘Luck of the Irish’ Woman
and a perfect match for that perfect dress.
It all worked - the bride was beautiful, the groom was handsome,
the parents were happy and tearful, it was the ‘real wedding’ that
Becca & Russ had imagined and it was their day. All Irish eyes 9
were smiling.
And they lived happily ever after…