Wedding day

24 comments on Wedding day
3 minutes
WeddingDay
ยฉ2016 Andrea Bowman.

Margaret had one request of me for our wedding day: that I wear clothes that had no memories attached.

I seldom wear a suit. The one I own, which I bought at Goodwill of all places, has seen duty just at interviews, weddings, and funerals over the 15 years or so I’ve worn it. That’s a lot of memories! A new suit would be in order, and this time I decided to do it up right. I went to a tailor Downtown, selected a suit they made on the premises, and had it fitted to me. It is the single most expensive article of clothing I’ve ever bought.

And then I selected that orange tie to go with it. Margaret loves orange.

Margaret, on the other hand, bought her dress on clearance. I think she said she paid $10 for it. Oh my, how I admire a frugal woman! And she looked lovely on the day we were married.

We invited just close family: parents, children and their spouses, siblings and their spouses. And then my oldest son, who lives in a distant city, texted late with bad news: his car had broken down and he and his wife wouldn’t make it. It was the only disappointment in an otherwise wonderful day.

The ceremony was brief. A preceding slideshow of family photographs, set to music, ran longer than the ceremony itself, I think. We exchanged vows, rings, and I-dos, let the photographer photograph us, and then headed to Margaret’s for a party. She’d spent much of the week preparing all the food. I’d made a long playlist on Spotify of upbeat tunes from the 1940s through the 1980s. It kept the party rolling.

WeddingDay2
iPhone 6s

Margaret and I thought we’d slip out at about 8 pm, and then it turns out that was when the party naturally broke up anyway. We drove Downtown and checked in to the tall, blue JW Marriott hotel and then took a long walk downtown. The evening was warm; the setting sun lit the sky in oranges. We ended up on the old National Road bridge over the White River, now for pedestrians only and part of White River State Park. We had a late dinner at the hotel.

We attended my church together the next morning. Margaret works at one church, and I’m an elder in another, so we will be a two-church family. And then we went back Downtown for lunch, and for a walk along Massachusetts Avenue for window shopping and ice cream.

Then we parted ways. It was the moment where our temporary two-home arrangement became real for us, physically and emotionally, and it was hard. Merging lives at our age, with teen and young-adult children in various stages of stepping out of the nest into their own futures, creates some challenges and this is how we’re choosing to handle them for now. We’ve made over-and-above effort since our wedding to spend as much time together as we can.

So far, so good. We know we’ll end up under the same roof, and that we’ll be fine in meantime. Because we both chose well.


Comments

24 responses to “Wedding day”

  1. Gerald Avatar

    I agree with that: you both chose very well.

    Very best wishes to the pair of you.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks Gerald!!

  2. J P Cavanaugh Avatar

    What a great day. And yours may have been the only wedding of 2016 where the groom’s clothing budget far outstripped that of the bride.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Heh, yeah, I like to say that the average cost of our wedding clothes was quite reasonable.

  3. Andy Umbo Avatar
    Andy Umbo

    Love the idea of “no memories attached”…fresh clothes for new memories!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Yes! And it gave me the spark I needed to finally upgrade my suit. The Goodwill one had become mighty tight around the waist and couldn’t be let out anymore.

  4. davidvanilla Avatar

    Whatever the capital outlay and wherever purchased, you both look fabulous!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Why thank you!!

  5. divetrash Avatar
    divetrash

    Congratulations to you both. I can’t even begin to tell you how happy I am for you. I hope this is all your wishes fulfilled. BTW, you both look marvelous!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks so much Laura!

  6. Tom Harrell Avatar
    Tom Harrell

    Congratulations on your wedding and best wishes for the both of you!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you!!

  7. chris smith Avatar
    chris smith

    Fabulous good wishes to all concerned :0)

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thanks so much!

  8. roykarlsvik Avatar

    All the best to the both of you, and may you have a long and happy life together :)))))

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you!!

  9. Eileen De Guire Avatar
    Eileen De Guire

    I love how the evening sky over Margaret picks up the same orange you wore! A good sign that the day was as bespoke for you two as the new suit. Now the suit has memories! Very happy for the Greys.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      You noticed the orange connection! I’m so glad. Thanks for being there Eileen!

  10. retirizer Avatar

    Congratulations! You both look fabulous! I too love the “no memories attached” clothing and how the sky matched the tie you bought especially to please your bride. Nice planning man! I wish you all the best.

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you so much!

  11. mattsandercock Avatar

    Congratulations to you both!

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      Thank you!

  12. DougD Avatar
    DougD

    Looks like a great day, pink clouds like that always remind me of Hawaii.

    I just got a new all-purpose suit with an orange tie as well, partly for the same reason too. Old suit was 10 years old and getting tight in the middle. Still married to the same girl though.

    Best wishes, hope you can manage to be under one roof soon and looking forward to Ireland (?) photos later..

    1. Jim Grey Avatar

      My old suit was always tight around the middle, but 10 pounds later it had become a serious problem! Glad to have the new suit.

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