To Have and To Hold II

On Saturday, May 16th, my daughter and I attended the wedding of the daughter of one of my high school friends. I have not been to a wedding in over two years and my daughter was only 6 months old when she attended her first and only wedding. She was curious to see a wedding again (one she could remember this time) and I was curious to see my friend. It has been twenty years since I last saw her at our 10-year high school reunion.

We arrived ten minutes before the outdoor wedding was scheduled to begin. We found our seats, which turned out not to be our seats, but those of the parents and grandparents. These were not reserved as such with any informative signage, so an honest mistake, my bad. We make the seat changes before the wedding starts and before we cause any embarrassing scene. I catch glimpses of my friend, but have yet to say hello. She is busy with the "Mother-of-the-Bride" things. It is hot and humid, but thankfully we have been provided with a fan that has the bride's and groom's names printed on them, and the fans make for great shade and relief. The music starts and the procession begins.

The wedding party, parents and grandparents are in place and the vows begin. Beautiful words are spoken by the officiate, words about the bride's and groom's clasped hands, these hands that will help lift one another up during good times and bad, hands that will hold any children that come along, hands that will wipe away tears of sadness or joy...As these words and vows are spoken a suspicious cloud is looming overhead. It is becoming darker by the syllable. The rings are exchanged and the words, "You may kiss the bride", are uttered and down comes the rain from the cloud. It was like we were on the set of a Doris Day movie and the rain was on cue. We all sought shelter under the eaves of the porch. The rain did not last long and was not heavy so pictures could be taken soon after the cloudburst.

Finally my friend has a break in her picture taking and "Mother-of-the-Bride" duties and can sit a while with my daughter and I. She is still the same....same voice, same sense of humor, same energy...it is like it hasn't been 20 years since we've seen one another. We laughed, talking about our times in high school and the other dear friends we ran around with. I enjoyed listening to her talk about her life and family since high school and watching her interact with her family and friends at the wedding and reception. It was a simple, pretty wedding and the reception was held at a family campground on a lovely lake. The atmosphere was very relaxed and family oriented. The food was catered by Sonny's Bar-B-Q, a restaurant chain here in the south. YUM! Lots of food, music and heartfelt toasts to the newlyweds.

The reception winds down and I snap a picture of the parents of the bride. My friend is happy but glad it is almost over and she swears she will pay for a wedding planner for daughter number two and is glad her last child is a son. I tell her it has been lovely to see her and her husband again and to share this happy day, and let's not make it another 20 years until we see one another again.