1. So, when Paul and others set up the altar area for today's wedding, Paul asked me if I wanted a podium to stand behind.
I did not.
I'm glad I didn't, but I wish I'd had somewhere at the front of the church to put a water bottle.
I officiated today's service -- and it went well -- while not fully recovered from this bug I've had for going on for nine days now.
I realized about three minutes into the service that the bug had dried out my mouth and a sip or two of water would have been a great help.
I managed without the water. I was able to moisten my mouth from inside it.
But water would have been perfect.
All in all, I thought my voice was at about 85-90% and that was absolutely enough to officiate the ceremony.
2. Here's what I knew going in: Cosette and Taylor would speak the most memorable words of the service while I was standing to the side.
That's what happened.
After saying "I do" to a generic vow I put before them and following their brief exchange of wedding rings, Taylor and Cosette took over the service.
They painted a board together, each with a different color of paint, and blended the two colors together on the board in a ceremony of unity. Taylor and Cosette once had a painting business together and so they were not only painting a symbol of blending their lives together, they were also letting us all experience a crucial stage of their history as a couple.
Taylor and Cosette had also written their own vows, vows which soared beyond the generic vow I'd had them say "I do"to a few minutes earlier.
Through their vows, Taylor and Cosette laid out the transformative impact each of them has had on the other and vowed to continue to grow in the love and acceptance that they've shared with each other over the past few years.
They also wrote vows to Saphire, pledging to continue to raise her in a loving environment.
This ceremony of unity and Taylor and Cosette's vows formed the soul of this ceremony, made the wedding an emotionally moving service, and gave the ceremony spiritual depth and dimension.
3. Two receptions followed the ceremony. The first featured snacks, cupcakes, and beverages and, once photographers finished taking wedding photographs, featured a quick game of trivia about Taylor and Cosette's biographies and the cutting of the wedding cake.
The second reception featured a buffet dinner and dancing in the cafeteria of the old Kellogg Middle School, now a community center. Cosette and Taylor danced their first dance as a married couple, Cosette and her father, Paul, danced together, and Taylor shared a dance with Saphire. Before the dancing, Paul and Carol sang a duet, performing a song from Les Miserables. Cosette was named after a character in this show.
Debbie and I didn't last long at the reception. We both needed to return home to rest and recover from our illness.
We were able to stay long enough, however, to experience the post-ceremony joy, even giddiness, shared throughout the room and left knowing that those congregated at the church experienced the wedding as a beautiful, moving, and meaningful ceremony.
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