It is a great feeling when something which you have been planning for and working towards for many months goes off well. Around 8 months ago my daughter, Steph, became engaged to be married. For much of the last 8 months the thoughts of Steph & Matt (her fiancé), and those of their families and friends, have been focussed on preparations for the big day. It used to be the case that the bride's parents did the majority of the arranging. These days, the couple themselves play a large part (for which I am very thankful!)
Of course the temptation is to become anxious about what might go wrong - there are so many different elements which go into the day. The weather forecast for the day itself seem to be constantly changing as it drew near. It turned out to be a lovely warm, dry day, with lots of sunny intervals, and I am sure that some stunning photographs will have been taken at the beautiful reception venue.
The wedding day itself was absolutely wonderful – all our hope and prayers were fulfilled. The church service was excellently led by a friend of the family, Garry Dawson-Jones. I was so pleased that Steph and I had decided that my role was to be father-of-the bride, and not officiating minister, not least because I spent much of the service in tears! Matt and Steph make a fantastic couple, and they are clearly very much in love. It was a real privilege to share in this very special day.
The only real hiccup was that the wedding car went to the wrong address. We had images of having to walk to church! We eventually managed to contact the hire company, but it became clear that we were going to be quite late at church. One of our friends, who was attending the wedding, agreed to come and pick up the bridesmaids, which he duly did. By this time the wedding car had arrived, so Steph and I set off shortly after. My only slight disappointment with the day was that the mess-up with the car mean that I had less time alone with Steph than would normally have been the case. I think that father and daughter time can be very precious. At least we had the car journey together!
Reflecting on the day, I feel tremendously blessed to be part of such a great family and have such loving, supportive friends. I am also so blessed by having three wonderful children, and now two equally wonderful children-in-law. All I can do is thank God that he has been so gracious to me. I pray that Steph and Matt will continue to experience God's blessing on their married lives together. In the meantime we remain here in the dull, wet UK, as they fly off to sunny places!
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