The old saying “Time Flys” really is accurate! Eight months really had flown by and here we were on July 27th for Tony and Barbara’s wedding! Today will be a large ceremony without reception. The reception will be at another larger location so the Bride and Groom can invite many more to that part of their special day.

It has been forecasted to be a very warm and sunny day today and we hoped our air conditioners’ are going to be able to keep up with our large crowd.

Barbara and Tony arrived together with their children, all carrying bags of wedding related items into the chapel. Gary went to help carry items from the car and I carried items to their necessary locations throughout the chapel. Excitement was in the air as we began the setup for this wedding per the information we received a couple of weeks ago. Soon, the bride was upstairs in the bridal dressing room getting ready and guests were beginning to arrive.

The ceremony today would entail many prayers and blessings along with communion for bride, groom, children and guests. The bride and groom had arranged for their minister Ted to marry them at our chapel – we were very happy to hear that they were able to have him join today. We let them know that we would gladly work with their minister and get him anything he needed for their ceremony. A short while later we met minister Ted or “Fast Teddy” as the guests referred him to. As it turned out, the majority of guests attending Barbara and Tony’s wedding were actually ministers from their church. As with us, both Ted and his wife are both ministers. Ted was a very charismatic showman of a minister complete with his tanned skin, slicked back hair, cologne and Cadillac with white walls that the church had purchased for him; he was a real George Hamilton. Since there was ample time yet for the ceremony to begin, Ted and wife thought they would buzz up the road to the car dealership for a free carwash and complementary cappuccino coffees. We had soft music playing over the sound system and crystal pitchers with iced water set out. As usual, we kept stepping in to check on the  bride and groom to make sure all was on track for the ceremony that would begin soon.

Ted and his wife returned to the chapel and it was nearly time to begin. I divided the crackers on a crystal plate for the communion as Ted wanted and Gary moved an antique side table up front towards the wedding arch which we had placed a lace covering over top of to hold the crackers and wine.

Tony, the groom, walked to the front and stood looking out over the smiling faces of many excited guests. Since Gary and I were not performing the service today, we did the duties of coordinators.

The bride came downstairs with her children and attendants into the back room where no one would see them until they made their entrance through a set of closed doors. Ted was also in the backroom, the bride and her attendants were fixated on Ted, looking to him for complete guidance and assurance and asked for a blessing; Ted took his fingers and motioning like rain dripping out of the sky at these folks with his big smile and said “blessings, blessing, blessings, blessings” and they were elated. Ted then walked out into the ceremonial parlor and stood upfront with the Tony, our groom.

We cued up the music as the attendants, ring bearer, and flower girl all made their way up to the wedding arch. All guests rose as the bride made her way down the isle and she wore a very elegant dress and carried a gorgeously simple bouquet. Ted began the ceremony and at certain points the room full of ministers would chime in with the occasional “Jesus” or “Yes Jesus”, and “Amen Jesus” and their hands would be raised as they felt the spirit in the room during this special time.

During the ceremony and in the background, we setup the marriage certificate signing table which consisted of a nice sized antique oval table draped with layers of laced cloths, a vase of flowers, two chairs, handsome pen and the marriage certificate and all of these items were arranged just so. Making sure that when photos were taken the special moments would be very nicely captured, no matter the skill of the photographer. Once the ceremony was fished and Ted pronounced Barbara and Tony husband and wife, the bride and groom were rushed by their excited guests with lots of hugs and kisses of congratulations. Pictures were taken with our usual assistance  and paperwork signed… with more pictures taken.

Ted and his wife, their Minister friends and the rest of the guests left soon after the signing photos were completed, off to the reception location. Barbara and Tony prepared to leave as well. They were so gracious with us and thanked us from the bottom of their hearts for our involvement in making their wedding such a special and memorable day for them, their families, and their guests. Gary and I congratulated them and their children and thanked them all for allowing us to be a part of their very special day.