James and Myra Make Their Vows to Each Other!

James and Myra were are a delightful couple to work with and I was honored to officiate their wedding on May 24th at the White Garden of JC Raulston Arboretum. They did not want a rehearsal as James told me, they preferred to "wing it!" They wanted no sound equipment or music, no frills. Both of them had been married before and they knew they wanted their wedding ceremony to be very special surrounded by their closest friends and family. They had specific ideas for what they wanted. Although they had all my ceremony material at hand, they chose to write more than 50% of the words themselves. It was a beautiful ceremony and they each wrote secret vows to each other to hear for the first time on their wedding day. They are both excellent writers and I would say that James leans more toward poetry. They had a lot to say in their ceremony about their love for each other and the attributes each possessed that the other cherished. It was a very "from the heart" ceremony. James' vows to Myra were over 300 words in length and although I urged him to edit them down, he would not budge! He did get slightly choked up with emotion while saying them to Myra but he made it through!

Myra wrote me a note the the evening of their wedding and she said: "Thank you for everything. We had a lovely day, and we appreciate the part you played in helping make this day memorable. The ceremony was exactly what we wanted and we appreciate your working with us on it. From James, thank you for suffering through 303 words. We would be happy to recommend you if that would ever be of help to you."

They wanted to include James' son 10 year old son, Noah, so he escorted Myra from a hidden spot onto the garden terrace where James appeared from his hidden spot and the three of them processed in together. Noah also served as his father's best man. He looked so happy! Their wedding was both elegant and casual at the same time. Myra was beautiful in her lovely ivory satin gown and shawl with a pretty white flower in her hair. James was coordinated in a cream colored jacket--and so tall! They brought a picnic spread with them and had their reception after the wedding in the same area. It was great weather and the food looked yummy. Marty and I each treated ourselves to a chocolate chip cookie and headed on to the next and final wedding of this busy weekend.

James and Myra, congratulations and I wish you great happiness and contentment!