April 2 – “It’s where?”

I officiated another wedding on the beach last night.  This one was right next to the Pleasure Pier, of all places.  And that means all the Duck Tour traffic was brought to a standstill when it became apparent that the bride had arrived and was exiting her car.  Speaking of the bride, she was the granddaughter of my Mom’s best friend, Betty.  The groom was in the military, and he was decked out in his dress uniform.  As is my custom, I struck up a conversation with the groom and asked where the rings were.  If a best man or maid of honor would be carrying them, I wanted to touch base with them about where in the service I would ask for them.  The bride’s Dad had her ring, so that was no problem.  However … Dad sent word from the bride that the groom’s ring was on his key chain.  And where was his key chain?  Back at the hotel where he was staying.  Not a problem, though.  He quickly improvised.  His Dad slipped off his own wedding ring and offered it for use.  Whew.  One problem solved.  Except then we noticed that the car containing the bride had just whipped out of its parking space and sped away down the seawall, leaving her Dad standing alone in its wake.  Speculation mounted among the ever-growing crowd.  Why did she leave?  Was the wedding still on?  Finally Dad came down the steps to the sand where the chairs were set up and delivered the news.  The bride forgot her bouquet back at the hotel and she was going to retrieve it.  The groom immediately commented, “She better not say a word to me about forgetting the ring.”

Ah, but he happened to be standing right next to his future mother-in-law.  And she was ever the protective mother hen.  She immediately replied, “There’s a lot more to forgetting the ring than the bouquet.”  Wisely, he chose not to pursue the discussion any further.

In spite of the early glitches, though, we got the ceremony conducted and all was well.  They even had a TV going with the Gonzaga basketball game over at the reception.  Gotta say that was an unexpected and quite welcome first for a wedding reception.  Add to that the meal they served and it was one of the most memorable I have ever been to.  Oh, the menu?  Pizza and homemade spaghetti and meatballs.  They also had some noodles with chicken and alfredo sauce (is that the white stuff?).  Oh, and a simple salad, too.  Good stuff.

2 Timothy 2:24 says, “And the Lord's servant must not quarrel; instead, he must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.”

Father, walk with Cody and Amanda in their life together.  Protect him and his compatriots as they serve our country.  Amen.