The Story of the Oak Tree

We wanted to take a minute to share a truly touching story about a couple who recently celebrated their marriage at Columbia Country Club.

During the planning process, our event specialist noticed a theme of very natural décor items being used: cotton in the centerpieces, burlap runners, wooden discs with the couples’ initials carved into them, etc. The menus were designed with an oak tree at the top, which seemed to go well with the overall theme of the day. But what really struck her was the sweet story that incorporated the oak tree she heard from the father of the bride:

When her mother and I moved into our first house as a married couple, my father gave us an oak tree to transplant into our own yard. That tree has grown over the years along with our family, and it’s still in our backyard today. When we found out Meghan was getting married, we took some seedlings from that tree and started growing another tree. Instead of a unity candle or unity sand at their ceremony, they will be watering the oak tree to symbolize the growth of their family. Then they will plant that three in their backyard to share with future generations. Everything you see here made of wood is wood taken from that oak tree.

The more we looked around, the more we realized the special personal touches of that oak tree. The pen holders for the guestbook were made of branches from the oak tree, and those initialed wooden discs were scattered throughout the reception area. The couple even decided to have a picture of an oak tree drawn to utilize for their guestbook and hang in their home after the reception. At the party, each guest marked the tree with a green thumbprint using an ink pad and signed their name or initials. Now, the couple will have that special reminder of the oak tree and all the love and support their marriage has from family and friends both indoors and outdoors.