First Wedding

On July 19th, we had a first. Thomas performed his first wedding. It went very well, even if I'm the one saying so. He DID forget to ask them to kiss...but everything else was great! I, too, had a little part to play, and here we are in the heat of the action. Notice my skirt. I decided at the last minute I couldn't wear the dress I had planned on wearing, so my Mom and I whipped out this skirt the day before the wedding, and hemmed it the morning of!

Here is our little family:

And our big family (the two you might not recognize are Thomas's parents):

It was interesting because the couple are very good friends of ours, and I suppose preparing something like that with friends is not the same as with strangers. Also, they are not at all church-going, and neither were the people the invited. In doing wedding preparation with them, Thomas got a unique opportunity to talk to them about the Bible as being a sourch of practical advice and instruction that is still applicable today. The ceremony itself was very personalized, and his message was predominately about grace--in our human relationships and God's grace. During the festivities that followed, several people told him how much they appreciated what he said. They said it was very appropriate. We actually ended up having a long spiritual conversation during the reception with a guy who had really liked Thomas's message. Then it turned out we were seated next to him at dinner! All in all, it was a neat opportunity.

Yesterday, driving home from the train station and reflecting on the 3 weeks of my parents' trip, Thomas said, "Wow, I didn't realize that the wedding would take up so much time!"