My First Wedding

People sometimes ask me why it is that I enjoy being a minister. I often reply that it is a profession that gives you rare access to some of the most sacred moments in peoples lives-- the births of their children, a place at the death beds of their loved ones, baptizing their children, and performing their weddings.

Several weeks ago, I was enabled to experience my first solo wedding, marrying two new dear friends of mine: Carl and Alice (see them in the shot to the left). This couple is a member of the DC family Kevin has been a part of for over 11 years (even though Carl and Alice moved to California several years ago). Carl went to grad school with Kev and Alice was his housemate for a couple of years. When Carl and Alice became engaged in the spring of 2006, Kevin was soon asked along with two other DC folks to be in the wedding party. Then last summer, Carl called Kevin to see if it would be alright for me to be invited to do their wedding. The big question was whether or not I would be around for a while. I was delighted to hear that Kevin said yes. Thus, my first solo wedding was booked for this June.

Making the trip to CA was an unique experience of being on a fun trip with friends yet being set a part as the minister for the event. While my DC friends in attendance told me how cool it was to see me "at work," many of the guests commented at first about how young I was and wondered how I could pull it all off. The groom's mother wondered why an official minister was invited when the groom wasn't particularly religious himself.

But in the end, I think I changed some opinions both about being a young woman minister and being a minister in general. I took the wedding on as my personal mission have fun while being a part of the whole experience. I journeyed on the wine tour two days before the ceremony. I attended the bridesmaid luncheon and hung out in the spa with the wedding party. I wore cute dress and earrings with my robe. I danced at the reception until the music stopped.

I think I was far from the stereotype of an old, holier than thou white man in suit-- the image that most of the wedding party had of ministers in general.

The groom's mom told me as we were saying goodbye that I was the most lively minister she'd ever met. She wanted to know where my church was so that she could come and visit me if she was ever in the area. She thought the ceremony I officiated was just perfect.



Upon reflecting on the experience when I got home, I felt as if I had done that scary word I hate to use anymore: evangelize. I was a witness to the inclusively and enjoyment of living out the gospel without being bound by a fundamentalist view of life. And, I can't wait to do a wedding like this one again!

Plus, our group got in some great sightseeing in before and after the event. See some fun we had near San Fran: