wedding day

How do I begin. I suppose the rehearsal and dinner is a good place. The rehearsal was an event in itself. 7 bridesmaids. 7 groomsmen. 14 distinct personalities. All hilarious. Add the bride and groom, their families, out of town guests and we have a party of 35. The venue for the dinner is a Memphis Barbeque establishment and to our surprise, our party room is upstairs. One small problem. We have four seniors in our group who cannot negotiate stairs.... at all. The establishment had two solutions. Seat the seniors downstairs at a table by themselves while the rest of us eat upstairs... or carry the seniors upstairs [how humiliating would that be]. My sweet, youngest daughter, Kelly,  came to the rescue. Kelly and Jennifer discussed the situation, then Kelly pulled the manager off to the side and told him she didn't want her grandparents and the groom's grandparents to have to sit downstairs alone. She wanted the manager to find tables together for 35 downstairs and he did. From that point on the party was on. Thank you Groom Adam and his mother, Katherine, for an awesome meal and great time with family and friends [some old friends and some brand new ones].

The wedding was so unique and absolutely awesome. Sherri and Jennifer had been working on the plans for months. We had planned for the ceremony to take place outside under the gazebo in the downtown square of our town, with the reception to follow in The White Church [ renovated and totally cool old building that has been repurposed as a museum and event location]. There are weddings in The White Church every week, but Sherri and Jennifer thought there would be too many people attending to have it in The Church. With temperatures record-breaking high these past few days, the decision was made to move the wedding to The Church. I had not been inside The Church until the morning of the wedding and when I saw it I immediately thought it to be perfect! The chairs arrived and Sue, a great friend of the family, and I coordinated the placement of them. The Bride's Room was bustling with activity, and the Groom's Room as well. Sue, Jennifer P, and Susan decorated and arranged the reception area. Rainey [Kelly's friend and co-worker this summer in Nashville] and Jeremy [Kelly's boyfriend] became runners, and decorators, and sign planters. Kelly added her special touches. On a table, at the entrance to the Hall, a bare, metal tree with spirally branches stood on a table with note cards [which Kelly hand-crafted and decorated the night before] filling a wire basket. A lone sign on the tree stated "Fill this tree with notes of encouragement, words of wisdom and tips for a happy marriage as Jennifer and Adam begin their new life together." By the end of the day the tree was full of notes and so was the white, tatted, linen cloth beneath the tree.

Music from violin and acoustic guitar, played by friends of the bride and groom, filled The White Church, mothers and grandmothers of the bride and groom were escorted to their seats, the groom and his groomsmen, dressed in cool gray tuxedos and black Converse filled into the room. One by one the beautiful bridesmaids walked down the aisle to their places. The maid of honor, our beautiful Kelly, made her way down the aisle. And then it was my honor to escort my wonderful, beautiful daughter to meet her waiting groom. The attending minister, Jeff Jones [whom Jennifer and Adam and their families have known for years through college mission trips and his awesome work with the Baptist Collegiate Ministries on campus] gave a sometimes funny, sometimes moving, always entertaining introduction of the couple to all the friends and family in the audience. The ceremony, exchange of vows and rings, the blending of blue and light blue unity sand into one vase, the presentation of roses [one rose each to the groom's mother and grandmother by the bride and one rose each to the bride's mother and grandmother by the groom], the pronouncement and introduction of the new couple was all very moving and memorable.

During a brief intermission, the groomsmen, ushers, several men from the audience of 200, and I transformed the Hall into a sitting area for the reception. Chairs were moved into random spirals, almost like the petals of a flower, leaving room for a small dance floor. Jennifer had wanted to have a first dance with her new husband and with her father from the first day of wedding planning. The DJ/announcer provided us with an incredibly nice mix of slow, 80s and 90s rock music for the reception. Adam and Jennifer danced their first dance to "Brown-eyed Girl" and Jennifer and I danced our first dance to "Turn Back the Clock", one of my favorites by "Johnny Hates Jazz". I never knew a dance with my daughter could make me so nervous, but it did. All eyes were on us, but after only a few seconds my focus was totally on her. She is such an incredible daughter. Glowing. Beautiful. With such a beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. I love her beyond measure.

the day before

Jennifer gets married tomorrow. Her best friend flew in from California day before yesterday, preceded by a letter informing Jennifer that Thursday [yesterday] would be a day of adventure. Morgan swept Jennifer away yesterday for a time of sword fighting and dueling. Morgan is a trained stunt double in Hollywood and Jennifer has always loved swords. After the sword fights came laser tag and then "Pirates of the Carribean" with Morgan and two more best friends. Top it off with dinner and a movie at Morgan's parent's home and Jennifer was in by 3am.

Today belonged to Kelly, Jennifer's sister. Kelly drove in yesterday from Nashville, where she is spending three months as a summer missionary. Rainey, Kelly's summer co-worker came with her. Kelly called several of her and Jenn's mutual friends and planned a kidnapping. Early this morning Kelly woke Jennifer up with coffee from Starbucks and a surprise visit from several friends. They pulled Jenn away for breakfast at Perkins and a bit of shopping. As I write this, Jennifer and Kelly are off on one last single-sisters-shopping adventure.

Tonight is the rehearsal and dinner. Tomorrow is the big day.

one week to name change

One week from tomorrow and my oldest daughter will be married. She has grown up so fast. I still think of her as a teenager, but she passed the adulthood milestone years ago. She will be 24 in just a few days. As the first-born all the cautions and concerns and restrictions of first-bornhood applied. Jennifer experienced earlier curfews, more strict homework guidelines, closer strutiny of friends, tighter reigns than her 3-year-younger sister. I wish we had read the handbook on parenting before we began parenting. We were so cautious with Jennifer. The result of our caution helped her mature quickly though. We weren't bad parents... just cautious. When Kelly came along, we were less restrictive with her. When Jennifer experienced new adventures in her life, Kelly usually experienced the same new adventures, except three years younger than her sister. From all I've heard and read over the years, that's the way it usually goes. The younger experiences life earlier, with more freedom.

In my own life, I am the youngest of six children. I honestly feel like my siblings resented me a little because I got more freedoms than they did as they were growing up. To be perfectly honest, I would have loved having the restrictions and the attention they got as they were growing up. Being the youngest in a big family almost makes you invisible. I came and went as I pleased and as a result I left home at an early age, made it on my own, moved away from the hometown I grew up in, and have missed my family ever since. I visit once or twice a year, but the rest of my family still live in the same area we grew up in [except my brother next up from me who moved away for a while, but now lives within an hour or two of home]. I live 10 hours away. I don't wish this fate on my daughters. I would love to have them both live next door to us forever, but I also know that is probably not going to be the case. Where ever they settle down, that will be their home, and Sherri and I will visit... often.

So as we prepare for the wedding, I wish my daughter and her husband-to-be the best life has to offer. They look good together. They love each other. They are ready for this new adventure in their lives. I know I'm going to be emotional. It's different with daughters. Sons keep their name. Daughters give up their name and take on a new one. I miss her already. They'll be fine. They'll do well. They will experience life as it should be... together. We welcome our new son-in-law into our family with open arms. Today is his birthday... 25. That's a good age to be a husband.

Best wishes Jennifer and Adam. God bless you and guide you.

Love, Dad

BTW: happy birthday Adam