A Traditional Wedding in Quanitco, Maryland

On Sunday, October 10, 2010 (10/10/10) several coworkers, Matt, and I joined Amy Nicole DiPilla and Nathan Glenn Davidson in the celebration of the their love at one o'clock at the Old Green Hill Church in Quantico, MD. Nate, presently a history teacher in Saulisbury, worked with the AmeriCorp as a Programs Coordinator at Ft. Dupont, was Caesar Rodney in the Legislation re-enactment, and our evening graveyard lantern tour guide through several old historic places in Dover, just to name a few.

St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (aka Green Hill Church) was one of the original 30 Anglican parishes built for the province of Maryland. The original log built church was constructed in 1694, but replaced with the current brick building in 1733. It is located right on the banks of the Quanitco River. There is an old cemetery located right next the the church with old epitaphs. It is a beautiful and peaceful spot. We tested our bubbles there to make sure they worked.

The interior has a high pitched roof with exposed wooden beams across. The 18th century woodwork still remains. It's raised panel pew partitions are arranged on each side of wide aisles that align with the two front doors. Each partition, like a box, but only three pews in the shape of a U, still have the butterfly hinges on the doors. Imagine yourself walk down an aisle, then turning left or right to find yourself facing a box like enclosure. You open the hinged doors, and turn to face the pulpit, and then have a . The carved pulpit is connected on an angle and complete with a wooden canopy. The grounds are maintained, and although there is no service, it is opened every year in August for the Annual St. Bartholomew's day celebration and church service.

The wedding ceremony was researched and chosen with Bible and verse of the appropriate 18th century time period. One of the readings was "Husbands love your wife, as Jesus loved the church. Give yourself up to your wife. Treat her as if you would treat your own sacred body." We all made our way out of the church into a single line to blow bubbles to their white limousine. It was a beautiful 79F degrees with a nice breeze. We all gathered around the couple for a nice group friends/family picture.

Afterwards, we headed to the Green Hill Yacht & Country Club. It has a spectacular view of the wildlife and setting suns. The clubhouse building was surrounded by lots of decking with breath taking views of the river, a beautiful recreational pool, and docking for boats to disembark for a delicious meal. We were treated to hors d'oeuvres, dinner, and dancing. The groom sang a special touching song, special to each other, for his wife.

I felt so blessed to be surrounded by my lovely coworkers, which are like family. Matthew enjoy the conversation and laughter as well. He loved dancing with all the single professionals in their 20s and being in the lineup of men catching the garter. After the pictures were taken, and most of the guests departed we made our way out to the parking lot giving each other hugs. We gave the newlyweds a bon voyage knowing they were packed and ready for their Bermuda honeymoon.

Just as the sun was setting, and the air started cooling we saw an ultralight plane with floats taking off from the river.