Our second event of the day was considerably larger. It was a wedding and reception package for Tracy, Vern, and forty of their friends and family members. The interesting part was that it was a second marriage for both. Additionally, Vern had eight kids and Tracy had two, for a grand total of ten kids! We always politely stressed to our couples that we do not provide babysitting services, and that they must have an adult assigned to monitor the children. Vern had remained in good contact with his ex-wife, and she was invited to the wedding. She did not, however, think that she should take care of her children, and let them run wild. For this event, no one was interested in monitoring the children, so despite our usual policy, Gary and I had to don babysitting hats in addition to taking care of our bride, groom, and grown-up guests.
By the end of the wedding, we had torn decorations, torn wallpaper, spilled hair spray and makeup, as well as the littlest children locking themselves in the bathroom, or trying to run across the street with heavy traffic.
We sure had our hands full!
Gary was the minister for this wedding, and performed a beautiful ceremony for the couple, complete with unity candles and a prayer. Tracy wore a pretty white wedding dress. The littlest child insisted on being the center of attention during the ceremony, and was talking, yelling, crying, and walking up and down in front of his parents. It was their day, though, and if they didn’t mind, we certainly didn’t mind. Gary helpfully posed the wedding party for photos, as had become his purview, and the couple was very grateful.
It’s kind of funny, actually, that while most large weddings have a self-proclaimed “professional” photographer present, they are usually a family member or friend. When it comes down to it, a professional lacks the bond to be as adept at posing the couple and their family to capture the best, most natural pictures. We were there, as always, to help make the day perfect, no matter what it takes.
