There Was a Wedding - Part 5 - The Ceremony

We often say, as the time for an event arrives, "It's 'show' time." Taken from theatre, we don't always mean that what's about to happen is a show. We just mean that the time for preparation is over. It's time for the event to happen and with it, whatever good, bad or glorious things that come. And, I've never been fond of wedding coordinators. I realize, for busy brides, they are a life-saver. Too often, they are a Mrs. Smith from 3rd grade, rapping her desk with a ruler and demanding total silence and obedience. A wedding is a celebration, first and foremost, of the love two people have for each other. Making it into a production number seems wholly wrong to me. Yet, there must be order, some order, some semblance of knowing what's to happen when. Without that, we stand around waiting for something to happen or we all rush in without apparent reason.

There is an order to a wedding; a set of rules handed down since we started doing these things willingly. At 5:00 p.m., the guests were seated. The DJs looked to the wedding planner, who was standing by the door. She lined us all up and made sure the ushers knew who was to go where. Larry's parents were seated first. Then it was my turn.

Next to be seated was my mom.

The dress she wore was from the wedding of my niece, Christina, back in 2011. It was perfect for an evening wedding. After mom was seated the ushers sat down and Carole's dad and his wife entered. Now it was time for the groomsmen and best man followed by Carole's attendants. Then we stood and Carole entered.

I love this photo. I'll be buying photos as I can afford them, but this is one from my first purchase. Not only is the photo of Carole beautiful, but, in the upper right corner, you see Larry reflected in the mirror. Torre Photography, the photographer, was on the recommended list from the country club. That's how the kids found him. I think this one photo is a good reason they were recommended. He knew right were to stand. Notice that Carole's flowers are also in a light saber hilt.

We also need to acknowledge we live in a documentary age. Almost everything has a camera attached to it. An event like this gets photographed from every angle.

Yet, those extra photos fill in where one photographer couldn't be.

Carole was worried about the dress. There was another one that she had found on the Alfred Angelo web site. It was pretty on her, but it just wasn't "take your breath" away pretty. She asked the saleswoman if there was something she could recommend, based on her likes. She brought this one, and a couple others, into the dressing room. When Carole emerged, after trying this on, Donna, Andrea (her matron of honor) and I audibly gasped. We knew it was "the" dress. As I look through these photos, I am so convinced it was the dress, the perfect dress; lace and pearls and crystals and just the right amount of train. (The dress is the Snow White Princess dress from their Disney collections line.)

It was a lovely ceremony. There were readings, given by the pastor, and a brief homily, humorous but to the point about loving one another.

They vowed to love one another forever, exchanged rings, and were pronounced husband and wife. There was the obligatory kiss and the pastor introduced Mr and Mrs Larry Oliver, Jr. They walked down the aisle to the original Star Wars theme. A few of us knew that was coming, but most people did not. There were quite a few chuckles.

I love this photo, too. Look at the grin on Larry's face. The apex of their courtship was here. Now it was time to celebrate. They have married their best friend.

We filed out. It's now time for the other obligatory part of a wedding,

standing around waiting for the photographer to come take the formal photos.

Beverage:  Fruit juice

Deb