Will and Emma hugging on a sandy path, smiling at the camera
Frontispiece. The authors, in excellent spirits.

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Once Upon a Marsh

being the true & ongoing history of

Will&Emma

who are to be married

Saturday, the Tenth of AprilTwo Thousand & Twenty-Seven

at Cedar Hill, on the Cooper River,
South Carolina

Printed for

our family and friends

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For everyone who has loved us into this story, and for those about to read the next chapter with us.Sample

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Chapter the First

In which our story begins

Once upon a time, in the Lowcountry, where the marsh turns to gold every evening and the pines stand up very straight, there lived a young man called Will and a young woman called Emma.

How the two of them met is a tale they tell far better than any narrator could, and they have promised to set it down here in their own words.Sample

What the record shows for certain is this: he has a truck, she has a very fine pair of boots, and neither of them has ever managed to keep a straight face in a photograph. The reader may consult Plates I and II as evidence.

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Will and Emma in front of his pickup at dusk under tall pines, headlights flaring
Plate I. A truck, some pines, and two people grinning at dusk.
Emma sits on Will's hip in front of the truck beneath a glowing lamp post
Plate II. On the matter of who carries whom.

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Chapter the Second

The question

In time, as happens in the better sort of stories, a question was asked and a ring appeared. The answer, as Plate III makes perfectly plain, was yes. It appears to have been a very loud yes.

The finer details of the asking belong to Will and Emma, and they will tell you all of it in person if you ask nicely.Sample

Will points at Emma's engagement ring as they both shout with joy, a bay and mountains behind them
Plate III. The answer.

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Will and Emma, foreheads together, laughing, her ring on his cheek
Plate IV. Rather pleased about it.

The authors are also, it must be said, fond of climbing things.

Will and Emma standing together up in a huge tree
Plate V. Up a tree, where the best plans are made.
In a sea cave, Will carries Emma as she kisses his cheek
Plate VI. A cave, a kiss, and sand in every possible place.

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Chapter the Third

The particulars

Saturday, the Tenth of AprilTwo Thousand & Twenty-Seven

Cedar Hill

on the East Branch of the Cooper River, South Carolina

Cedar Hill lies on the East Branch of the Cooper River, off Cainhoy Road, which the modern world calls Highway 98. The way there is drawn on the map that follows, with only modest artistic license.

From downtown CharlestonDowntown Charleston
about 45 min.
From Mount PleasantMount Pleasant
about 20 min.
Flying in
CHS

Of lodging

Most travelers will be happiest in Mount Pleasant, about twenty minutes from Cedar Hill, or downtown in Charleston, about forty-five. Those arriving by air should aim for Charleston International (CHS).

A block of rooms is being arranged, and the booking link and the date it closes will appear right here.Sample

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A fairytale map from Charleston to Cedar HillAn illustrated map. Charleston sits on its peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, with the airport to the north. Mount Pleasant lies across the Cooper. A dotted route runs from Charleston over the bridge, through Mount Pleasant, north past Cainhoy and up Cainhoy Road to Cedar Hill, marked with a lantern on the East Branch of the Cooper River. The Atlantic Ocean is at the bottom.Cooper RiverEast BranchWando RiverAshley RiverAirport (CHS)the way to the weddingCharlestonMountPleasantDanielIslandCainhoyCainhoy Rd.Charleston HarborCedar Hill10 April 2027Atlantic OceanHere be dolphinsNNot entirelyto scaleA fairytale map from Charleston to Cedar HillAn illustrated map. Charleston sits on its peninsula between the Ashley and Cooper rivers, with the airport to the north. Mount Pleasant lies across the Cooper. A dotted route runs from Charleston over the bridge, through Mount Pleasant, north past Cainhoy and up Cainhoy Road to Cedar Hill, marked with a lantern on the East Branch of the Cooper River. The Atlantic Ocean is at the bottom.Cooper RiverEast BranchWando RiverAshley RiverAirport (CHS)the way to the weddingCharlestonMountPleasantDanielIslandCainhoyCainhoy Rd.Charleston HarborCedar Hill10 April 2027Atlantic OceanHere be dolphinsNNot entirelyto scale

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To be continued

The rest of the story is still being written

Kindly keep the evening of Saturday, April 10, 2027 free. A formal invitation will follow, and with it a card for your reply.

The invitation will arrive by January 2027Sample.

Add to Google CalendarAdd to Apple or Outlook

It holds the whole day for now. The times will follow with the invitation.

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Will hugs Emma from behind, both laughing, by the water with mountains beyond
Plate VIII. Looking ahead, and liking what they see.

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Once Upon a Marsh

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