June 22, 2019,

This was a day that everyone in my family had on our minds for roughly the last, almost, year.  After much planning, meetings, phone calls, e-mails, headaches and lots of Advil, my daughter Alli was getting married to the love of her life Nathan.  These two had been “together” since they were in sixth grade.  They were actually voted the couple most likely to marry in their senior yearbook.

As step-father of the bride, my duties were limited.  If something needed to be picked up or paid for, that was right in my wheelhouse.  Alli and I had talked on several occasions about marriage and the potential surprises that await her and Nathan.  I didn’t mind that they were engaged.  I like Nathan a lot and am very proud of him that he was accepted into Ohio State Law School.  I’m going to have a “buckeye lawyer” in my family.  I expressed to Al that if they just waited a year or two.  Get themselves settled in Columbus, then get married, but she would not hear of such a plan.  She was in love with him, and he with her and they were ready to start their life as a married couple.  I knew any further attacks would fall on deaf ears, so I surrendered the fight.

Now it was time.  The planning was over and it was time to start this show.

I was told the day before by the wedding planner that I was supposed to be at Scarlet Oaks at 2:00.  A few pictures would be taken before the wedding of the two parties, then afterwards you have to stand there with a permanent smile on your face that gives you a cramp on each corner of your mouth.  When I walked into this beautiful house, I could hear all the girls getting ready upstairs.  I yelled out Cindy’s name to let her know that I was on property and was met with a chorus of “don’t you come up here!”  OK.  I was quickly met at the foot of the stairs by Cindy who looked beautiful in her mother of the bride dress.  Stunning.  I helped her on with a necklace and she gave me a quick update on where all stood.  She told me all was good…no blowups yet.  I told her how beautiful I thought she was and she kissed me and went back upstairs.

I went over to the living room and sat and waited.  It was a nice warm day but I didn’t want to turn into a big sweating suit before the wedding.  After a few minutes, I saw this man walking around with about two or three fairly expensive looking cameras draped around his shoulders.  A few more moments had passed when we made eye contact and I introduced myself.  When I said I was the stepfather of the bride, he said, “I’ve been looking for you.”  This can’t be good.

He went upstairs where all the chattering was still going strong and was back down to me a minute later.  He asked me to follow him and that he was going to set up the reveal shot.

A short explanation.  The reveal shot is usually done between the bride and groom.   The groom is told to stand in one place and not to move.  The bride is then led behind the groom and taps on his shoulder.  The moment of seeing his bride for the first time in her dress is a moment no one would ever forget.

I was at my mark when, with help from her sister Erica and Mom, they came out.  Thankfully they were not quiet making their way to me.  If they did, I think I would still be crying.  I could feel my chin start to quiver in anticipation.  Finally, there was a two or three second moment of silence when I felt the tap on my shoulder.  I turned around and found myself looking at the second most beautiful bride I’d ever seen.  First place, of course, is her mother.  I remember saying “WOW” and then the tears flowed.  It was one of the greatest moments of my life.  This amazing looking woman, who when I first met was a loud fourteen year old, was now twenty-two year old bride.  Amazing!  We hugged and cried and told each other how much we loved the other

I was so proud.  It was a great gift to me, as something that I thought I would never get to experience was happening.  After my girls were gone, I had tossed all idea of being the Father of the Bride, but June 22nd changed all that and I was happier then I could have imagined.

The wedding went perfectly.  Perfect weather for an outdoor wedding with just a slight breeze to keep the guests cool.  Cindy walked the bride down the aisle and big sister Erica was co Maid of Honor.  My lil sister Kelly officiated and as usual added a god amount of humor in her address.  Nathan shocked us all with his profound vows to Alli.  When the night was over and all were in bed, Cindy and I looked at each other, smiled and exhaled with great satisfaction that the day had ended and everything was perfect.

Thank you for reading.

Paul