Love, Exciting and New

There were eight people seated at my table. A beautiful bouquet sprouted from the centerpiece; mirrors reflected the candlelight from the ceiling. Pseudo-soft music floated through the air. This wedding reception seemed as if it would be like any of the myriad of receptions that I have attended in my life. After all the guests had been seated, the D.J. cleared his throat to make introductions for the wedding party. The lights dimmed, conversation stopped. As the disc jockey began to speak, I thought I was transported to a NBA game. Lights flashed, his voice announcing the wedding party as if they were the starting five for the Chicago Bulls. People clapped and whistled - bridesmaids in there strapless dresses attempted to walk across the hall without tripping (or slipping). The groomsmen strutted like roosters on parade. It was all wonderful to watch. Then (drumroll please) the bride and groom floated across the hall seemingly levitating on a cloud. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness all bound up in a ten thousand dollar credit card bill.

I love weddings - not specifically for the predictable, but for the unpredictable. Weddings almost always produce an event, by someone in attendance, that will be regretted later. I think that event occurred at the table behind us. One of the young ladies, garbed in bright floral patterns, was having difficulties with her dress. Christine pointed out to me that she had spent much of the wedding reception adjusting the front. Perhaps she had imbibed a bit too much, but as we watched her make her quarter-hourly trip to the bathroom, Christine leaned over and said, "I think her dress is on backwards." Sure enough, the ribbon was on the wrong side, thus giving her the opportunity to be extremely self-conscious for most of the night.

The other unpredictable event occurred at our very own table. I think that most times the bride and groom don't know where to seat the pastor. Should they put him (in my case) near the front? Should they keep him as far away from the 20 somethings as possible? In my case, they put Christine and I at the very end of the hall - and with the other pastor and his wife. I smiled as we sat down. It's good to keep all the pastors in one area.

There were two other couples at our table. One duo was expecting their second child and the other, a couple who could not keep their hands off one another. Before the meal, the woman Mary constantly massaged Pete's arms and shoulders. They held hands, kissed, made eyes at each other. I felt like I was on the Pacific Princess. This perhaps could be expected if they were newly weds, but this couple, Pete and Mary, had been married for 38 years.

In this world, at this wedding reception, it was nice to see that love can still overcome all obstacles. That the divorce rate is over fifty percent, it made no difference. As the bride and groom sat at the head table, Pete and Mary sat with us at the foot table. Passion and love don't regress with age; I think they are more like the ocean tide. When the tide is high, passion and love are at their highest. When the tide is low, love carries seemingly by itself.

This couple was definitely riding high tide.