Little Wedding Stories

We had setup the reception area prior to photos, and all that was needed was to bring out the punch and have the traditional cutting of the cake. Gary was our official, unofficial cake cutter; he’s such a pro at getting the maximum number of slices possible out of a ten inch cake! We learned over the years, too, that certain types of cakes and fillings cut easier than others (for the record, chocolate cake and truffle filling are the toughest with which to work). I am happy to do the serving and the cleanup. Our punch, a family recipe called “In The Clouds Punch,” is always a big hit. The clamoring crowds can’t get enough, and our most popular flavor is vanilla-raspberry. Children, of course, always fill their own cups as full as possible. Inevitably, drops spill as they try so carefully, yet unsuccessfully, to hold it as they walk.

Back to the wedding; as the guests mingled and ate cake, we cleared dishes and refilled cups with punch and coffee. Everyone seemed to be having a truly good time. Paperwork was signed and kids finally went off with grandparents. We walked our bride and groom out, helping to carry the remaining gifts and keepsakes. We wished them the best and off they went.

Two down, and one to go.

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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.

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After the ceremony, it was Gary to the rescue to pose the group for photos. They only took a few shots as the sister briskly moved everyone along. Gary and I headed to the back room to give these folks a bit of privacy. When we re-appeared, it seemed the entire gang had headed upstairs. We went up ourselves to make sure all was okay. Remember all those tubs and bags the sister had brought upstairs? Well, as we entered, the contents of the sacks and tubs were revealed.  She had snuck in a cake and champagne, and was about to start cutting the cake in the bridal dressing room.

Now, we offered “ceremony only” packages or “ceremony with reception packages.” This group had booked a “ceremony only” package, and snuck these extra items in. We didn’t quite understand why they felt the need to be so secretive, however, as our job was to do anything and everything to make this day special. Upon seeing all this, we graciously offered for everyone to come downstairs, and served the cake to them. As it further turned out, the sister forgot plates, too. We served the cake—one that had copious amounts of red frosting—on our own crystal plates. The entire party managed to get the red frosting all over our lacey tablecloths, and boy did it stain!

The couple quickly signed their paperwork, and the group packed up and left. We had another wedding party about to arrive and sprung into action, cleaning up the bridal dressing room and changing the lacey linens on the tables.

The red frosting stains, by the way, never did come out. 

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As preparations continued, our bride’s sister constantly slipped off to her car, only to return with large tubs and bags, their purpose unknown. In our experience, a small group like this didn’t need to bring in so many things. Naturally, it had piqued our curiosity. There was, however, much still to do, and curiosity would have to wait. I went to check on our bride to see if she was ready to begin. They had booked for only one hour, and we had additional events scheduled that day, the participants of which would be arriving soon. We needed to get the “show on the road,” as it were. The bride’s sister would not let me in and talked through the door, letting me know that they were coming down shortly. As we waited, we filled out the marriage license and certificate, and I noted the names of our day’s first couple (you can get all the information you need to know about your couples directly from the marriage license). Because we had not previously met with this couple, we didn’t know their names. Our bride and groom, as we found out, were named Mary & Johnny.

The bride had opted to walk down the aisle to Wagner’s Bridal Chorus, the traditional wedding march music, which we cued up and had ready to go. The sister had her camcorder ready, and sat in the parlor with her kids and husband. The groom and I took our positions under the wedding arch, and the bridal march began. Here came the bride in a lovely white wedding gown. I began the ceremony, and both bride and groom were simultaneously nervous and excited. The sister filmed it all, walking around us, behind us, and in front of us, not missing a thing.

As I addressed the groom by his name, Johnny, the sister suddenly and quite unexpectedly leapt up from her chair (still filming the ceremony, by the way). She shouted out, “Johnny? His name isn’t Johnny—it’s Robert!” I was, of course, quite surprised by this interruption, as was Gary, the bride, the groom, and the groom’s brother-in-law. I took a second good look at the marriage license, and confirmed that it stated that the groom’s legal name was, in fact, Johnny. Johnny turned to face his new sister-in-law as he held his bride’s hand, poised to slip the ring on her finger. He then informed her that while his real name was Johnny, he went by “Robert.” Apparently, no one but Mary had been aware of this.

After an awkward moment, her sister cracked a few nervous jokes, continued filming, and said that she should send her tape into the Bloopers and Bleeper’s show. With that first, but by no means last, stumble out of the way, I finished marrying the couple, and they headed back down the aisle, all smiles.

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It was March 20^th, the first day of spring, and we had received many calls from couples who wanted to reserve this day. Several events were booked, so we knew it was going to be busy and fast moving, with lots of brides, grooms, and families! Some dates are reliable favorites, like Valentine’s Day and the major holidays (we do multiple weddings on Christmas Day every year). Others become very popular, and while you don’t know why, every couple wants them.

