The Two Shall Become One Flesh

Photography by Erik Notz

My best friend Steve Leib got married on July 1st. The wedding took place in Willey, Iowa.

Willey is a group of homes and farms that surround a catholic cathedral that seems, from a distance, to rise from the corn fields. Next to the church, a man and his wife are building a vineyard. I talked to them for a while. John and Rose have traveled to a lot of places. They lived in Italy for a time, and decided to do a little research concerning vines and wine. Now they are making their dream of a vineyard a reality. The vineyard sits on top of a hill where you can look in all directions to see the rolling hills of north-western Iowa.
The town of Willey boasts a population of around 180 residents, making my friends wedding the event of the month. The whole town helped with the preparations, including a pavilion outside for dancing, food for both the rehearsal dinner and the wedding feast, and also a brunch that sunday morning. Even the trestle of the vineyard was decorated with ribbon.
I arrived in Willey friday night for the rehearsal dinner, and left after the brunch on sunday.

We celebrated Steve and Krystel's wedding for three days. It was amazing. I couldn't help but think about all of the weddings I have been to in my lifetime. Some were really great and some seemed empty. This celebration was amazing, the way that I always imagine a wedding should be.

I came home with a sense of spiritual rejuvenation. I really needed this experience, and God knew it. Praise the God that gives good gifts. He has gifted my friend with a beautiful wife, and has blessed me to be a part of their journey.