Thursday, September 11, 2008

A Refreshing Interview

Today I had the opportunity to talk to a young couple about their future wedding plans. The meeting provided an opportunity for us to get to know each other as it was our first meeting. They were looking for a minister to perform the ceremony and were referred to our church which referred them to me.

To date, I've only done one wedding ceremony. I don't know how much that will matter to them. After talking and having lunch, I would be honored to be a part of their wedding day. They are high school sweethearts that have waited until graduating from college to get married. They appear to be very community minded and seem to have priorities in order. They have already started some pre-marital counseling (which is great because I wouldn't be qualified to help them). The bride will continue with post-graduate work while the groom gets busy making a living and helping to keep his new wife in school. All-in-all, they seem like a great match.

I called the groom from the only ceremony that I've performed. I don't know if referrals or recommendations for weddings are appropriate or not, but I figured that it couldn't hurt. That was a fun wedding and Key West provided some interesting stories, as well (not to mention some great Key Lime pie, too--right, Chad?) Tom and Jill are still doing well and have two beautiful little boys. Unfortunately, they are raising them to be Atlanta Braves' fans. In spite of that, they are still one of my favorite couples! (I'm working for that good recommendation--can you tell?)

The young lady reminded me of Chris a little--the organizer, take charge person, strong personality, great smile, friendly and energetic, smart and on top of all of that--pretty, too. The young man will have his hands full...and ought to enjoy every moment of it (well almost every moment).

Some days you get to have those moments or incidents that really pick you up for the rest of the day. My hour with this young couple was one of those. Young love is a very beautiful thing. It reminds me that I need to be more attentive to my own marriage; that Chris would enjoy the attentions and spontaneous acts of love that young guys do for their girls. It's probably overstated that the wedding is just a moment and the marriage is a lifetime, but it is so true. It appears that this young couple is planning for both to be quite memorable.

I don't know if they will stop by and read this or not. In any case, I'm grateful for the wonderful day that they helped to make!

John

Sure beats blogging about politics!

5 comments:

Bilbo said...

What a nice story. But let me tell you the one about the four clowns and the presidential race...

Magic Utopia said...

I performed a wedding once. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. Thank God it all worked out ok. The wedding was on the beach on Florida a few years ago. Just after the ceremony, the sun set behind us and made for a lovely end to a glorious day.

Thanks for sharing this story. It was nice to read. And yes, it sure does beat blogging about politics!

John A Hill said...

Utopian, didn't know that you were still about. Good to hear from you. The ceremony that I did was on an 80', four mast schooner off of the Florida Keys at sunset. We continued to sail for a couple of hours and watched the lightning in the storm that was forming in the distance. What a beautiful night!

Mike said...

(which is great because I wouldn't be qualified to help them)

Sure you are. The first thing you do is make them sit in a dark room for four hours.....

Anonymous said...

I don't know. Isn't there a part of you that wants to say "go, live, be apart, experience yourself for a while..." Steve