For the boys: Our wedding

My sister-in-law is getting married in June.  We are all so very happy for her, for them.  She is having a very small outdoor garden wedding, and has hired a harpist to perform the music before, during and after the ceremony.    She was sweet enough to invite me along for a visit to the harpist's house, to hear her play and discuss what Sandra wanted in the way of music.  It was really fun, and special.  Something about hearing the music brings all the excited emotion to the forefront of your brain, and we kept welling up.  It also brought back memories of our own happy event.

We were married in Fredericksburg, at the Herb Farm.  I remember when I first had the idea, and brought Jav to see the place, it was February and everything was dead.  He looked at me like I was a little crazy.  But we visited again in March and started to cement our plans.  They employed an excellent manager for weddings.  Her name was Sue, and she was down to earth, didn't mince words, listened well, and was very efficient.  We liked her immediately.  Jav started to realize that it was a good idea to wed in Fred, because his relatives who lived in Mexico would have a shortened trip.

There are many things you plan for during those pre-wedding months.  And there are things that come up that throw curve balls at you, almost like a test to see if your relationship is really up to snuff.  When we started calling florists (there were only two main ones in Fredericksburg) to plan the bouquets, corsages and boutonnieres, we were told they couldn't help us because it was Mother's Day weekend.  So after frantic call to Sue, she suggested we use white spring flowers straight out of the Herb Farm gardens, and she didn't charge me very much to do it.  They were simple, elegant and gorgeous.  Crisis avoided; wedding still on!

One thing that is always on the mind of a couple about to get married outside is weather.  Especially coy and fickle Texas spring weather.  We're talking about a place where we ran our A/C from 3 pm until midnight two nights ago, then ran to turn the heater on around 2 am after our yearly "sometime around Easter" blue norther blew in.  Normally by May there are no more threats of cold weather, but rain is another story.

The forecast for our special day looked perfect.  Sunny with some clouds, and a high in the upper 70's to low 80's.  No chance of rain whatsoever.  I spent the day getting my hair coiffed and my face painted at my sweet Aunt Gina's house.  Every time I stepped outside to take or make a phone call I marveled at the beautiful blue sky and started to forget about any weather worries, since I had other things to think about.

Flash forward a few hours.  The bridesmaids, moms and I were in the house used for a spa at the Herb Farm, bustling around and making last minute wardrobe and makeup adjustments.  Pictures were being taken.  We were silly and giggling and had tons of nervous energy.  All seemed well.  The wedding was ten minutes from starting, and someone mentioned a little black cloud that had appeared on the horizon.   I glanced outside a few minutes later, trying to make sure no one could see me, and the little black cloud was bigger and heading straight for my wedding.

By the time Dad took my arm and we started heading down the path to my destiny, the wind had picked up and it was sprinkling.  That's also about the time we heard the first thunder clap.  Guests were gasping and looking at each other and the sky, wondering if the hairdos and mascara were going to hold.  The wedding party and Lutheran bishop who was officiating were all safely tucked underneath some trees.  But all the guests were seated right out in the open.  So much for planning for everything.

The Bishop pressed on, even when it started pouring and almost all the guests scattered for shelter underneath trees, archways or anywhere they could find.  There is a picture our photographer took of two sections of empty seats, with the exception of my dad, Jav's dad and my Uncle Robert, who was 81 at the time of our wedding.  We had asked my brother to do a reading.  It started out saying something about "Weathering life's storm.." or something to that effect.  He of Perfect Comic Timing paused and gave his best ,"Wow what a coincidence!" look to the crowd, and got a raucous burst of laughter for his effort before finishing the reading.  He and Olga, our friend and other reader, had to yell to be heard over the wind and rain and sometimes thunder.  My cousin sang Mozart's Laudate Dominum, accompanied by electric piano.  I am not too fond of synthesized music and had no idea when I asked her to sing that her accompaniment would be on a plugged-in piano.  I guess the reality of how hard it would be to lug a real piano out there didn't sink into my head.  But Laurie's voice is so beautiful that it didn't matter.  The poor, brave man playing fought through the storm even though he could have been electrocuted at any moment.

We were never upset enough during all of this to think, "Our wedding's ruined!" or anything that drastic.  I remember we kept looking at each other like, "What can we do?" and then back at the crowd, and were concerned for everyone's obvious discomfort throughout the ceremony.  But I also remember that when I caught faces during my quick glances back, everyone seemed to be smiling and happy.  Upon the Bishop pronouncing us Man and Wife, the rain started slacking off.  By the time we made our way back under the archway and started receiving "Congratulations!" every where we turned, the sun was starting to peek through again.

The short train of my dress got muddy, but other than that I came out unscathed.  The Herb Farm staff opened up the bar, the Frank Sinatra started up, and the rain was all but forgotten.  We had many, many people come up to us over the next few hours and tell us that the we were blessed to have that rain during the ceremony, that it was good luck and meant Fertility.  And lo and behold, here we are nine years later, blessed with two beautiful boys at our age.  So every time I think back about that happy, happy day, I smile to think about that little unplanned-for cloud.