The exact day...

Yesterday, at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Austin, I ministered a wedding.  The groom was born on the exact day of my wedding, November 26, 1988.  In a way, it made me feel old, but not in a bad way.

Of the 200+ weddings I've officiated, this groom was among the youngest, at age 23.  Most of my weddings are for couples around 30, on up to 50's and 60's.

It meant that Lundin and Jodie's parents and I were the same age.  But as later-in-life parents, my children are 15 and 13, so it'll be a good number of years until my girls walk down the aisle.  (And I like it that way!)  It was a little strange knowing that, since Jasmine is just a few days from being 16, she is only 7 years younger than the groom.  Seems to soon to me.

Age.  I can say that I feel comfortable with the age I am.  I don't wish I was younger, or older.  (However, in a few years I'll be getting those 55-and-over discounts at restaurants and theaters, which will be sweeeeeet...)

Today, I'm sitting with my family around the Christmas tree we just decorated, and I'm thankful for everything, including my years on this earth.

blessings,
John

Shawn & Lorraine Bradley's wedding

Hello gang,

Tonight I was glad to minister the Bradley wedding at Vintage Villas, on Eck Lane in Austin.   It was held outdoors at sunset, overlooking Lake Travis.  (Photo from the Vintage Villas web page.)

I have done some 50 weddings at Vintage Villas over the years.  A couple of months ago I stayed at their Bed & Breakfast hotel on the property, where I took this picture on the balcony with my iPhone:

Several of the wedding guests this evening asked me where I pastor a church.  Actually, my primary ministry is as a hospice chaplain with Odyssey Hospice in Austin.  It is good and rewarding ministry.  Yet having weddings to officiate occasionally is a nice, happy counterpart to the sometimes challenging hospice work that I do.

I also sometimes give guest sermons at Unity churches, and you can watch a video or listen to an audio at one of these sites.  Just scroll down to see me in a screen shot, or look for my name in their list of past services.

http://www.downtownunity.org/videopage.html

http://www.unitycenteraustin.org/   (here you can find my sermons under #16 "Divine Complements", or #21 "Who are You?")

blessings,

John

Unity Candle, or Unity Sand for your wedding?

Today I want to tell you about the Unity Candle and the Unity Sand ceremonies as possible parts of your wedding.  These ceremonies provide a beautiful visual symbol of the joining of the couple's lives together.

For the Unity Candle, the Bride and Groom's mothers will each light a taper candle at the front of the venue, when they are walked down the aisle.  These two candles frame a central candle.  During the ceremony, I announce that, "The couple will now light the Unity Candle, symbolizing the joining of their lives and families together."  Then the Bride and Groom each take their candle and light the central, Unity candle.  Often they will then each blow out their candle, so the focus goes to the light on the Unity candle.

For any outdoor wedding, I recommend doing the Unity Sand ceremony.  Because even in the middle of a still, hot summer day in Texas, there is often a tiny breeze the will blow the candles out.  With Unity Sand, instead of the taper candles, there are tall cylindrical glass tube vases that contain sand -- one color for the Bride and a different color for the Groom.  During the Unity San ceremony, the couple pour the sand from their small vases into a larger central vase.  The sand mixes together, creating a design that is unique to the couple.  The central Unity vase can be kept on the couple's mantle as a memento of the wedding.

Supplies for these ceremonies can be had a stores like Michael's, or can be ordered online.

USEFUL TIP: The Unity ceremony of either type only takes 30 seconds to a minute, so you might want to pick music to be played during it that can be turned down whenever the ritual is finished.  Some couples have chosen, say, a four minute song to play during the ritual, and they've felt a bit awkward when so much song was left to play, and they were just standing there.

On the other hand, you should have the ceremony that you want, no matter how long it takes.

blessings to you,
John
John@ReverendConnor.com

Dogs in the wedding, continued...

Okay, so the dogs did a great job as Flower Girl and Ring Bearer last Saturday.  The Flower Girl had a wreath of roses around her neck, and of course the Ring Bearer had the little pillow with the rings on it around his neck.  The Ring Bearer was a pit bull, I think, and the other dog a mix of a couple of breeds.

With the exception of a brief whine, they were both quiet and well-behaved during the ceremony, albeit with a bit of bouncing around on their adolescent leash-holders, which made the bride laugh.
The wedding was at One World Theatre, but actually held outside on the patio, and the theatre itself was used as the reception venue.

Most importantly -- congratulations on your new married life together, Mr. and Mrs. Brett and Shae Vaughn!

You can check out the location here: http://www.oneworldtheatre.org/home.html

And since I mentioned Vintage Villas in an earlier post, you can check that out here:
http://www.vintagevillas.com/

blessings,
John