ITF’s favorite commenter of all time graciously agreed to contribute a guest post. Thanks Ag!

I love weddings…………………..BUT, I have never in all my breathing days attended one alone. My sisters were also invited to the grand and glorious affair, but one was having surgery day before and the other already had weekend plans, so I went solo.

ON FRIDAY – Tom’s neice/cousin (that’s a WEIRD family tree) is a very dear friend of mine. She was at the church for rehearsal and I was supposed to meet her there. Popping into a room full of strangers is not exactly my idea of a good time, ESPECIALLY not at a wedding rehearsal. So I stalled as long as humanly possible, hoping that everything would be well under way, I could slip in, grab my friend, and quickly leave before anyone even noticed. HA! Brianna rushed to my vehicle, hugs me fiercely, and then drags me into the church to a sea of unfamiliar faces. (This is where I gulp, paste a smile on my face, and pretend I’m not feeling stupid for being there.) Turns out that people from Oregon are not actually ogres, and those from Indiana are not as intimidating close up as they are from a distance. I was privileged to meet Tom and Jewel both for the first time. There is an awful lot of personality that flow from the two of them………gotta love it. There are some people you meet in life that are impossible NOT to love, that’s Tom and Jewel!

ON SATURDAY – Ah, the wedding. If nothing else, they sure picked a hot day. I don’t understand how you can live in Indiana and not melt completely. Anytime I stepped outside I was afraid someone was going to have to come along with a towel and sop up my remains from the floor. IT WAS REALLY HOT, and disgustingly sticky. I was thankful for simple things like, air-conditioning, and the common sense not to have an outdoor wedding! The best part of the wedding? Music! Lots of great music! My idea of a good wedding is lots of music and a bridal party that does not sit down which always makes the audience smile because they know that the pastor will then keep it short and sweet. AHQ sang four songs and then galloped to their positions as groom and groomsmen. The bridesmaids wore black (which delighted me because black is my favorite color of all time……) and they would have been very elegant except for the fact that they were all in their bare feet, so it turned from elegant to absolutely adorable….. I loved it! The miniature bride was a living doll, and the miniature groom was quite a handsome little guy who recognized the fact that boys were not intended to stand still in front of a church for any extended period of time. He was hysterical! The bride. The bride was beauty as she glided down the aisle to the gorgeous, four-part ladies arrangement of “Canon in D”. And our favorite blogger? Well, he looked rather pleased………and Jewel didn’t back out, so his delight intensified.

FAVORITE SONGS
“This is the Day” sung by Ginger Good (my “Soul Sistah” from SMBI), Suzanne Good (my “Soul Sistah’s sistah and now good friend) Rosie Leichty (another new friend from Oregon with whom I shared very helpful bits of advice for her 25th wedding anniversary celebration….she better invite me!) and Merry Yoder (a dear friend who REALLY should comment in blogs more…..). Okay so out of all the songs they did, this was my favorite and they all liked it the least. I’m not sure what that says of my taste.

“Canon in D”, has to be the most effective when performed vocally! Beautiful!!!!

“Faithfully” sung by the best man, Byran Smucker and his aunt Rosie Leichty. GREAT song! The “kissing” part threw me off the first time I heard it, but……

“The Countdown” sung loudly by Mr. Trevin Smucker who was sitting right behind me as he “patiently” waited to go eat. (This was not on the program :) )

OTHER STUFF
I made the brilliant discovery that I adore all Krabills. If you know one that I won’t like, throw them my way so I can crash my theory on how well Beachys and Krabills get along.

Tom WOULD have tea at his wedding!

I folded lots of programs. Is anyone impressed?

I found out that as Miss Barb tried to tell me, sitting by yourself at a wedding isn’t all that bad.

Never let chocolate covered coffee beans sit in your car when you are in Indiana.

Never try to throw gum out the window of your car. I just can’t seem to make it work. I did and found it the next day on my window.

Green gum turns white if it boils on your window for a few hours. It also smears quickly if you are stupid enough to try to put your window down to get it off. (Hey, some of us have to DO to learn…..)

Weddings are fun.

Bridesmaids in bare feet are adorable. The thought of groomsmen doing likewise is just not as cute!

Yes, it all has to do with Indiana, Tom and Jewel. Even the gum on the window. This my friends, is not even scratching the surface of a beautiful wedding and two beautiful people! It is just a small glimpse……..from my perspective.