I don't get asked much any more to celebrate weddings any more., which is ok. We now have at least one pastor here in Santa Cruz who is authorized to perform them. however, tis time it was the daughter of that pastor who was getting married. So I was asked to perform the ceremony.
We arrrived at the church on time to discover (shock) that the wedding was not going to start on time. But that is nothing new here in Santa Cruz. It seems that wedding never start until at least 8:30 in the evening, no matter what the announced time might be. so we sat, chatted and waited until the wedding part were all there and it was finally time to begin.
The ceremony itself was pretty typical for our churches. While there is an element of formality (the guys usually wear at least a tie if not a full suit and the bride will have a bridal gown) the flow of the event is fairly casual and the actual service is quite short.
The main event of the evening was not the ceremony but the reception afterwards. Many people who are not at the ceremony will be present at the reception. The reception was held in the garden of a relative's house. The weather was warm and pleasent without much wind. Each table was graced by a blown glass center piece which were probably made by the bride and her father (he is a glass blower by profession). The crowd slowly gathered and pop and finger food were served as everyone waited the arrival of the wedding party.
Finally the happy couple arrived and the event was off and running. Lots of music and not a whole lot of anything else except for table conversation and an occasional word of encouragement for the new couple from someone speaking over the sound system. Supper was served at around eleven, which was a full hour earlier than normal. I was impressed.
Besides us gringos, seated at our table were three little boys, two of them sons of a pastor and the other their friend. They provided a lot of entertainment for us throughout the reception. I tried to make sure that their cups were kept full of pop all evening until their eyeballs were floating in it and they actually turned down a new refill.
Following supper they were playing, as boys will do, on the ground. suddenly one of them was hit in the face by the leg of a chair and a nasty bleeding gash was the result. As we watched from our table we finally realized that the little guy was huty. There was blood. My stomach, just thinking about it, began to churn and my head got that light feeling. So what does my dear wife, the nurse, do? She hands me a band aid or so that she found in her purse with an alcohol pad for cleaning and sends me over to offer help. One glimpse of the poor kid's face wass all I could take. turning my head away I quickly offered the bandaid and pad to someone. I didn't know who. I wasn't looking. Then I excused myself to go out to and see if I could find something more adequate in the first aid kit in the car. By now my stomach and head were in complete revolt and I had to recline the car seat back to stop the ground from swimming. I even considered, for one bried moment, doing what every man never does - relinquish the car keys to Niki and ask her to drive home. Fortunately the spinning stopped and I was able to do my manly duty and drive. thus ended the wedding for us. I didn't even get the chance to congratulate the couple at the official time. It was just as well. Later on that morning (it was now tomorrow), there was another celebration to be at so we really needed to get home and to bed.
My congratulations to the happy couple and my wish for God's best blessing on their home and lives.
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