Back in the fort...

Fort Wayne, that is. We spent a wonderful, sometimes tense, week leading up to my brother's wedding on Saturday afternoon in Iowa. And it really was a wonderful week, being with almost my entire family the whole time. A few more popped in on Friday, which made it even better. I got to spend a lot of time with my brother, which I am grateful for. We had a last minute change in the rehearsal dinner venue which ended up being a far, far better choice - excellent food and great atmosphere. The wedding itself went off beautifully. A bright, sunny day without being too warm. The men, including myself as the co-officiant, were all in formal kilts - which is the kilt and a tuxedo-ish jacket, vest, shirt and bowtie, along with a "sporran" (a kind of man-purse that is tied around the waist which I found to be an uncomfortably great and useful item), dress shoes and knee-socks with little bits of cloth at the top called "flashes." (You can find a good picture of this ensemble here.) The jackets got a little warm, but there was a nice breeze which kept up some good circulation, if you catch my drift. The ladies wore a very pretty black & white dress which had some embrodery work that kept up the Scottish theme. The bride was in an elegant white dress with detached arms that hung low - it was very Celtic princess-ish - and her processional music was played by a real, live bagpiper.

I was able to do a great deal more in the ceremony than I had anticipated, including pronouncing them husband and wife. I started choking up right from the beginning and had to fight it off pretty hard the whole time. This kind of got my brother going, which I think is pretty funny. My brother is a rather large, mean looking fellow who has in the past taken on 4 guys at once and beaten them handily. He would not strike you as the kind of guy who would cry, even at his own wedding, so I was pleased to show everyone what a softy he really is. My message, which I almost entirely scrapped and rewrote the morning of the wedding, got a lot of compliments and what's more, was what I really wanted to say to them. I hope some of it penetrated and may get them thinking a bit more about God and faith in the future.

We stayed out late after the wedding, didn't get enough sleep before the brunch and before getting on the road for the 8 hour drive back home, so I'm more or less exhausted today. I'm now going to go take a nap.