While we do a good quantity of “off site” ceremonies, not all of them are simple. They are, for the most part, usually quite sweet. This brings us to the wedding of Juan and Jessica. We met this couple on a weekend afternoon and gave them the full tour of our location. Jessica was thrilled with it all but Juan was not convinced. Juan liked everything we had to offer, but he was not as marriage minded as Jessica was.

Throughout the tour, Jessica and Juan argued openly in front of us. Jessica loved the ceremonial parlor with its floral wedding arch - Juan made several smirky comments. The couple left with the “we will call and let you know” speech. That was ok, we can’t be chosen to perform every service that we interview for.

In this case, where a groom gives the impression that he is not interested in getting married, it’s not a good idea to force it. We sincerely wished this couple the best and didn’t think we would hear from them in the near future.

Nearly 5 months later, we received a call from Jessica and Juan wanting to have us marry them at their home. Juan must have had time to reflect on his future and they were ready for their special day to happen. It appeared that special day would be mid July.

Most folks think June is the most popular wedding month but in fact it is July-September with July and September being the busiest of those three months. Because Juan and Jessica’s wedding was still a few months away we were able to find a Sunday afternoon available.

The skies where cloudless and it was getting warm outside when we arrived at Juan’s house. Jessica was nowhere to be seen, as she was not ready yet. Juan sat us down in his family room and had a house full of people to entertain. Gary and I were doing our best to chat with Juan and get some needed information for his ceremony but he was a groom that proved to be hard to keep track of

We found our way to the ceremony location in their backyard. The couple worked really hard at duplicating what they saw indoors at our location, outside. Including the way they had all the guest chairs organized, a wedding arch, and even a reception area where they had a relative create a “punch-in-the-clouds”. Sadly, without the years of experience or perhaps not asking for assistance, they had a fizzy, sugary, clumpy drink. Oh well, as long as the couple was happy and we were flattered that our offering had made such a big impression on them that they did their best to mimic it.

Turns out Juan wanted me to perform the service and Jessica expressed with some excitement that she preferred a man. Juan’s first marriage was performed by a man, and it didn’t last, so he thought a women minister might start the marriage off better.

Juan started relaxing and turned out he was a character. As ceremony timed neared, the guests took their seats and Juan and I waited under the arch for Jessica. We waited and waited for Jessica under the hot July sun… Juan made light hearted humor to cover his growing nervousness.

Jessica’s daughter was in the audience and crying; a teen girl who seemed unhappy that her mother had all the attention and no one was paying any attention to her.

While speaking with the wedding party, Gary asked about music. There was a bit of a panic as relatives rushed through house to find a CD boom box. This wasn’t the first time we encountered this so we always travel with a CD of traditional ceremony music.

Jessica appeared and walked herself down the isle to the music of the wedding march.

The ceremony was simple; highlighted with Juan cracking jokes throughout the service. I did my best to play that down and keep the spirits high for Jessica.

About half way through, Jessica’s daughter made a commotion and left in tears. She was apparently running down the street when one of the guests decided to go get her. The wedding ceremony closed with my pronouncing Juan and Jessica husband and wife.

Jessica was eager for photos but was having a difficult time getting people to pose. Gary jumped up and grabbed one of the guest’s camera and posed Juan and Jessica for some wedding photos. We signed the paper work and wished everyone a beautiful life.