The remainder of my weekend was centered around the wedding of ALH and DKN. ALH is an old family friend and I was honored to officiate his wedding ceremony.
After procuring my textbooks at the campus bookstore, I set out for Hardin Valley where the wedding rehearsal was held. The couple could not reserve the wedding locale for the rehearsal so we conducted it at the bride’s grandmother’s house. The location was picturesque, with the house situated amidst many acres and a nearby lake. Though beautiful, without the combined help of Mapquest and my Garmin I seriously doubt I would have found it. It may the first time I have ever needed the GPS within Knoxville’s city limits.
I met the wedding party at the rehearsal. I am anal about not being anal at wedding rehearsals. My philosophy is that the purpose is to alleviate stress and as such it is not practical to be rigid. Besides, walking down an aisle and standing is not brain surgery. We completed the entire process in less than fifteen minutes.
With time to spare, I visited JTH at MoFoS before heading to Lakeside Tavern for the rehearsal dinner. We had a back room to ourselves which enabled me to meet the rest of the wedding party. I was officially positioned next to ALH’s uncle and his son Evan, both from Decatur, AL. I bonded with their cousins, as they are Indianapolis Colts fans who had recently toured the new stadium.
I also table hopped and got to know the wedding party better. I later learned that Travis Harris was the “Big Trav” whom I had heard about for years from other friends.
It was a good night. Being so close to their home, I felt it would be rude not to stop and visit with KLTW, KJW, and RAW before going to bed.
On Saturday morning, my parents and I ate breakfast at IHOP. This must be pretty popular place as we ran into TWC & BWC, JWD & KRC, and CDS.
That afternoon, I headed to the Butterfly Gap Retreat in Maryville, Tennessee, where the wedding and reception were held. It is a huge retreat center nestled in the foothills of the Chilhowee Mountain Range. Once again, the GPS proved invaluable. The wedding itself was held on the peninsula of a lake. This is the view from the cabin the groomsmen and I waited in before the wedding.
As you can see, we were blessed with a beautiful day for the outdoors wedding. Wedding guests received commemortaive mug holders and fans that doubled as methods of fighting off the heat. The wedding couple also took advantage of the outdoor setting by hiring a blimp to take aerial photos of the event.
This location presented a few unique obstacles for this minister. For one, I actually had to walk down the aisle as opposed to traditionally entering from the side. (I did suggest we sail over on a boat.) Another was that I was not wired with my microphone before the wedding. Neither of these proved to be too difficult. (Note: This photo is of the wedding's men anxiously awaiting the start of the wedding.)
Also unique was the fact that the wedding was actually held about a half-mile down a gravel road from the lodge where people parked. Fortunately a man named James from Chariots of Hire Limousine Services chauffeured spectators to and from the event. I had the theme from Chariots of Fire running through my head all day.
The wedding went well and the rehearsal followed at the retreat center’s lodge. The event was catered by Calhoun’s. I sat by my parents and the Buchanan family, including their son Nate, an old friend from church. He is well and it was good to catch up with him. This is photo is of the traditional cutting of the cake.
My cousins were also naturally there as well as they are closer to the groom's family than I. In fact, my uncle REN was the event videographer. It was good to see everyone. I left shortly after the first dance. (Pictured)
The next morning Sunday School was held as usual at RAW’s. I debriefed the group on the passage from the previous week’s sermon (Matthew 15:21-28). It was a productive class. As always, you can find some advice from WAM in the WAM Quote of the Day.
I spent the rest of the day preparing fro the week ahead. I opted not to see William P. Young at the Bijou Theater. The event was free to the public. He was speaking about his book The Shack and since I have yet to read it (and the fact that I was exhausted), I decided to stay home. My parents did attended and noted that he was interesting and that his frineds call him “Paul”. There you have it.
Finally, we had to buy an extra internet extension as my books have made the walls so thick that the connection could not read the signal in my room. Me thinks I have too many books...
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