It’s time to start making wedding plans! My family has finally met Joe and his kids, and Joe and his kids have met the family. And that’s what I wanted to accomplish before making any definite plans-- getting the two families together. The bride is now ready to move forward!
The first thing we need to do is to set a date and choose a location. I’d love to marry in April, when the redbuds and dogwoods are in full bloom. We love our home state of Oklahoma (ok, it’s not really my home state. I’m a transplant – but it has become my home) and wanted to get married in a place that would showcase the state’s splendor. Muskogee, with the dazzling array of azaleas that bloom there each spring, is definitely a possibility.
And I’ve long known that if I were to ever remarry, I definitely wanted to marry outdoors. We’d considered Cloudland Canyon at the foot of the falls; it’s a secluded, peaceful place. But there’s no way we could get Fern down there, with her using a walker and a cane to get around on flat ground. I want her to see her son finally marry his true love. Oklahoma will be the place that happens.
The town of Guthrie would be a lovely spot to say our vows. It was the first capital of Oklahoma and is rich with pioneer history and Victorian beauty. Joe and I drove there one day to check the place out. Here’s a quick history of the city from http://www.guthrieok.com/HISTORY.html :
Guthrie began its life as a dusty prairie stop along the AT&SF Railroad. On April 22, 1889, the day of the Land Run, Guthrie had its first incarnation as a destination, becoming a city of 10,000 people by nightfall.Located in the Unassigned Lands of the Indian Territory, Guthrie had been chosen as a site for one of the Federal Land Offices where land seekers were required to file claim to their parcels. By the evening of April 22, a tent city already dominated the landscape. Wooden buildings soon replaced the tents spreading across the hills along Cottonwood Creek. Guthrie became one of the largest cities west of the Mississippi and was quickly known for its beautiful buildings built of red brick and native sandstone.
With the passing of the Organic Act in 1890,Oklahoma became a US Territory and Guthrie was selected as The Territorial Capital. Seventeen years later, on November 16, 1907, Oklahoma was declared a state by then President Theodore Roosevelt with Guthrie as the First State Capital.
First Joe and I had a late lunch at Granny Had One. The building dates to 1891. One entire wall of the restaurant is a mural depicting Guthrie in its early days as a pioneer town, before the turn of the century: horses & buggies; cowboys 
roping calves; ladies wearing long gowns and stylishly large hats; buffalo grazing in the fields; a steam engine chugging down the track. I spied an old-timey player piano and a collection of player-piano music in one corner. Toward the back of the establishment I noticed a cozy meeting room called The Garden Room where we could possibly have the rehearsal dinner. It was all very quaint.
The next stop in our walking tour was the Redstone Country Inn Bed &Breakfast and Wedding Chapel. The two wedding chapels inside, a larger and a smaller one, were already invitingly decorated with flowers and greenery. White garden chairs were set up in both chapels as if they were ready for a wedding at any time.
I found myself absorbed in the history and architecture of Guthrie. Many of the old red and brown buildings show the year they were built: 1890, 1891, 1893. I felt as if we were walking back in time. The Blue Bell Saloon, popular during Territorial times, still stands, thanks to a little remodeling over the century. 
The land office, where thousands of settlers staked their homestead claims, is long gone. That part of history is lost forever. But thanks to the Guthrie Historic District Restoration Program, we can still get a glimpse of what town life was like in the late 19th century, in buildings such as the Foucart Building, designed by architect Joseph Foucart and built in 1891.
Guthrie being the Bed and Breakfast Capital of Oklahoma, we may even have the wedding at a B&B. “Choose from one of 13 distinct and elegant bed and breakfast inns, cottages, and downtown suites in historic Guthrie, Oklahoma.” http://www.guthriebb.com/
And we certainly didn’t want to miss those on our afternoon tour! As the day turned to dusk, 
Joe and I strolled a few blocks north of town to investigate some of the old remodeled Victorian homes which are now B&B’s. It was difficult, though, to imagine a spring wedding in the dead of winter just before Christmas. (p) The Guthrie of a century ago was a place where thousands of pioneers made new starts in life. Imagine hearing the trains whistle as they rolled in to the depot. Imagine the noisy crowds filing their claims at the land office. Imagine cowboys stopping for a swig or two at the saloon.
The cowboys, steam engines, and the land office are all gone now. Modern Guthrie is now dotted with antique shops, a performing arts theater, a tea room or two, and even a steakhouse. Guthrie has so much to offer, and what I’ve written here does not even scratch the surface.
History was made in Guthrie. Will this be the place Joe and I make our new start in life, and create some history of our own?
No comments:
Post a Comment