It's official! As of yesterday afternoon at approximately 4:43, Charlotte Berson and Tyler Pullins are considered by the state of Texas to be husband and wife....and I was blessed to be the one to pronounce them as such. It was a beautiful wedding. Charlotte, who I coached and taught in middle school, was an absolutely stunning bride. Her bridesmaids were lovely and all the guys were more than presentable. I let Charlotte pick out my tie just to make sure I wasn't conflicting with anything, color-wise. There were a few new wrinkles. I think it was the first wedding I've been in with no children. Instead of the fairly new tradition of the Unity Candle, they had the even newer tradition of the Unity Sand, combining two containers of colored sand as a symbolic act of joining two families. One thing I really liked was that the rings were kept by the relatives who passed them around and prayed over them during the first part of the ceremony until a bridesmaid, Nikki, and groomsman, Trevor, retrieved them for the exchange. Afterwards, I signed the necessary paperwork to make it all legal but left it to Charlotte's mom, Corky, to mail it in. (Some of you know I tend to lose things- a marriage license would be a bad piece of paper to misplace!) The reception, held at the Brae Burn Country Club, was terrific and I was blessed to spend time with several of Charlotte's classmates who I see very infrequently. I left for my home with a glow....and that's always a wonderful way to conclude any sacred event.
Saturday afternoon was not the first time I recited those words I spoke to Charlotte and Tyler. Three times on Friday in classes, we held mock weddings. (Mock is not a good word in this context- maybe I should say practice!) Roseline/Sydney/Erin played the role of Charlotte, respectively, while Kameron/Matthew/Zak stood in for Tyler. Do you know what's funny? Charlotte was emotional and cried through much of the wedding and Tyler was on pins and needles, especially as we began the proceedings. On the other hand, the make believe couples, who volunteered and had their names picked out of a hat, were non-plussed and the young men even appeared bored about half way through the ceremony. No such boredom from the real life bride and groom! You see, the soon-to-be husband and wife shown below, eighth graders Sydney and Matthew, have no real stake in the affair and neither do those in the pews, I mean desks. But there will come a time when it is all too real for them, as well. Eleven years ago, Charlotte sat in this same room and in these same desks as we spoke of life and love and marriage. She told me this summer that she decided in eighth grade she would ask me to be the minister on her special day. So she chose me before Tyler, in a sense. That was the easy selection. The one you change your name for? That's a little more complex and eternal in nature. I like that the church in scripture is called the bride of Christ. I don't always understand love but I understand weddings. Happily, sometimes love and weddings go hand in hand..... just like the newly formed Mr. and Mrs. Tyler Pullins. You can see them at the top of this page.
Applicable quote of the day:
"We have the greatest pre-nuptial agreement in the world. It's called love."
Gene Perret
God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com
2 comments:
Great post, Steve. Weddings are exciting events, and also sacred, as you pointed out here. I just did my own daughter's wedding this year. I've done a lot of weddings, but none quite like that one. Hope you are doing well.
Warren
Quite impressive pictures of wedding. It’s my wedding in couple of months and planning to hire a talented wedding photographer. We have booked one of finest Chicago wedding venues. Hope to have a perfect wedding.
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