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Actually, it was more like a party, at least once the ceremony was over. I'm getting ahead of myself, though. Let's begin.. at the beginning. :)
I left here around 330p, and arrived at about 10 till 400p. (I should point out that my home clock is about 10 minutes fast.) I saw Charles' mom, a really pretty woman wearing a bridesmaid dress who wasn't there for the rehearsal (we were missing two or three bridesmaids). Walking past them, I went inside, where I found Kevin, setting up his laptop and video cameras.
Shortly, Justin showed up, followed by Jay. Allen, Charles' brother, was already there, and I learned that the pretty woman outside with Charles' mom was Allen's girlfriend, April.
We then got run out, because they were going to take pictures of the bride in the main area (it was a rented location that was specifically for weddings). Outside we all went, and Scott (Greene, of no relation to the Scott who games with us on Sundays) and Charles showed up. We stood outside, and talked.
At that point, the hairdresser called Charles inside to do his hair. That's when two guys showed up who could only be Melissa's brothers. Justin had already begun marking up the truck the two were going to leave in, by using white shoe polish on the glass. Well, when these two guys showed up, they saw what was going on, and opened the toolbox on the back of the truck they came in.
Out came a grocery bag. Out of the grocery bag came three cans of shaving cream, a couple of bottles of chocolate syrup, and some Vaseline jelly. I was impressed, but then I found myself in awe of their ability: They pulled out rubber gloves. :) They had that truck looking demolished by the time everything was over. They peeled the gloves off using the "safe" method of removing one, and then using that one to peel the other off, and throw them away.
Now, it was almost time for the wedding to start, and we hadn't taken the pictures yet, despite what they had decided about getting them done ahead of time. Oh well.
The ceremony began, and the groomsmen escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle to the tune of "Only Time" by Enya. It was fun, even though I messed up offering her my arm*. Amy, on my side, was beautiful. *sigh* Shame it appears that she's under 18. (She looks like she's 19-20, IMO.) Anyway, we settled in, and some chimes began for the flower girls. When they had gotten set up, the wedding march began.
Now, apparently, none of the people there, except the bridesmaids and the matron of honor, had seen Melissa in her dress. Let me tell you: She was absolutely stunning. I mean, radiant. Her mom walked with her down the aisle, since her father was the photographer. (I'm sure there's more to it, since it seemed that they now do it where the FAMILY is giving the bride away, not just the father. I don't know about you, but I like that.)
By the time Melissa was at the altar with her mom, and Charles stepped down to meet her, her eyes were tearing up. When the preacher asked who was giving her away, Melissa's mom's voice broke once while reading her part. At this point, I nearly lost it, too. The bridesmaids were just about all crying. He did the vows. When he got to the exchanging of rings, he talked about the history of the ring as a symbol, and how it was made of gold, but gold was soft and malleable, and had to be strengthened with an alloy. He said that there'd be days one would be mad at the other, or one would have to wait on the other. He told them to look at each other then, and said, "Remember this image, and remember your thoughts on this day. May it be the alloy to strengthen your marriage." I never saw that coming, and it was beautiful.
Then, Charles and Melissa lit the unity candle.** The candle almost went out after they lit it. I could hear Jay behind me going, in a quiet voice, "Don't go out. Don't go out." I found myself doing the same. Well, it was weird. The flame litterally went almost completely out. You know how a match looks when it's giving up its last gasp. The candle did that, and then flared back up, bigger than it was before. No doubt about it, that ceremony was being Watched. *shivers*
Then, the preacher did something else I never expected. He talked about how you couldn't see where Charles' flame ended, and Melissa's flame began. He noted that the marriage was JUST LIKE THAT. Some days, one of them could only give 10%, and the other would have to make up the difference, and vice versa. We intoned the Lord's prayer, and he introduced the congregation to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Willson. *sniff* It was truly beautiful.
Then, we receded out of the chapel area. Skipping around a bit, we went outside to do the rice throwing thing, since it was getting dark. Except, we had bubbles instead. That was so much cooler. The air was filled with them. The couple came out, the pictures were taken, Melissa registered shock at seeing the truck, and then they circled back inside.
We took lots of pictures, and Justin spiked some punch with Bacardi Razz.
Well, it's noon now, and I have a bunch to do today. I'll update about the party later. Trust me, you won't want to miss it. :)
* - See, I was supposed to offer her my right hand, take hers, and then loop my left arm around her right, at which point I would release my hold on her right hand. I, however, just offered her my left arm. Ack. This is despite the constant mental preparation, even RIGHT BEFORE ACTING ON IT. *Sigh* No one noticed, I think.
** - There are three candles, really. Two are lit by the parents at the beginning of the ceremony, and the bride and groom use those to light the bigger one in the center, which represents their union.
