Completing Him: Week 2

This week's assignment in the Completing Him Challenge at Women Living Well is to remember our wedding vows and tell the story of our wedding:

This weeks challenge is simply to Remember. Remember the day you entered your sacred vows. If you are a blogger, please post pictures from that day and share your story. Then link up below and link your post to this post.

We had a fall wedding - October 12, 1984. We had originally planned on a December wedding, but Wes's parents were preparing to leave for Jamaica as missionaries, and their documents came in allowing them to leave at the end of October, meaning they wouldn't be able to leave Jamaica again in December for the wedding. So we asked my dad, with fear and trembling, if we could move the wedding up to October! Once he knew the reason and that it was a valid one, he was fine with it.

 My dad about to give me away!

Our wedding turned out to be a comedy of errors. When people ask if anything went wrong with it, we respond that it would be easier to tell them what went right! Wes says all those things that went wrong just got all the trouble out of the way early, and it's been smooth sailing ever since. If you'd like to read about the major things that went wrong, go to this post and scroll down to number 17. Number 16 was pretty funny, although I wouldn't classify it as "something that went wrong!"

Kneeling to dedicate our lives to God

Both our fathers performed our ceremony. My dad walked me down the aisle and gave me away, responding to my soon-to-be father-in-law's questions. Then my father-in-law prayed for us as the ceremony began. My dad performed our vows, and then either he or both of them prayed over us as we knelt and dedicated our lives to the Lord. It's quite sobering to have your dad ask if you promise to love, honor, and obey your husband - and yes, I did promise to obey my husband - and to have your father-in-law right in front of you as you make your vows.

 Lighting our Unity Candle

We had a unity candle, which was one thing I wouldn't have done without. I loved the symbolism of our two lives becoming one.

The cake before it was devoured by uninvited guests!

Our reception was held in the Christian school cafeteria where we'd eaten lunch together so often during our school years! Wes and I went down and cut our cake and sipped our punch for the photos, then went back upstairs to the auditorium for the formal pictures of the wedding party and family. This is where one of our disasters took place - #17 again! After the reception, I threw my bouquet, kissed my Daddy, and we were off on our honeymoon to The Orchard Inn in Saluda, NC.

 This is my favorite picture! We were heading down to take pictures in the reception area and my aunt called to us. We turned around and she snapped this.

We had a small, simple wedding and reception - nothing like the weddings we go to now! Our groomsmen's suits didn't even match. We were all poor young people, so we just told the guys to wear a dark gray suit, and the girls had their dresses made by a lady who sewed for others in her home. Our pictures were taken by my aunt, a very good amateur photographer, as her gift to us. Our cake was simple, and we drank punch made by some of the ladies in the church; we didn't have a sit-down dinner. Our wedding reflected who we were. We're not fancy, elegant people, and although our wedding was serious and appropriately formal, it was very simple. I wish I could get young women to realize that the wedding doesn't make the marriage!

 Another favorite!

Although we were very young, only 19, we entered into our marriage knowing that it was forever. We were committed to each other, and we promised each other and our parents that the word "divorce" would not be a part of our vocabulary. There was never any "way out" in either of our minds. Now, 25 years later, we still have that same commitment to each other. I'd say it's probably even stronger now. We've grown to love each other more completely than we ever thought possible on our wedding day!