Our Wedding Day

I guess the best title ever for this would be, "How Not To Have Your Wedding," unfortunately to Evelyn and I, these were the moments to remember. Though that day they may have seemed utterly chaotic, looking back they are hilarious and definitely memorable.

Having been in several weddings through the years, my first as a ring-bearer and many others as a musician, I had grown to despise the pomp and circumstance that surrounds a typical wedding. Not that they aren't wonderful for those who enjoy them, it just wasn't my cup of tea. Evelyn and I talked about it several times and she eventually gave in to my request not to have a big wedding. We had decided that we would get married on a weekday (because it fit best in our schedule at the time) and would have a small outdoor ceremony with close family only and her former minister would perform the ceremony.
Everything was okay until the day before the wedding. Incidentally, October 31st. It was that night that my dad began to have some problems and was taken to St. Francis Hospital, and admitted. My mother called and said that they didn't want us to change our plans, just to go ahead and have the wedding if we wanted to. So, back to the discussion with Evelyn, we decided that since dad was in the hospital and we had picked out a date already (11/1, which is EASY for a husband to remember) we would see if we could just have the service at the St. Francis chapel.

We called mom and she arranged everything beautifully with the hospital in a matter of minutes and we were on our way to having the wedding. Then it hit again. Evelyn got a call from the minister saying that she had developed a blood infection and was being rushed to Anderson Hospital. Now, this would have MAYBE worked out if all the sick people had gone to one hospital, but no such luck. At this point in time we were both determined this was going to happen, no matter what, and viewed it as a test of our faith and love.

I went to my trusty old friend, the internet, and began searching for "preachers for hire" and was shocked that there were some out there. Of course they wanted an arm and a leg to do it. So, intrigue and thriftiness hit me all at once. One of my friends was a Notary Public and I said that SHE could perform the ceremony, if I just gave her a set of vows to go by. So, on the way to the hospital, dressed and prepped with hope in our hearts, I got her on the line. She and her boyfriend were on their way out to eat dinner with some friends, but agreed to stop by the hospital and "do the wedding" before they went. By the time we got to St. Francis, more good news hit. Dad was being put on a medication and they would not let him go down to the chapel. Fiery and ever determined, Evelyn said we would just get married in the room then. And that is what we were set to do. Then the nurses came and took dad for a test that was going to take three or four hours. Mom insisted that we go ahead and do it, as did he, so five hours past the time that we were supposed to get married, we got married. My mom served as "best man" and my mother-in-law as my wife's matron of honor. When my friend, the notary, got there, she had already been drinking, so she was in good humor to make this whole thing fit together. Her boyfriend was so "in love" with her, that he literally clung to her side as she performed the ceremony. We finally had to get him to back up, so Evelyn and I could fit in the ceremonial arch, aka the Hospital Doorway. Anyway, we got married that day, November 1, 2006.

No one ever believes the story when we tell it. I mean, who would? The thing is it's really too ridiculous to make up, and I don't even have that great of an imagination. Anyway, I am posting a picture too so you can see for yourself. I don't think we could win the oddest wedding ever, but we're close!