We started the day with a petite wedding scheduled for around ten in the morning at the chapel. It consisted of the bride, groom, sister, brother-in-law, and a gaggle of small children. This group did not come to tour the location prior to booking their event. Instead, they simply called to schedule it, sight unseen. We made sure they had their wedding license and then gladly reserved their slot. It was around nine in the morning when we arrived to setup trays of cookies and water pitchers (each non-reception event was provided with a variety of cookies and beverages served on our crystal trays and pitchers) to be enjoyed after the ceremony. We found that this amenity was especially helpful for our guests and their children during the photo sessions, which could last a long time.

The wedding party arrived shortly after we did, and the women rushed upstairs to the bridal dressing room to get ready. The groom was quite nervous, so Gary talked to him to help him feel more comfortable. Gary asked standard questions, such as who it was that had the rings, and demonstrated the manner in which the groom would take his bride’s hand to slip the ring on her finger. For the majority of weddings we performed, it was surprising to learn how many grooms did not have any idea of how to place the ring on the bride’s finger. Most grooms would pick the wrong hand during the ceremony, and immediately feel uncomfortable as this foible had just been preserved on videotape and photograph. To avoid this moment of discomfort, Gary would chat with the grooms prior to their ceremonies, and diplomatically instruct them as to their role.

While Gary put the groom at ease, I chatted with the bride. She quickly decided she would like to have me perform their marriage, which I was more than happy to do. She didn’t want a long ceremony, preferring instead something “short and sweet.” Some couples and their families are very firm about either having a male or female marry them, while some had no preference. We always asked our couples if they preferred a male (Gary) or a female (me) as we were both going to be present either way; one would be their minister and the other would be the event’s coordinator. 

So far, it seemed like a standard ceremony. What we didn’t know was that the bride’s sister would surprise us… more than once.

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Part 2

In our conversation with the couple, we learned that every year they traveled to a different state to have a vow-renewal ceremony. He would put on his original suit, and she would wear her original wedding gown. It was year twelve of their unique journey, so they chose the lovely state of Oregon and our location. The daughters talked excitedly about how they couldn’t wait until they got to travel to states like Hawaii and Alaska for their folks’ vow renewals, but that those trips were still a few years away.

The bride prepared herself in the appointed, beautifully decorated bridal dressing room that we provided. When she was ready, she descended the gorgeous staircase into the ceremonial parlor. The groom was waiting for her under the wedding arch that was festooned with flowers, swags, and little white doves. We held a simple, yet lovely, vow-renewal service for them. A fancy marriage renewal certificate (as vow renewal certificates are not the same as the legal document newlyweds obtain, they can be customized with artwork, special fonts, and graphics) was presented to the couple after being completed and signed.

Gary posed the couple and their daughters for some pictures under the wedding arch and around the ceremonial parlor. With the pictures taken, they would have long and sweet memories of their twelfth wedding anniversary.

As the event wound down, the bride and groom changed back into their street clothing, thanked us, and drove away with their family, smiling as they did. They were a very sweet family, and it was our pleasure to be a part of their special day.

Little did we know, at that time, that Gary would play a primary role, not just as a minister, but also as a photographer and stylist in the hundreds of weddings that came our way over the years.

We would have to get him some new shoes, first.

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Part 1

It was a lovely late fall afternoon. The sun was shining and there was a soft breeze blowing outside. It was neither too warm nor too cold, and the trees were well into their red, brown, and gold foliage colors. It was a perfect day for our very first event. A couple was renewing their vows, with their two daughters. This was also our first day of ownership of our new chapel.

Our location is a turn-of-the-century house with lots of old-fashioned character. It is decorated in a very light and bright Victorian cottage chic fashion; a perfect fit for the era of the home. The previous owners were still in the process of moving their personal belongings out of the location, but had booked a vow-renewal ceremony for that day. As they were not going to officiate over the vow renewals, that left the duty to us at the very last moment.

Gary and I arrived and brought with us our minister attire. In our haste to unpack the car, we had left Gary’s dress shoes on the back porch. As we carried our items inside to ready ourselves for our first event, we hit our first snag. As it turns out, a passer-by helped himself to Gary’s dress shoes, right off the porch! That meant Gary would now have to wear the shoes he arrived in, his tennis shoes, for our first ceremony. There was Gary, dressed in his Giorgio Armani finery and wearing tennis shoes—it was sad and hysterical at the same time!

We chatted with the couple prior to their changing clothes in preparation for their ceremony. Having a genuine interest in our clients’ stories is a part of our repertoire, as it creates a trusting and friendly bond with the couple.

While we talked with the couple, we learned the fascinating story behind their decision to renew their vows.

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We are a husband and wife team of church ordained Ministers, and we own and operate a wedding chapel and reception facility in the Pacific NW. We provide our wedding planning and officiant services for onsite and off-site events. Together, we have over ten years of experience, and have coordinated hundreds of weddings and events for couples and their families. The purpose of this website is to share our experiences and expertise with you, as you may have an upcoming wedding, or are interested in the wedding industry. Let’s face it - who doesn’t love reading about real-life weddings! We hope you find the stories you read here informative and entertaining, knowing that these are real weddings for real people. We are there to give them our utmost attention, handle stress gracefully, and become creative problem solvers when something goes awry.  Things often do, as you will read in these Little Wedding Stories.

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