Weddingbee Blog

Mr. Pencils and I were so ready to get married. After hearing the amazing words our readers had said to us, it was time to declare our commitment to each other. Of course, the ceremony had been quite heavy up to this point—there had been lots of tears and seriousness. I had to show our family and friends our quirky, fun side. So….

Reverend-Uncle John read his Charge to the Couple, reminding us that we made a choice by choosing to be married today, and that our marriage will “reflect the effort [we] put into nurturing this relationship.” He then asked us if we understood and accepted the responsibility and promised to do our “very best each day to create a loving, healthy and happy marriage?” While Mr. P’s quick response was “I do,” I took a moment…

and pondered this commitment I was about to undertake…

and paused just long enough for Reverend-Uncle John to look at Mr. P to gauge his reaction…

But of course my answer was, “I do!”

We were both relieved, as I am sure our guests were. Heehee.

Rev. John then asked for the support of our loved ones, charging them to “always stand with [us], never between [us]” and “offer [us their] love and support, not [their] judgment.” Our wonderful family and friends said they would.

And then Rev. Uncle John gave us the greatest gift: the chance to stop and “take a mental snapshot… to look out over those gathered here… and know that [we are] loved.” So we happily took a moment, looked at our guests, and grinned. I still remember that moment, too. Thanks John!

John then proceeded to give his sentimental, personal Marriage Address. He told the story of how we got engaged with his own twists. He shared with us that he asked our families for advice about marriage; he found quotes to describe marriage, including “Marriage is the union of two good people who are great at forgiving.” And then, he related marriage and love to Legos. Yep, Legos. When Legos come together, they create some strong and beautiful; something only possible when they DO come together.

He then shared his observations of our relationship and how I operate with Mr. P will the whole crowd. When he does something I don’t like, I almost always say: “Mr. P, I love you dearly, but you could not be more wrong if you tried!” He somehow made this seem good, because Rev. John explained how in our relationship, I “lead with love” and he reminded me to never forget that, to always do it.

Rev. Uncle John then offered his final blessing: “May the hinges of friendship never rust nor the wings of love lose a feather.”

With that, we began the Unity Ceremony. We welcomed our mothers to the altar/porch with us, and the did the honors.

In Rev. John’s words: “Mr. and Ms. Pencils got engaged on a beach so it seems appropriate that sand is used in the Unity Ceremony. The different colored sand represents all of the individual people and experiences that Ms. and Mr. Pencils bring to this relationship.”

“When poured together, each grain will find its own special, new place, while supporting the other grains. They will create one beautiful, harmonious mosaic and represent one heart shared by Mr. and Ms. Pencils and surrounding Mr. and Ms. Pencils.”

I think both of our mothers were nervous for their moment in front of everyone, but it didn’t show. They performed the ceremony with grace and beauty. We hugged them each when it was over.

And I whispered in Mama Pencils’ ear “I heard you crying like a baby when I walked down the aisle! You’re wonderful.”

I’ll admit, our ceremony was about ten to fifteen minutes longer than we anticipated. We didn’t get to do a full rehearsal as our readers didn’t share their words with us until the actual day and we couldn’t anticipate the actual length of walking in, hugging, etc. in the end our 25 minute ceremony was 40 minutes long.

I remember being distraught the days after our wedding that our guests were bored and frustrated by the length. As time has gone on, I’ve come to realize that I am so glad that the most important, literally, part of the day, made up such a substantial amount of time. It was perfect because it was our ceremony—if it had ten, twenty, or sixty minutes, it would have been perfect. Don’t let those unplanned things stress you out—in the end, you’ll look back and realize it was perfect because it was your wedding.

Next up, we exchange vows, rings, and kisses. Just you wait!

All beautiful photos are copyright and courtesy of amazing B. Scott Photography.

Catch up!

• Something Good: Our readers kicked it off.
• Something Good: We joined at the altar.
• Something Good: Down the aisle we went.
• Something Good: Pre-Wedding Portraits
• Something Good: Our First Look
• Something Good: Jewelry and a garter.
• Something Good: I got dressed.
• Something Good: I showed off my undies.
• Something Good: A window and a van.
• Something Good: My gift to him.
• Something Good: A cello was given.
• Something Good: Guys got dressed.
• Something Good: We beautified.
• Something Good: Quality time with my friends.
• Something Good: We rehearsed.