8 Years Ago, We Said "I Do"!

Today is our wedding anniversary, so today I offer up some memories of that special moment. I'll have to share some memories of when we got engaged some other time. I'm tempted to do that here, but that would make for a very looong post. Come to think of it, if I shared about everything related to our wedding ceremony, that would make for a looong post, too. So I'll share about one aspect:

I used to drive an hour one way to work, and, once we'd gotten engaged, I began to think of music I wanted for our wedding. It got the point that, several months before our wedding, I had it all figured out, and I'd listen to it in order on the cassette player we had in our car. It included "Circle of Life" from The Lion King, "Storms of Africa" by Enya, "Watermark" by Enya, "Say Once More" by Amy Grant, and "Black or White" by Michael Jackson.

Like I said, I had it all figured out. Our mothers would walk out to "Circle of Life" (the opening version to the movie, not the Elton John version -- I wanted the initial African chant to be part of it). They would then go up and light the two candles that we'd use to light the Unity candle, and they would also light a candle for Jennie's dad and my mom's parents, who are no longer with us.

Then, the Bridesmaids would each walk out to "Storms of Africa" by Enya.

The music Jennie and her mom would walk out to was "Watermark", also by Enya. During the times I'd listened to it in the car, I broke down crying because it's such a beautiful song for such a beautiful moment.

When we broke to light the Unity candle and greet our mothers, Amy Grant's "Say Once More" would be played.

Then, after the pronouncement of husband and wife, everyone would hear Michael Jackson's "Black or White."

As I thought about this some more, I recalled one wedding I'd attended in which the groom sung a song to his wife. I'd heard of this being done before from a coworker who sang Oleta Adams' "Get Here" to his bride as she walked down the aisle. I decided that I wanted to sing to my bride, too.

I had just begun listening to Contemporary Christian music about six months prior to our wedding, and when I listened to Steven Curtis Chapman's "I Will Be Here," I knew that was the song. So, I'd sing it on the way to and from work, along with the cassette, until I'd become confident.

I also need to take a moment to thank God for providing so much help to us from members of the church. People came out from all over to volunteer to serve in so many ways during our ceremony. One young woman in particular was incredible. Her name is Svetlana, and she is originally from Bulgaria. She is a very talented keyboard player and had played in front of church before. Well, she offered to play the accompaniment while I sang. One of the many things that makes her so special is that she picked up the music directly from the cassette - with no sheet music.

Well, this was to be one of the highlights of the wedding, and I knew it. That made me all the more nervous. The minister and my best man did their best to try to keep me calm: we prayed, of course.

When "Watermark" by Enya started to play, I began to cry. I couldn't help it. I tried not to. Fortunately, our moms were given each a box of Kleenex. I reached over to grab a tissue from my mom. And then, as the music continued to play (I'm tearing up as I write this), I saw my beautiful bride walking slowing down the aisle with her mom. It was at about 11:20 in the morning. Everyone was so quiet, cameras were flashing all over the place, and all I could think of was how beautiful she truly was.

As I took her hand, I could barely keep my eyes off her.

Then the time came for us to do our wedding vows. We each had prepared our own, personal vows in addition to the traditional ones. I let Jennie go first. I remember her saying so many things, but one thing that stuck out was that she vowed to be my "Balcony Person."

Then it was my turn. I had some words to say, and I finished it up by saying that the words to this song I was about to sing really conveyed how I felt. Svetlana launched into the music, and then I felt my heart, throat, and chest clinch up from being so nervous. I'm still amazed that any words came out at all.

I'm not sure if what I sang even qualifies as music, but somehow I got through it. The words were more important anyway. I think that most folks were just blown away that I'd sing to her anyway. My mom still talks about it.

After that romantic butchering of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, the rest of the ceremony was easy. I had gotten through it, and we were going to be married no matter what. So, as the minister pronounced us as husband and wife, I gave Jennie was may be the world record for wedding kiss, and then we danced down the aisle to "Black or White."

I didn't find this out until later, but the groomsmen has orchestrated a cool and unexpected exit. After Jennie and I left, they each put on a pair of sunglasses, pulled out one white glove, and then put it on. They escorted their respective bridesmaid and walked out.

Eight years ago. It's gone by both quickly and slowly.