I think about the ceremony I prepared and performed on Tuesday for Julie and Doug. They had planned on having a Justice of the Peace perform for them, but due to a timing issue that did not work out for them. They were dressed in their wedding clothes. Their niece and nephew who stood up with them were also appropriately attired. Their only challenge, beyond the timing issue was that they had no one to marry them and they had no venue for the ceremony.

They contacted me. I changed some plans around to make myself available and I wrote a very short and sweet ceremony. They had some language thanking their niece and nephew, as well as Julie’s sister for being available for them and so loving that I was able to incorporate into the ceremony. I met them at their condo. Led them in convoy fashion to the Arboretum in Pinehurst and shortly thereafter we began the ceremony. There was no tension, no awkward moments and 10 minutes later they were husband and wife and everyone, including me, was beaming from ear to ear.

So, the moral of the story is this. A wedding is a joining of two hearts, two souls, and two families. The trimmings, the color of the cocktail napkins and the exact seating for hundreds of people are not what make a wedding perfect. When the love is there, all the rest somehow falls into place.