August 25 – “A Really Hot Wedding”

I officiated another wedding at the San Luis Hotel the other day.  I know, that’s really not that unusual an event.  I do quite a few weddings there over the course of a year’s time.  This one was garners special attention, however.  Oh, it’s not that the bride and groom both fainted or the bride’s father fell in a swimming pool or the ring bearer wailed his way down the aisle.  All of those would have been fodder for Funniest Home Videos, granted.  And this one actually had potential in that arena.  At the rehearsal we learned that the bride’s Mom really didn’t like - no, in the bride’s estimation she hated - her own mother, the bride’s grandmother.  And that grandmother was divorced and had a similar emotional reaction to being in the presence of, not her ex, but her ex’s new spouse.  The groom’s parents were also divorced, but apparently they were able to get along.  The wedding coordinator had the responsibility of figuring out who would sit where and next to whom.  On top of that, the ring bearer was less than two years old, always a recipe for impending hilarity or disaster.  Especially since his co-ring bearer was a little girl just over two.  The two of them were supposed to be guided by the flower girl who looked to be around five.  And all of them were to be directed to their beginning spots, not by the wedding coordinator or even a helpful nearby adult, but by one of the ushers – a little boy around ten.  Any one of those situations could have erupted into a major situation at any time.  But none did.  All went well on those fronts.  Granny sat just behind Mom.  GrandDad sat behind Granny.  The usher guided his two little charges to their spot, and they marched proudly down the aisle hand in hand, followed smartly by the cute flower girl.  The bride and her Dad arrive at the front, all smiles and just a bit teary-eyed.  All’s well that begins well.

And then everyone began to feel the effects of the one thing that no one could change.  The weather.  No, it didn’t start raining.  That would have been a welcome relief.  See, it was three o’clock on an August afternoon in Galveston.  The absolute hottest month of the year in one of the most humid spots in the continental United States.  And we were outside in the hotel’s gazebo.  Well, the bride and groom and myself were in the gazebo – the one place on the entire lawn where there was not the slightest breeze.  Virtually everyone else, from the best man and maid of honor on out to the videographer standing in the back in the center aisle, were all in the bright, hot, muggy sun.  Oh, and I forgot to mention, the way the venue is arranged all of the spectators were not just basking in the sunshine.  They were facing the setting sun.  No shade.  No fans.  No umbrellas.  Just raw, unadulterated sunshine.  And did I mention that it was hot?  I think the official temperature was somewhere around 96 degrees, but the heat index shot that up well over 100.  The groomsmen wore tuxes.  I had on my only suit.  The groom’s Dad, who was seated on the front row was wearing a tie and a tie tack.  How do I know that, and why do I care?  Because the sun was reflecting off of that tiny piece of metal and glaring right into my eyes.  I had to hold up my wedding book just right to block it so I could see.  Sweat was glistening off of every person around, even the folks in bathing suits on their way to hotel pool who stopped to see what was going on.  I fully expected someone to drop from heat stroke any second.  Let me tell you, that now officially holds the title as the quickest wedding I have ever done.  Ten minutes.  Over.  Find some shade.  Oh, wait.  Unless you are in the pictures.  Then you have stay in the heat longer.  Not much longer, though.  Quickest post-wedding photo shoot I have ever seen as well.  Needless to say, I have a trip to the dry cleaner’s on my schedule today.  Gotta get that marryin’ and buryin’ suit cleaned up for next weekend.  I have another wedding, but it’s not on the island.  How hot does it get in Georgetown?

Psalms 113:3 says, “From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”

Father, I do praise you, even for the heat from the sun.  I remember what it’s like to be cold.  Amen.