I left here around 330p, and arrived at about 10 till 400p. (I should point out that my home clock is about 10 minutes fast.) I saw Charles' mom, a really pretty woman wearing a bridesmaid dress who wasn't there for the rehearsal (we were missing two or three bridesmaids). Walking past them, I went inside, where I found Kevin, setting up his laptop and video cameras.
Shortly, Justin showed up, followed by Jay. Allen, Charles' brother, was already there, and I learned that the pretty woman outside with Charles' mom was Allen's girlfriend, April.
We then got run out, because they were going to take pictures of the bride in the main area (it was a rented location that was specifically for weddings). Outside we all went, and Scott (Greene, of no relation to the Scott who games with us on Sundays) and Charles showed up. We stood outside, and talked.
At that point, the hairdresser called Charles inside to do his hair. That's when two guys showed up who could only be Melissa's brothers. Justin had already begun marking up the truck the two were going to leave in, by using white shoe polish on the glass. Well, when these two guys showed up, they saw what was going on, and opened the toolbox on the back of the truck they came in.
Out came a grocery bag. Out of the grocery bag came three cans of shaving cream, a couple of bottles of chocolate syrup, and some Vaseline jelly. I was impressed, but then I found myself in awe of their ability: They pulled out rubber gloves. :) They had that truck looking demolished by the time everything was over. They peeled the gloves off using the "safe" method of removing one, and then using that one to peel the other off, and throw them away.
Now, it was almost time for the wedding to start, and we hadn't taken the pictures yet, despite what they had decided about getting them done ahead of time. Oh well.
The ceremony began, and the groomsmen escorted the bridesmaids down the aisle to the tune of "Only Time" by Enya. It was fun, even though I messed up offering her my arm*. Amy, on my side, was beautiful. *sigh* Shame it appears that she's under 18. (She looks like she's 19-20, IMO.) Anyway, we settled in, and some chimes began for the flower girls. When they had gotten set up, the wedding march began.
Now, apparently, none of the people there, except the bridesmaids and the matron of honor, had seen Melissa in her dress. Let me tell you: She was absolutely stunning. I mean, radiant. Her mom walked with her down the aisle, since her father was the photographer. (I'm sure there's more to it, since it seemed that they now do it where the FAMILY is giving the bride away, not just the father. I don't know about you, but I like that.)
By the time Melissa was at the altar with her mom, and Charles stepped down to meet her, her eyes were tearing up. When the preacher asked who was giving her away, Melissa's mom's voice broke once while reading her part. At this point, I nearly lost it, too. The bridesmaids were just about all crying. He did the vows. When he got to the exchanging of rings, he talked about the history of the ring as a symbol, and how it was made of gold, but gold was soft and malleable, and had to be strengthened with an alloy. He said that there'd be days one would be mad at the other, or one would have to wait on the other. He told them to look at each other then, and said, "Remember this image, and remember your thoughts on this day. May it be the alloy to strengthen your marriage." I never saw that coming, and it was beautiful.
Then, Charles and Melissa lit the unity candle.** The candle almost went out after they lit it. I could hear Jay behind me going, in a quiet voice, "Don't go out. Don't go out." I found myself doing the same. Well, it was weird. The flame litterally went almost completely out. You know how a match looks when it's giving up its last gasp. The candle did that, and then flared back up, bigger than it was before. No doubt about it, that ceremony was being Watched. *shivers*
Then, the preacher did something else I never expected. He talked about how you couldn't see where Charles' flame ended, and Melissa's flame began. He noted that the marriage was JUST LIKE THAT. Some days, one of them could only give 10%, and the other would have to make up the difference, and vice versa. We intoned the Lord's prayer, and he introduced the congregation to Mr. and Mrs. Charles Willson. *sniff* It was truly beautiful.
Then, we receded out of the chapel area. Skipping around a bit, we went outside to do the rice throwing thing, since it was getting dark. Except, we had bubbles instead. That was so much cooler. The air was filled with them. The couple came out, the pictures were taken, Melissa registered shock at seeing the truck, and then they circled back inside.
We took lots of pictures, and Justin spiked some punch with Bacardi Razz.
Well, it's noon now, and I have a bunch to do today. I'll update about the party later. Trust me, you won't want to miss it. :)
* - See, I was supposed to offer her my right hand, take hers, and then loop my left arm around her right, at which point I would release my hold on her right hand. I, however, just offered her my left arm. Ack. This is despite the constant mental preparation, even RIGHT BEFORE ACTING ON IT. *Sigh* No one noticed, I think.
** - There are three candles, really. Two are lit by the parents at the beginning of the ceremony, and the bride and groom use those to light the bigger one in the center, which represents their union.
