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Elizabeth Cummings
& Tom Glorfield
Oxford, Iowa
July 13, 2003
13 Guests
In planning our wedding,
Tom and I drew from our collective experiences
in procrastination—in school, pulling all-nighters
to churn out papers that would later be dashed
up five flights of stairs and slid under the professor’s
office door at the very last minute of the due
date, and whittling away at a sculpture among
a sea of wood chips the night before a semester
project was due, to the point of developing claw-like
hands whose fingers could not be moved for days;
in teaching, throwing prescribed approaches to
the wind by creating and delivering lessons on
the fly; in volunteering, becoming delirious while
whipping out code for a web site in the wee hours
of the morning it was to go live; in working as
corporate stiffs, “pushing the envelope”
of what COB really means in a world of international
business. I can’t say there weren’t
moments of panic during the less than two months
we devoted to making all the arrangements for
our big day—such as leaving multiple notes
for the delivery man the day before the wedding,
begging him to leave any package marked “gown”
on our doorstep, and designing handmade programs
hours before the ceremony—but there is something
about the thrill of pulling off something beautifully
when all signs point to the contrary. This was
always our luck in any endeavor, and it was no
different for July Thirteenth. Our wedding planning
mantra: All good things come to those who wait.
Understand that waiting for the perfect moment
was not reserved only for finalizing the details
of our celebration: We dated for over a decade!
As a result, not only were we able to orchestrate
an event that was in keeping with our beliefs,
but each of us married the person we really, truly
wanted to spend a life with.
Our big day incorporated, supported, and reflected
the values we uphold without too much effort:
Challenges definitely presented themselves, but
they were enticing rather than overwhelming. If
we couldn’t find a solution in the relatively
progressive town we live in, we could turn to
the Internet, with its amazing search engines
and countless message boards. From supporting
local artisans and small business people and outdoor
outlets to serving food and wearing apparel that
introduced others to our beliefs without compromise,
I began to realize how fortunate we are to live
at a time and place when doing all this is possible.
A long courtship made us surer of what we want
in life, what is important, and how to truly respect
each other and the world that we are a part of.
We of course had life pretty much all figured
out when, as 20-year-old philosophy and art students
strangers, a mutual friend asked us to be in a
punk band with him—but we also learned a
few other things in the years that followed, during
which our individual interests, studies, work,
and obligations took us from attending the same
school, to attending different schools in the
same state, to working and studying in different
states, to working in different time zones. Eventually,
we lived in the same place again, and we were
better able to share the ups (rescuing animals,
teaching an adult to read, painting a mural, forming
a band, turning a rental into a home, hanging
out with friends, getting to know each other’s
family) and deal with the downs (injustices in
the world, family strife, the failing health and
loss of family, frustrations from work, and loss
of a job) we would encounter over the course of
several years. Walking hand in hand down the outdoor
aisle of our sunset ceremony, neither of us had
a doubt in our minds.
Though it was not the result of our perfected
art of planned procrastination, there was an added
bonus to waiting: When we met, I had been a vegetarian
for a good five years or so, on my way to becoming
vegan, and Tom was the poster boy for just about
everything opposite. Good thing we waited a decade
before we tied the knot! During that time, Tom
went from respecting my views, to giving up beef,
to sharing an apartment with me into which he
never brought an animal product, to recognizing
the absurdity of not consuming some animals’
products while consuming others’ (Thanks,
Farm Sanctuary, for those constant reminders in
the form of adopt-an-animal certificates!), to
incorporating more raw fruits and vegetables into
his diet, to finally going vegan (Thanks, Farm
Sanctuary, for the amazing tour!) two weeks before
we were married—the last being a complete
and utterly delightful surprise, and one that
permitted me to utter dreamlike vows from the
heart that moved vegans and omnivores, alike,
to tears.
Elizabeth &
Tom’s Menu
Pre-Wedding Supper
Vegan Sushi
Spicy Cashew Coconut Stir-Fry with Tempeh
Pasta with Jerk Sauce
Teriyaki Stir-Fry with Tempeh
Wedding Cake
Multi-Tiered Vanilla Cake
decorated with Fresh Berries and Cherries
Beverages
Freshly Squeezed Organic
Juices
Fairly Traded Organic Coffee
Herbal Tea
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