Well, as you all probably know, Eileen and I were planning on getting married on or around June 14th. This was the case when I was preparing to visit her before I departed for Costa Rica. My plane tickets to and from Seattle was scheduled for Friday, February 16th through the 20th. On the Wednesday before my trip to visit Eileen, I sent her a text message with the sole purpose of getting a reaction, “can’t we just get married this weekend?” She replied, “yeah, but should we?” I replied simply, “yes.” That was the end of the conversation for at least a short time.
I was next to my mother and I asked her if she would come out to the Seattle area if we decided to get married that weekend. She said that she probably would. I send Eileen another text, “are you making preparations?” I was still seeking reactions. We talked on the phone and I told her that my mom would come out if we got married. I asked my dad if he would come out and his response was, “Maybe, probably.” So then, still wondering if either one was serious, I began to pray about the situation; the response from the Lord was that He would work things out if we sought Him.
Eileen and my family looked up information about marriage licenses in Washington. Next thing I knew, on Thursday, Eileen’s grandparents Bill and Jackie said that they would come out. Also, Bill agreed to do the ceremony, something that Eileen had always wanted. He was a United Methodist preacher. The way the license works in Washington is that you have to apply for it 3 days prior (at least) to the marriage date; so, I needed to get there before the State Branch closed on Friday so we could continue with the wedding on Monday.
On Friday, my grandmother, parents, and my cousin Quentin had confirmed their flights to Seattle. My flight happened to get delayed by four hours because of a mechanical problem. This was frustrating because we didn’t know why, after all this had come together so seamlessly, that there was this major problem. After some research and also after Bill had talked with his spiritual and church advisor, we found out that obtaining the license after our marriage would be suitable. Later we saw that the delayed flight due to mechanical reasons gave me a free change of return ticket (saving money for a more expensive ticket) so that I could stay with my wife longer after our marriage. Even that worked out perfectly.
When I arrived, Eileen surprised me by being at the airport. We were scheduled to meet at the Ferry terminal on Bainbridge Island. After getting to Bainbridge, Eileen set off for a walk in the woods; we were checking out wedding location possibilities. We walked by this bird blind which was originally not even in Eileen’s head as an option and we both instantly fell in love with it. At that point, our decision was made, easily.
Her parents, her grandparents, and my parents all arrived in Seattle Saturday afternoon. We spent some time getting situated and then we hit the city center of Bainbridge Island to make wedding preparations. I cannot explain how things began to line up and fall into place. In a matter of less than 2 hours, we had our cakes, ice cream and fabrics for the decorations. We all got ready for a nice dinner at a local restaurant. Dave, Eileen’s father, had called this restaurant to request a certain guitarist that he had heard several weeks back when he was in Bainbridge to help Eileen with her foot surgery. The restaurant contacted the guitarist and he played that night in the room in which we ate. He was a phenomenal classical guitarist.
My mother went and asked him if he could play Fly Me to the Moon, which is a song that Frank Catalano had dedicated to us when we were at the Green Mill in Chicago. He didn’t know it, but I went up after and asked him if he would play at our wedding reception. He agreed and we set the plans right there. He said that he would get his wife to watch the store; it turns out that he owned a music store that comes in handy later. He also rescheduled his students around our reception. His fee was extremely low, surprisingly low.
The next day, Sunday, the day before the wedding, Eileen, her family and my mom went out to Seattle to the market to get flowers which were gorgeous. They also got several other odds and ends in the city. During this time, my father and I spent time on the golf course. The weather all weekend stayed sunny and above 50 degrees. The locals couldn’t remember a time during that time of year with that nice of weather 5 days in a row.
After my father and I played 18, we went and picked up the fabric. We were also trying to work out a way that my dad could play the violin while we took communion. I remembered that Alan, the guitarist said he owned a music store. I called him to ask what type of store he owned; when I learned that it was a strings shop, I asked if I could borrow a violin. He said sure, come pick it up. We did. Yet another thing that fell right into place. We made some simple, final preparations and called it a day. My cousin and grandma flew in that night and my parents picked them up at the ferry that night.
I slept like a baby. I woke up excited, jumping. I ran to the store to pick up food for a big breakfast. At the country store, I saw Mona and Dave, her parents. Dave gave me a short pep talk, and then I was off to cook breakfast. After breakfast, we were to meet everyone at Eileen’s graduate commons for a morning activity/hike. After a “getting acquainted with the forest” we set out towards the bird blind for our rehearsal. We had a great rehearsal. The common theme was that we wanted it to be a worship service, glorifying God and what he had done in both of our lives and what He had done in bringing us together. This was easy to see, as all of her friends were continually making comments how this marriage must have been divine appointment because of how everything was coming together. Only a couple of her friends there knew Jesus Christ, and here he was making Himself very apparent.
After that we parted to get ready for the ceremony that was to take place at 3:30. I went to 4 different places to see if I could get a haircut (this was going to be a surprise treat for Eileen J). Apparently, every barber shop on Bainbridge Island is closed on Mondays. No haircut for me. So, I did trim the beard, just a bit. But I got ready and rushed over for the ceremony. One of her friends was going to play the drums so Gina (the drummer), Quentin and I went out to the location early to set up. We lit candles inside the blind and set the table for communion, then waited for everyone else. The rest was really just perfect. All I can say is it was the best wedding that I’d ever been to.
O, by the way, this whole time Eileen is rolling around in a stroller because she had just had foot surgery, so imagine that…it was great. Her friends awaited us at the commons and blew bubbles for us. She had one friend taking pictures, and another as the videographer. Dave, my mom, and many others pitched in to make food. It couldn’t have been catered any better. I was really impressed by the food, it was wonderful. We took pictures, had cake and ice cream, danced, talked, shared, had a fire in an outdoor fireplace, etc. it was beautiful. Eileen and I left early for our short Seattle honeymoon. On the ferry we slept sprawled out still in our wedding attire. We heard many comments as people passed by, but the best one was of a couple of guys who wanted to take a picture, but didn’t want to wake us up. I was keeping my eyes closed just listening to them.
The rest is history.
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