T.C. of an O.J.

Although their wedding day was filled with much drama and more than a few headaches, most in attendance didn’t realize it (that’s the work of an excellent wedding planner and many hard-working friends). More importantly, Eric and Andie were married and their wedding was a fantastic celebration of marriage and the Body of Christ.

I hope I’m not invading the privacy of the happy couple, but I was in the wedding and did want to write about it.

Every time I attend a wedding that takes place in the Body of Christ, I’m struck by it. They’re really fun! As I talked to Chloe, I high-school student attending her first Body wedding, she too was overwhelmed by how much fun these things could be!

People are dancing and celebrating and the guest list is full of people you know really well. It’s a big party for two people, in this case Eric and Andie, who’ve chosen to make a life together with dependence on God. I think this is why ultimately these kinds of weddings are so fun – everyone knows the marriage is going to be a success!

Leading up to the wedding, things were tense. As Melanie called to see were the late-arriving car of groomsmen was in relation to the hall, I played a mean joke at the most inappropriate time. “Where are you guys?” she asked, the weight of pulling off a wedding in the face of a reception hall that had made many errors resting on her shoulders. “We’re just about to leave Eric’s house”, I replied with a fib casually. Melanie and I both knew Eric’s house was almost an hour away from the hall, which we were supposed to have arrived at minutes ago. As soon as I had said it, I could sense Melanie about to have a heart attack despite prolonged silence coming from her end of the phone. It was a horrible trick to play and even though I quickly came clean and admitted we were minutes away, I imagined Melanie wanted to reach through the phone and strangle me, a feeling which later she positively confirmed.

The groom was nervous too. While everyone else could walk unencumbered around the hall and grounds, Eric was confined to a bench at the far end of the hall. If he moved, 20 screaming women would no doubt shriek and claw his eyes in order to preserve the tradition and ensure he would not see his bride before she walked down the aisle towards him.

So, we arrived at 1:30pm and took pictures for 20 minutes. Then Eric sat on a bench in his tuxedo until 5pm, all the while getting more nervous by the minute.

I have to admit, all this nervous waiting was making me nervous too! I would say it later in my best-man toast, but I was more nervous for this wedding than I was for my own. We knew Eric was making the right decision in marrying Andie, but that didn’t stop me from extending my obligatory “There’s still time to get out of here – just say the word and we’ll drive to Mexico” offer I give to all the grooms that select me as best-man. It’s just something a good best-man has to do. To Eric’s credit, he elected to proceed with the wedding, a righteous and godly choice.

Never gonna give you up! Photo (C) Neil Brooks 330-592-0924

The wedding was a blur: Grandmothers and mothers were escorted to their seats, bridesmaids paraded in. Andie made a beautiful bride – she looked like a glamorous 1920’s movie star! Eric tried like a champion to hold in a trickle of snot from a runny nose, but it elicited giggles from Andie and the bridesmaids who witnessed him trying in vain. Dr. Hughes performed the ceremony like an old pro, mixing in the right amount a humor and heartfelt direction for the new couple on top of a clear gospel message of love. The newlywed Mr. and Mrs. Schoofs looked like a photo spread right out of wedding magazine or that ridiculously good looking couple posing for the photo that comes with the photo frame.

Amy and I gave our toasts and although we were both nervous, I have to say those are some of the best toasts I have ever heard (although I’m biased!). Amy’s was hilarious – I mean “Beefcake Schoofs” are you kidding me? Afterwards, we both would have numerous people telling us how great those speeches were, although we didn’t get “rickrolled” which was awesome.

When it came time for the dancing, everyone was ready to boogie down. The DJ played all the hits and everyone was out on the floor moving, grooving, and singing along. I was hoping the party would last all night because everyone was having so much fun. But Eric and Andie needed to get out of there and get on with their lives (and get it on) – together!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2008 at 11:56 am and is filed under Blogroll, Christianity, Marriage. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.