A Wonderful Wedding

The big event this summer was the August wedding ceremony for my brother Kevin, and his fiancée Emma. Kevin and Emma had met years before, but hadn’t started dating until later on. Very soon after the engagement, plans were made to have the wedding sooner rather than later. Having had a short engagement period myself, I admired the willingness to commit to marriage once the decision was made. We had our tickets to fly to the United States (along with Kevin, who came to do Mont Blanc), and were excited to be witness to this great event.

Of course, we weren’t merely witnesses. Kevin had already honored me by asking me to be the Best Man at his wedding, and I had been working on my speech, though it wasn’t finished yet. Our daughter Miriam was the flower girl, and our son Daniel was the ring bearer. Not only that, but Kevin and Emma had recently bought a house, and offered to let us stay there in the week prior to the wedding. We found their house to be wonderful, with an all-new interior and a big back yard.

Most importantly, we got to spend time with Emma, something we had only done via video chat in the months prior to the wedding. Even over video, we loved Emma and couldn’t wait to meet her, and that feeling was confirmed when we met in person. It was a shame that Emma had to work in the days leading up to the wedding, and of course had much to do to prepare for the big day. Thankfully, we’ll have plenty of time to spend with her and Kevin in the future.

For our part, we helped as much as we could with the physical preparations. My wife did a lot of cleaning and preparations in the house. I made myself busy setting up the tents which formed the corridor and space for the meal after the ceremony. The day of the reception, we found that Kevin’s car would not start, so I set about investigating and eventually replacing the battery. We were happy to be of some help.

Our children got their fair share of playtime with their grandparents. They went out to a few small parks with playgrounds, they rode a pair of bicycles which my mother thoughtfully brought down from Virginia, and my brother and I took them to a nice splashpad run by the city for a small price. It was quite hot during our stay, and perfect for the splashpad.

The reception was nice, as we got to meet many of Kevin’s friends and Emma’s sisters and parents. We had a nice meal and got to listen to some great toasts. My own toast as Best Man had been postponed until after the wedding due to scheduling difficulties with one of the groomsmen, who happened to be our old soccer coach from high school, and his difficulties in getting down to South Carolina for the reception.

The next day, Kevin and I met up with other groomsmen for a round of disc golf. Kevin was the best, having practiced quite a lot, but we all had fun. I managed a couple of good shots and even a long putt or two (for me), and then we had lunch and got ready for the wedding. Kevin had graciously paid for our outfits, which were nice shirts, pants, vests, and bowties. Coach Verbrugge tied all the bowties.

The ceremony was beautiful. Miriam and Daniel performed their parts beautifully. It was a great feeling to be standing right next to my brother as he got married, and to have our families there as well. With the vows and rings exchanged, Kevin and Emma enjoyed a triumphant kiss and we all filed back to the house for drinks and snacks befor the final meal.

That evening we ate, and we got to listen to the rest of the toasts. I had worked a lot on mine, and was proud to give Kevin and Emma a memorable toast for their big day. As the evening wound down with dancing, we congratulated Kevin and Emma again as they left for a honeymoon in Iceland. For our part, we were so happy to have been there to witness their love for each other, and the beginning of a beautiful life together.