Everyone who came to the ceremony said it was just how a wedding should be–focused on the Lord and the union of the couple. Pastor Douglas Withington of Pilgrim Orthodox Presbyterian Church officiated and gave a great message that went through some of the deepest passages of the Bible regarding marriage. The only problem was that he forgot to seat the congregation, so everyone stood during the entire sermon! He honestly forgot to seat them and I was very thankful later when we sang a hymn and he joked that everyone could remain seated–I was glad he was able to laugh at himself. He is such a great and faithful minister!
We sang two congregational hymns:
O God Beyond All Praising - This was my favorite hymn, and a perfect wedding hymn. It is set to Gustav Holst’s The Planets - Jupiter: the Bringer of Jolity, which is a stirring, stately piece. Besides that, the theology and praise is profound and moving. I love how the hymn confirms our dedication to serve the Lord with our marriage.
O God beyond all praising, we worship you today
and sing the love amazing that songs cannot repay;
for we can only wonder at every gift you send,
at blessings without number and mercies without end:
we lift our hearts before you and wait upon your word,
we honor and adore you, our great and mighty Lord.
Then hear, O gracious Savior, accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty our sacrifice of praise.
Be Thou My Vision - This is just an old favorite that Sarah loves and has always wanted to sing at her wedding. We loved the beautiful Irish tune and the way it calls us all to have a God-entranced vision of all things.
Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
The reception was weird for me even though it was a simple, informal kind of standing around, dancing, talking and finger food kind of thing. I felt like I should be the one coordinating the right music, the best time for a toast, to cut the cake, and to dance. I wanted to arrange everything to best serve the guests, and it was weird to me to think that other people wanted to coordinate things to serve me and Sarah. The day before, I had gathered together a few baby and childhood pictures of Sarah and of me and put them into a slideshow that progressed from our childhood to our lives together, ending with our engagement pictures. Before the wedding, I set the computer up on a central table and connected it to another flat-panel monitor and put it on loop play. I think this was a great way for people to see the baby pictures that are usually seen at weddings in a better way than just setting pictures on a table for people to pick up.
I told my brother Evan, who was my best man, to go up and give a toast. The toast was short and heart-felt, and then Sarah and I cut the cake. I was in a rush of nerves and awkwardness as I put the knife in Sarah’s hands and held on to it myself, and cut a small piece of the cake with her, and used a serving utensil to put it on a little plate. Then I realized I was supposed to feed it to Sarah… and I had not thought at all about how I was going to accomplish this! Do I just shove the whole thing into her face? No, I remember a long time ago my mom said that was tacky to do at a wedding… Do I use a fork and just give her a dainty little bite? No fork anywhere! So I just took my hand, grabbed a communion-sized piece of cake and frosting, and nicely placed it in Sarah’s mouth. She did the same back, and it was perfect. Sarah’s friends were all saying “aw you guys are way too nice!” and you know what? We are!
Then it was time for our first dance. We had it to the song L.O.V.E. performed by Nat King Cole. When I picked it, Sarah had said “ok, but is it too jazzy? Because I don’t want it to be jazzy.” I had kind of fibbed and said “oh no it’s not too jazzy”, haha not too jazzy for me! Well there we were and it started out slow and sweet, Sarah and I in the center and everyone watching as we slowly stepped together in a circle… and then came the swing! The swinging trumpets and bass and drum beat, and my feet pick up a bit and there’s a bounce in my step, and Sarah smiles nervously and says “what are you doing?” And I spin her! She says “oh no, no no no” and digs her nails into my shoulder before she goes around once, twice and the third time! Remember, Sarah hates being the center of attention, and when she ever is, she tries to be a discrete as possible. Good thing everyone there knew us well enough to know that of course I would want to dance crazier than Sarah, so it was totally to be expected. When the song was half over, Sarah’s parents and then my parents both got up to dance. Next I put on something by Frank Sinatra, Fly Me to the Moon and Sarah danced with her father for the first part, later to be joined on the floor by me dancing my mother, David dancing with Mrs. Fatheree, and my sister dancing my dad. After that, all the girls aged 5-20 danced to upbeat oldies kind of music, staring with Dancing in the Moonlight.
Sarah and I made our exit amid bubbles and rows of our family and friends. Then we got to my car. Note to Emily’s friends: decorate the car however you want, that’s your prerogative, but do not cram food in the door handles and smear food on the windshield! The first, because that’s what you do to your friend’s car in high school in the parking lot, not at a wedding; and the second, because it is a serious safety hazard to drive with smeared food and car paint on the windshield! Great scot.
All in all, the wedding was focused on the Lord, a blessing to us and our families, and modest. I hope the marriage will be the same way.
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