I
had another of those wonderful creations called weddings last night. It was scheduled to take place on the beach
at 5 p.m. That was actually a lucky
choice of times, because when we went down for the rehearsal we discovered that
there was going to be another wedding on the exact same random spot on the
beach. As it happened, their wedding was
to be at 4 p.m. In the words of the guy
who informed us, “As long as we get started right at 4, the ceremony should
only last about seven minutes and we should be gone in plenty of time for you
guys to set up.” OK. There were altogether too many “should’s” in
that statement, but our set-up guys were fine with it.
Fast
forward to last night. I arrived about
30 minutes before the event, a good span of time to triple-check
everything. There were a few folks
already on site. Four people who had
driven in from Missouri. The groom’s
grandparents. Bob and Amber from
Seaside. But no bride. No groom.
No wedding party. So we
waited. And waited. The temperature was 84 degrees with a heat
index of 99. Not a completely
comfortable situation, even with the cool Gulf breeze. Five o’clock came and went. I read through my wedding notes and jokingly
announced that we could all probably just head on home and let the bride and
groom know they had been hitched by proxy.
Five fifteen. Five thirty. I began to be worried about Grandma and
Grandpa (and one other grandpa with whom
I am rather intimately involved – Me. I
was getting pretty miserable). I
finally had to walk back to the car to cool down some. I even texted the bride to see if someone
could bring some water when they came. Five
forty-five. I began texting Chris to let
her know what was happening. Six o’clock. Was that a new car entering the parking
lot? Yes. The groom and his entourage have arrived. I joined them on the beach … to wait some
more. This time I brought our umbrella
from the car and handed it to Amber so she could surreptitiously provide shade
for Grandma, at least. The groom
explained something about a makeup issue.
Ah. That does explain everything. Then the photographer arrived. “They are right behind me. They should be leaving in five or ten
minutes.”
Everyone
did finally arrive, and we got started a little after six. Not all that late when you factor in the Island
time differential. The wedding itself
went off without a hitch, and we were back at the beach house for the reception
dinner by seven or so. That’s when the really
exciting moment of the evening occurred.
There were citronella candles lit everywhere in an effort to ward off
the tiny flying vampires that now inhabit the Island after our bout with rain
last week. As we stood around talking
and waiting, the bride’s sister, the maid of honor, mentioned that she was
particularly hot in the bridesmaid’s dress she was wearing. Suddenly she realized that the heat was not from
the muggy night air. “My dress is on
fire!” she cried. Fortunately, the dress
was made of some kind of material that didn’t actually burn. It just melted into a blob of burnt plastic
looking gunk. She got it stopped as soon
as she moved away from the flame, but was, of course, mortified that it had
happened at all. As it turned out
everyone else had a great laugh at her expense.
Especially her father. He’s a
fire fighter back in Missouri. He told
me he really wished he had been there when it happened. “I would have turned the hose on her, for
sure.” I think that he wasn’t kidding …
The
food was great (catered by Benno’s). Stuffed shrimp and some kind of chicken. Once everyone got their shot of mosquito
spray, we were able to enjoy the meal in relative peace. I did have to share my shrimp with a
particularly persistent critter. Otherwise
he might have flown away with the whole thing.
Hey, our mosquitoes are monstrosities here, you know?
All
the required wedding stuff got done. It was
a successful venture and a good start to a new life for the young couple. May God walk with them.
Psalms
97:12 says, “Rejoice in the Lord, you who
are righteous, and praise his holy name.”
Father,
I echo that prayer, may you walk with Sarah and Alex in their life together. Amen.
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