And there was much rejoicing!

I'll save the photos for when they are "preapproved", but I thought I'd take a few seconds to mention the wedding I went to yesterday. In my time, I have been to several weddings, but the one I went to yesterday will hold a very dear place in my heart. This was the first "worldly" wedding I went to. It was also the first wedding I've been to where I could just be myself.

After canceled flights and a 500 mile drive, Steve stood in front of Stacy and stated in clear, slightly tearful words, his devotion to a woman that "made his dreams come true". People from around the world stood in witness of the event, traveling anywhere from hundreds to thousands of miles. And as I stood watching the candlelit ceremony, the power and strength of the love reflected in that room overcame me.

This was nothing of the sterile void of the Witness weddings I saw before, where a pre-outlined talk is given talking about the basics of marriage. There was no need to glorify a man-made organization or it's "arrangement". No thoughts given about who could not attend because they were "not in good standing". No whispering behind the back of the bride because she had children. The children here were not an embarrassment, but an active and valuable part of the ceremony. Instead of removing the significance of the individual, we celebrated two people and their love for each-other.

And we rejoiced in song, dance, story, drink, hugs, and togetherness. I did not sit and reflect upon the meaning of marriage, but instead I found joy in a marriage that had already happened. The wedding was not an opportunity to preach about God, but instead a milestone to remember the point at which Steve and Stacy were united.

Yesterday, for the first time in my life, I witnessed a marriage.

Some Pictures: