Everyone, please remain standing.......

About six months ago I was asked to facilitate a wedding for my cousin Jessica. She and her husband were already married by a Justice of the Peace and wanted to go through the motions of a ceremony for family and friends. I was very excited and humbled to say yes and prepare for this important event.

I asked my pastor to share his knowledge and he gave me a wedding book and a format of a recent wedding ceremony. This made me more confident and ready. Turns out, Jessica had everything typed up and planned out ahead of time and all I needed to prepare were a couple of prayers. The rehearsal time was very fast and, of course, we forgot a few things like the greeting.

The ceremony was held in a secluded area nestled behind two corn fields. It even had a shallow creek at the back and made for a beautiful environment for a wedding. A few family members and a lot of old aquaintences were present which made me a little nervous.

My cousin entered with her dad on a Harley riding side saddle. He rode her up to the aisle wearing a leather top hat and vest. It was little rock'n'roll, but fun. When he walked her up I asked, "Who gives this woman to marry this man?" I could see him get nervous and he forgot what to say, so I prompted him. He sat down and she walked up by me. Normally, the congregation sits after the bride comes up front and the ceremony moves on, but instead I didn't tell everyone to sit and they remained standing the rest of the time. We didn't rehearse that part, so I didn't think about it. It was good that the rings and vows only took about ten minutes total. I was also given a wireless mic which had a time delay because of the distance of the speakers. It threw me once during prayer and I had to find my place again.

I feel like I did a very good job and could do it again, easily. I had a few mistakes, but I know what to do the next time, if I ever get the chance. It was a proud moment for me. Praise the Lord! He definitely gave me confidence and wisdom during this process.

The reception was a lot of fun because my dad had time to play with my sons. He took them to the creek and Ethan, my youngest, fell in the water. The bank was about four feet high and he just tumbled all the way down. I was the only to react as everyone else was in shock. I stepped into the murky water and pulled him out. He was also shocked and crying. Everyone started laughing because they didn't know what else to do. Later, Caden and I shared our first pee in the woods and waded in the creek together. There was an outhouse for women only. Men had to use the fields or trees.

Good times.