Brisket, Beans and the Bride Wore Boots: A Country Wedding

Country weddings are so much fun!

On Saturday my sister, best friend, and I attended a good old-fashioned country wedding.  Although it rained cats and dogs and the entire wedding party plus guests got soaked standing outside in the open air, the wedding ceremony went beautifully and the reception totally rocked.  All weddings have things in common...a bride, a groom, over-wrought extended family, tears, laughter and fun.  Some weddings, like a country weddings, have little differences that make them both unique and highly entertaining.

The ceremony took place outside at the historic venue of Fort Stanton, New Mexico.  The guests arrived in assorted attire, with a high percentage of people wearing Wrangler jeans, boots and cowboy hats--even the women!  I felt a little out of place in heels and a party dress, but proceeded to have a lovely time nonetheless watching the young bride and groom exchange their vows.  I must admit, however, that I highly envied the hats and boots as I stood there in the pouring rain getting soaked to the skin and sinking to the bottom of my heels in the ever increasing mud.

After the nuptials, everyone headed to their pickup trucks and other vehicles, some with horse trailers attached, and headed out to Baca Campgrounds for the reception.   Driving forever, we turned off the highway and headed down a rutted, dirt road for ten miles. We ultimately arrived at the location grateful to see some people, and not just jack rabbits and deer that had dotted the roadside as we drove. Thankful that we had not gotten lost in the woods, we entered the large tents the family had erected in the center of the campgrounds and proceeded to get our party on.

The fabulous meal consisted of barbecue brisket, beans, rolls, corn and potato salad.  The coolers of Coors Light and other sundry beers lined the sides of the tent and people began enjoying themselves immediately.  When time for toasts arrived, the guests raised their silver cans and saluted the young couple and wished them well.  Then the tables were cleared and the large bags of corn meal were brought out to shake onto the cement slab so the boots would slide properly when the dancing started. Hooting and hollering, we cheered the newlyweds on and emptied our wallets as they two-stepped to the dollar dance. I smiled when the bride raised her voluminous white gown and underneath were worn and scuffed cowboy boots. The guests then proceeded to join in dancing, circling the floor with the Cotton-Eyed Joe and the Schottiche.  As the night wore on, the country music became louder, the air cooler and fresher, and the laughter more raucous.

I can't remember the last time I enjoyed myself so much.  I felt free from the social constraints that a highly choreographed and fancy wedding puts on the guests.  No one cared which fork I used to cut my brisket, or if my napkin had been placed properly upon my lap.  People came to this wedding to celebrate the marriage and new life together of the bride and groom, not to see who held out their pinky while making their toasts. Country weddings usually lean towards the simple, but sometimes simple strikes just the right note.  Friends and family laughed, gossiped, drank, and danced all night long.  It is the things that are least fussy, on occasion, that make for the best time.

As a young girl, growing up in the podunk town of Capitan, New Mexico, my mother always teased me that I would have brisket and beans at my wedding too.  She knew I envisioned a big, fancy affair falling somewhere on the high end of hoity-toity.  I would adamantly protest that I would not be a part of a country wedding, but my mother knew me better than I knew myself. This memory of my mother's joke amuses me every time I think of my nuptials.  Although it wasn't held at the fairgrounds and only a handful of people wore boots and hats, it was a rather simple event. Everyone had a wonderful time nonetheless, and I am certain it had something to do with the beer, brisket, and beans served at the reception! As the old saying goes, you can take the girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl and I am living proof of that.

The beautiful view from the reception tents at Baca Campground.