Once Upon a Time

Boy#3, Boy#2, Lovely Girl, Boy#1, Boy#4, and Honorary Boy

There were perhaps a dozen little girls at the Wedding of the Century last Saturday. They were wearing their finest dresses and sparkly shoes and sat quietly during the church ceremony, waited patiently during the reception and dinner, then danced with their daddies and with each other and with the bride and groom until way past their bedtimes.

I'm so sorry for the parents of these girls. In five or ten or fifteen years those little girls are going to meet a life partner and begin planning their own weddings, and they are going to say to their parents, "Remember Boy#1 and Lovely Girl's wedding? That was perfect, and that's what I want. It was like a fairy tale."

They won't say that because the weather was glorious, although it was, with the autumn leaves in their full prime at least two weeks later than normal just for our beloveds. It won't be they're thinking of the radiant bride and the handsome groom, although one little girl did look up at Lovely Girl wide-eyed and ask "Are you a princess?" It won't be because the ceremony in the century-old stone church with the red door and brass bell was God-touched--solemn and lovely and personal. This won't be the wedding standard because the decorations were perfect (although, thanks to the bride and her mother, they were).

Those little girls will want that wedding because they will remember what it felt like. They'll know somewhere deep in their souls, where they've stored memories of what it felt like to be tucked in at night, the feeling of being surrounded by love. They'll talk about how handsome the groomsmen were and how great the band was but they'll be feeling the joy that we inhaled and exhaled and felt flowing through our veins. They'll remember that the day had been one of those perfect autumn days that don't actually come along very often, but they'll be feeling the peace of the bright blue skies that shaded into evening during the ceremony.

They'll want that, the love and the joy and the peace, and their parents will have to tell them the truth.

You can't plan that kind of day, they'll have to disillusion these little girls. That kind of day is a gift from God. A lot of people did a lot of work to make that day happen, but the wonder of the day was the love that spilled over from Boy#1 and Lovely Girl and warmed us all.

A fairy tale isn't a fairy tale because the prince has a castle or the princess has a crown. It wasn't a fairy tale wedding because it was so, so beautiful and magical.

It was a fairy tale day because the prince and the princess found each other, and now they can live happily ever after. 

The end. The beginning.