The Wedding

The Wedding

We had been invited to a wedding this weekend - the wedding of the grandson of one of our oldest friends. It was to be at her house north of Nashville, on a bluff overlooking Old Hickory Lake. We knew it would be a lovely event, and we’d get to see lots of old friends and their families. But…..

The wedding was to be outside…in June…in Tennessee…at 6 p.m. And it was likely to be really hot and humid. In fact, on Thursday night, the predicted weather for that day was 95 degrees, with a 90% chance of thunderstorms. Since I really hate being outside in the heat, I have to admit to obsessing about the prospect of being outside in that weather. And we didn’t know how John would be able to tolerate the heat and activities.

We drove to Nashville Friday morning and met Jean for lunch. Then we drove to Hendersonville to D & FJ’s house, where we were going to stay. It was great to be spending time and visiting with them.

The rehearsal dinner was informal (and indoors). We sat with some family members and enjoyed the conversation, but left before most of the festivities. John had started coughing and we didn’t want to push anything.

Saturday morning was in the 70s and cloudy. The forecast had changed, too, with the rain taken out. We were hoping for the cloudiness to stay so the temperature would stay down. The family had arranged for handicapped access and seating, so we didn’t have far to walk. And, wonder of wonders, the temperatures stayed in the mid80s with bright blue skies, there was a nice breeze, and the area was in the shade. After all my agonizing, it was quite comfortable.

As the guests arrived, each was given a cold bottle of water and a paper fan. On the fan was printed the program of the service and the names of the parents, the bride and groom, the officiant, and the attendants.

The wedding party and the service was a delightful combination of contrasts. It was a blend of Southern traditional with contemporary college students; a blend of secular, Christian, and Jewish; traditional wedding attire and funkiness. The groom wore a suit and tie, with gold lame coated tennis shoes. The bride wore a knee length dress with a short veil (which fell off during the kiss). The bride and groom each had attendants of both sexes. The men wore the same color suits, but obviously picked out their own ties - some straight and some bowties, and one wore a hat. The women were in different dresses and shoes, but all in the purple/lavender/lavender-gray color family. The “flower girl” was their dog.

The introductory music was played by a combo of friends of the couple from college. At the end of the service, after the wedding party had filed out, a Dixieland combo played New Orleans jazz to lead the families from the wedding area. Everything went off with very few hitches, and it was fun.

A large tent was set up in the front yard of the house, and there were hor d’oeuvres and yard games (croquet, corn hole, etc.) to play while pictures were being taken. Unfortunately for us, this was all on the lush grass of the lawn, and FJ is not able to walk on the grass. So we searched out everybody we knew to hug and chat briefly with, and then we left before dinner. I’m sure it was a great dinner and party that lasted well into the evening.

And this morning, we headed back home. It was a long, tiring, and very pleasant weekend. Now to recuperate and get ready to go to the beach in a week.