(7th Post) My time in Angola was extended and for a great surprise celebration! Thankfully Jim shared with me the biggest news and best kept secret of the year, Allison was planning a surprise wedding! Even the groom didn’t know!! Yup! Have to stay for this one!
Allsion and Randy have been together for over 17 years. They are the type of people you meet and immediately become your favorites in many ways.
Extremely busy in their business, their community, and their seaplane community, I was lucky enough to have an evening when Allison and Randy (and of course the dogs!) all came over to my campsite for dinner! Talk of the upcoming weekend with the famous annual floatplane fly in, I could see their passion in everything they did. Randy was excited of the news of many family and friends were coming to the event – he had no idea it was to see the two of them get married!
The day was beautiful, full of chaos and excitement in the air! The seaplane fly in was a weekend of planes coming in from all over the US and some to participate in a wild games of cards where they would fly from one lake to another to gather 5 cards to enter in the nights bonfire best of 5 card poker game!
The local Inn on the lake took on the event as if it was their own. Seaplanes arrived at their water edge, crowds gathered on land and by boats to watch the afternoon sight! There was a variety of float planes, new and old, many different types, flying in and out through out the day. At least 50 float planes came for the weekend.
Sunset was coming and as part of the Fly In tradition, Allison flew Randy and a couple of his friends up for them to parachute down to their runway to kick off the bonfire party. Little did he know another celebration awaited him!
Upon landing Randy was given a note and everyone gathered close as he read it aloud. Allison’s proposal was a simple poem and when he said yes, it’s about time! The crowd roared!
Allsion flew home and changed to meet her partner in the woods. Their friends had secretly created a magical space in the woods next to the runway on their property.
Grandma King was ushered in to play nontraditional wedding music! Chaps the pony and Clara, Allsion’s niece, came down the aisle tossing flower petals, and everyone gathered to watch the most fun, magical, loving ceremony between two amazing people.
No surprise in the amount of love it took to pull all of this off.
It was a true celebration of love for Allison and Randy. As it should be!
