This past weekend was a busy one. Family and friends gathered at the Pentecostals of the Gulf Coast to tie the knot between our Tiff and Mr. Nate (Lynn)—and little Alaura.
It started on Thursday morning with my mom, who patiently waited in her van, already full of silk flower bouquets for the aisle and platform, at the flower wholesaler in Jackson with some sort of allergic reaction causing an eye to swell. I left home early to prep our Airbnb in Gulfport; hubby waited for our daughter to finish school so he could take her directly to the bridesmaids’ dinner on the coast.
Thursday evening, we took a couple of men-helpers to eat at Glory Bound Gyro in Ocean Springs and then headed to the church to decorate the enormous sanctuary with the silks.
We had moved the fresh flowers to the master closet to keep them in a cool, dark place. Mom was up early the next morning and itching to get started. I’d just poured a cup of coffee when she bustled out of the shower and set to work at the long dining room table. No time to spare!
We drug out the buckets of flowers and started wiring roses, making dozens of boutonnieres and corsages for groomsmen, relatives, singers, ushers, etc! Then we tackled the many bouquets. This wedding party was HUGE! We worked steadily on our feet from 7:30 am until it was time to pack up the 20 reception table arrangements and make it to the rehearsal!
Tiff may have been a biological orphan of sorts, but in her lifetime, she had accumulative innumerable adopted family members. Instead of a unity candle, she had decided on a puzzle that included the last names of the two men she thought of as “Dad.” Looking over the crowd that had gathered with us to celebrate, I told someone that really that puzzle should have had a lot more pieces! So many families had been instrumental in getting Tiff to this point in her life.
As our pastor mentioned in his remarks at the ceremony, the Lord “puts the solitary in families.” Tiff is the poster child for that statement.
Although I prayed for it almost daily, I confess that I wasn’t sure she’d ever get married. She’s in her mid-thirties, and she’s dated quite a lot. However, the first time she told our family at a birthday dinner about Nate (Lynn), hubby said, “I want y’all to listen to her; she’s never talked about a man like this before. She’s going to marry him.” She had just met him in person a few weeks before.
She had waited a very long time to get married, and she wanted to do it right. Years ago when she lived with us, she’d said that she wanted a very big wedding. Well, she got it—9 bridesmaids, 8 groomsmen, 4 ministers, a miniature bride (Alaura) and groom, tons of junior bridesmaids and groomsmen, and even four tiny tots that barely made it down the aisle!
We told Nate (Lynn), “No returns, no refunds!” He just happily smiled and waved goodbye as he put his new bride into the corvette and headed to Biloxi beach for pictures before taking off on a long honeymoon in Costa Rica. What an answer to prayer, indeed!
