Officiated #2 for my Niece !

Last month, I officiated a ceremony for my Nephew, last week for my Niece in Galveston, Texas. Wasn't the original plan but she downsized her original wedding plans and moved the location to the coast from Louisiana. When she heard I was doing my Nephews, I got the request which I accepted with a smile. I may have a new business model here?

Well, not everything is simple in the big picture. Initially she asked if we could do the ceremony in the sand in front of my Beach House .. but ... I thought the home would be sold and I would be looking for a hotel room that weekend. As it turns out, it's not ready to be put on the market yet so we are headed down to stay in the big house for the weekend. And since this may be the last time, we invited a house full to stay with us. Half of that was folks in the wedding party and/or attending. But, as we got closer, folks starting dropping off due to personal situations. My daughter had to canx. My nephew and his new bride had to canx. So, we pushed the idea to more friends.. but .. many couldn't make it. When the smoke cleared it'd just be us, the Dittels and Michael. Still, it wasn't about the quantity of friends.... just the opportunity for us all to enjoy the weekend together. Additionally, Brother Dick has his paint supplies and is jumping in to help with a couple projects to ensure the home is pristine.

So, my focus is on the wedding. I've got a basic draft for the vows, but ... I procrastinated for the final version which would bite me in the ass. I had the words exactly as I wanted them but I chose not to print them out the day before instead waiting until that morning .. and.... printer ain't working. I don't have enough time to head to town to find a solution so .... I push them to my phone. I've ensured it's fully charged and have it in multiple locations... just in case. But the font size is smaller than I'd like so I have to wear my glasses during the ceremony. What I didn't expect was with the sun being so bright, the auto brightness on the phone .. well.. that kept dimming down. Arrrggggggggggggh.

The .. 'walk' ...

Crap .. I'm getting ahead of myself. We cross the bridge over the Pass on the West side of the Island and I can see the wedding setup on the beach. Quick right turn, drive onto the beach and we've arrived. Minutes later an SUV is behind me stuck in the sand I'm watching him spin them tires; sinking. Looks like a 2WD .. whoops. They get him pushed out and I reach down and put my Jeep in 'sand' mode... as not to forget on departure. But, not everyone is coming down to the beach. Much of the wedding party is coming in from the West and don't see the setup. So they head to the main parking lot .... and have a looooong walk ahead over the dunes, across the sand...... whoops. Due to road construction in the area, the time frame of the event has shifted 45 min to the right... but.. we're sitting in our SUV with the A/C on.... and the temps are up to 90deg by 11am. Gonna' be a hot one! Soon, folks are working their way in so it's game time. I haven't seen Alicia's dad in forever so soon we're giving hugs and catching up. My sis rolls in on time, the Groom's family is there... and ... it's almost showtime. They've hired a wedding planner that lets just say .. proves to be interesting. She's got a headphone/mic on ... hands me my mic and she's rallying the troops. I can't help but snicker because.... she's left her mic on and .... well... shes a chatty cathy. Soon, the wedding party has all done the 'walk' to their positions and the photographer is in the mix. I'm standing on the edge with a mic in my hand (made sure it was turned off!) and ... over thinking it all. But soon enough, I'm moved into position , mic on and away we go. I've practiced this a half dozen times... but... damned that font is small! Damned that screen keeps going 'dark'! But .... we get through it... I know I'm being hard on myself but I wanted it to be perfect; I did a couple of misreads and corrections.... but before you know.. I'm presenting the Bride and Groom to the crowd. Whew!... Few lessons learned in this one (as well as the last one). I can see the release of stress with my Niece now; she's been working hard for weeks bringing this all together. Now, I get to spend some time with her kids and chatting with folks. Eventually we'll move off the beach and up to a covered area for some Texas BBQ catered in. Leanne and I have a cooler with Seltzers and a bottle of Crown Peach Whiskey we'll partake with the Bride, Groom and a couple others before handing it off. After a few hours of catching up .. it's time to head back to the Beach House. The newlyweds are headed back to Louisiana then on to their honeymoon the following day .. .success!

May be an image of 3 people, people standing, flower and outdoors

We're on our final day with everyone at the house. Weather has been perfect .. but damned it's hot. Umbrellas are up... we're often under the home in the shade .. music is rocking... and it's settling in. This may be my last trip here before we had it off to new owners. It's actually starting to bum me out but... ti's time. After two and half decades of Galveston trips... it's almost time to turn over a new leaf. But......deep down ... I'm scheming for another angle... but Lucy keeps shutting me down. She's done here. It's time for .... Mississippi

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