Wedding Day

It tasted as good as it looked!

The Bride’s Bouquet

The Parents of the Groom looking not at all frumpy!

The Sun is out!

She gets her ring!

Making a run for it.

Big brother brings them back.

So many photographers, they didn’t know which way to look.

Sgt Major Mike and his wife.

For the Thank you cards.

Finally they get away from the cameras

First Dance

Dancing with Cinderella (Bride with her dad)

After a rough start that included a broken water pump, a car wreck, steady drizzling rain, crazy busy traffic, confusion about the hotel room for bridal dressing and a missing bridal bouquet, we almost didn’t make it to the wedding we have planned so carefully for. But, 4:00 PM found us standing at the edge of the water on the southernmost shore of Lido Key. Surrounded by over 100 friends, and with the sun shining brightly, blue skies and a beautiful wedding arch of purple orchids and white and silver mesh ribbon, youngest son and his bride said their vows. I was deeply moved by the announcement by the Sgt. Major who assisted in the life changing choices youngest son made as a freshman in High School, that youngest son wrote the wedding ceremony himself. Filled with references to rivers, cliffs, mountains and trails, he quoted an Indian proverb that says something about your love for me makes me be the best I can be. I didn’t quite hear it because I was still wrestling with the fact that youngest son WROTE the vows and that they were stirring, thoughtful and meaningful. Is this the same boy who hated school? Writing his own wedding vows? What planet had I been transported to? As soon as they exchanged rings and said “I do,” they took off down the beach literally walking into the sunset until oldest son, sent by his dad and the photographer hauled them back to the wedding site where they were forced to endure posing for what must have seemed like a thousand pictures. This day and age, everyone has a cell phone and a camera and everyone wanted a reminder of this momentous day. It makes it fun though because I am finding pictures posted on facebook that I wished I had taken and can retrieve them and make them my own. From the beach we travelled to the Sarasota Garden Center for the reception. The bride had put together a slide show of pictures of the two of them growing up so we watched them progress from infants to high school graduates before our eyes. The bride’s mom said a blessing, dinner was served, and everyone got their fill of chicken and yellow rice. Then, there was dancing, first the bride and groom and then, the bride with her father. His battle with brain cancer has been a struggle so there was not a dry eye in the room as they slow danced to “Cinderella” by Stephen Curtis Chapman. The dance floor was outside and the temperature was steadily dropping so not many people were brave enough to stay out and dance so the bride and groom cut their wedding cake, a luscious strawberry filled one and everyone helped themselves to cake or one of the various eight dozen cupcakes that substituted for a groom’s cake since youngest son could not pick a favorite. I had been concerned about getting everyone out of the garden center by the end of our time at 9:00, but after the cake was served, everyone magically disappeared as did the bride and groom weary from the day’s events and ready for some peace and quiet away from the many cameras. Friends and family stayed to help clean up, but it was very late before I could finally settle down and go to sleep. Seems like the day took months and months of planning and went by in the blink of an eye. We pray that their lives together will be rich and full and their happiness will be as great fifty years from now as it was on their wedding day.