A year, almost to the hour, after their first date, Mechelle Richardson and Pehr Lund were saying their wedding vows in a meadow in the lush Etowah River Valley in Cartersville, Georgia. Standing on what was considered sacred ground of the last native home of the Cherokee tribes less than 200 hundred years before, Mechelle and Pehr, both in their 30s, felt they were completing one of many “full circles” that kept showing up in their relationship.

It was in this same meadow, land locally known as “The Vineyard” owned by friends of Pehr’s family, that they had walked and talked and “collected stories” on their first date a year before. Actually, it was after he had cooked dinner for her and another couple, after they had “stayed up all night long talking,” and after he had prepared breakfast for the group the next morning, that Mechelle and Pehr ventured out into the heritage-rich landscape, not missing a beat in their conversation or in the deep connection they felt.

“It was magic when we met,” Mechelle shared. “We both had come full circle; coming back to this area where our families lived. We were both divorced and had come back to start over—and we found each other! We both felt the hand of God had placed us together. So for our wedding, we wanted to celebrate these family roots,” Mechelle continued. “We both share an Irish heritage and I also have Cherokee blood.”

Ways to honor the great spiritual cultures of both the Southeastern Native Americans and the ancient Irish were incorporated into their wedding ceremony. As she walked down the aisle, a friend, Jen Shumilak, surprised Mechelle by playing Celtic period music on his lap harp. Other friends and family members read prayers and readings from Celtic mystical wisdom and Native American spiritual traditions.

Their service, conducted by The Reverend Lois M. Grant of Atlanta, was a version of the Cherokee wedding ceremony. One of the rituals the couple re-enacted was each having a blue blanket placed over their shoulders by their mothers, then joined their blankets symbolizing a pledge of mutual support. By the end of the ceremony, the blue blankets were shed, replaced by a white blanket draped over the couple—a symbol of happiness and their commitment to each other.

To end the ceremony, Mechelle wanted to say “I love you” in as many languages as possible, so Lois researched and the bride and groom read ten interpretations to each other, one after another, ending with a-ya ah-da-ga-oo-eh nee-hi: “I love you” in Cherokee.

“I remember one moment especially during the ceremony feeling so alive and I took a mental photograph that I hold in my heart always—it’s so beautiful,” recalled Mechelle. “I had several dear friends as my attendants, and I looked over at them—with their deep maroon dresses shimmering in the candlelight—and thought how pretty being ‘older and wiser’ looked on them now!”

At sunset, as the light from torches flickered in the cool spring evening and the sacred corn drink had been drunk and consecrated to the four directions, and the union was blessed with a Cherokee prayer, the couple kissed, then kissed again, just as a wild turkey flew overhead. Long associated with spirituality, honoring the harvest of the Earth Mother, and shared blessings, the appearance of the native bird in flight affirmed the precious life cycle revered in that moment.

Echoes of the rich legacy of human stories heralded the day and continued into the evening as the happy friends and families completed another circle of life and made their way to M’vorneen’s—the newlyweds’ own Irish pub! Aho.

Mechelle chose this prayer, honoring her Cherokee Native American heritage, as part of their wedding ceremony: Cherokee Wedding Prayer Father Sky, please protect the ones we love. We honor all you created as we pledge our hearts and lives together. We honor Mother Earth and ask for this marriage to be abundant and grow stronger through the seasons. We honor fire and ask that this union be warm and glowing with love in their hearts. We honor wind and ask that they will sail though life safe and calm as in our Father’s arms. We honor water to clean and soothe this relationship - that it may never thirst for love With all the forces of the universe you created, we pray for harmony and true happiness as the groom and bride forever grow young together. Aho.

“Adele” “ALETA”