“The RoseBouquet”

How many weddings are you invited to this summer? Some years the count is quite high and other years hardly any or none.

This year I was only invited to one. Our pastor’s daughter, Julie-Anne was married this past Saturday. Naturally, it’s hard for a pastor and his wife to pick and choose whom to invite in a congregation of 250 to 300 people, so they had the ceremony in a beautiful cathedral downtown on Spadina Crescent. Right across the street from it, is a lovely riverside park that follows the curving river all the way through the city. The best groomed part is right there by St. John’s cathedral and up to the old Bessbourgh hotel. So the reception was to be a picnic in the park.

But Saturday was a rainy day. It rained early in the morning, and I thought it could clear up yet by 11 for the ceremony, or for sure by 12 for the reception. No, it kept drizzling all morning.

On top of that the wedding ceremony was delayed. The guests began to visit with one another, and wonder what could be the problem. I overheard Doug behind me say, he was going to have to go out to feed the parking meter again. I turned around and said that I didn’t think they checked the meters on Saturday and Sundays. He insisted, and since I had NOT fed my meter, I started to go out, but met an usher in the aisle, so I asked him. He agreed that the meters were fine on Saturday. I sat down again.

Doug got back from feeding his meter, and said it that it does say right on them, Mon.-Sat.

(Sigh) What to do? Well, the wedding didn’t seem to be happening yet, so I went out and found no ticket on the windshield, even though I’d already been parked there for an hour, but since I hate to break the law, I put in 1.50 for another hour.

When I got back to my pew, I overheard from the people behind me, that the hold up was that the flowers had not arrived yet.

Suddenly there was a flurry of activity as the photographers, and video-people got back into their places. at 11:43 the wedding finally got under way.

The groom and his men looked handsome, the four bridesmaids were lovely, and the petite little Julie-Anne looked radiant and dewy-eyed. Her Dad was beaming and had great joy in performing the marriage ceremony. It was all over in half an hour, and then pastor Robin went back to the microphone and announced that the reception was going to be back at our own church, in the gym. All were invited over there for sandwiches and cake.

The receiving line was outside the cathedral, and just then it wasn’t raining, but I felt sorry for all those girls and their bare shoulders.

My friend Anna needed a ride to the reception, and we had heart-shaped sandwiches and tiny pretty cupcakes there. It was somewhat chilly in the gym too. I hope the bride and groom were not too disappointed in the weather for their day.

Isn’t there a proverb about blessings for the bride that it rains upon? Do you know how it really goes?