Weddings and Marriage are many things, and this is one in the pantheon: reaching days where you drive one another to a colonoscopy. Wait, wait…bear with me, and yes, I have her permission to tell this tale and use this pic…but amidst the beautifully coiffed and exceptionally well staged wedding images in this day and age there needs be room for the equally as beautiful authentic days in marriage like, well, colonoscopy days. Please don’t mis-read me here, I love the sacred sp

If you want to write your own wedding vows… …follow these five suggestions so neither you nor your guests will regret your decision to do so. Let's face it, when couples stand at their altar and fumble through this portion of a wedding ceremony everyone is uncomfortable, and a little bit of forethought goes a long way. Don’t worry about memorizing. Even if you are a world class orator, its doubtful your partner is. The last thing you want during the wedding is one of you morp

Julie and Elisabeth got married. Just needs to be said. Beautiful women they are, with beautiful sons. A colorful marriage already. I stood with them at the altar, and pronounced them legally. Here. In Columbia. South Carolina. I’m a minister, ordained back in the Nineties, and suffice it to say, we have travelled a long way since then, and in the truest sense of proclaiming something as “good news,” which is part of the ancient calling of my vocation, I think this fits that

They don’t go to Sunday School. Nor church, hardly ever. Oh, at other times in their lives they have logged countless hours in both, I assure you. The stories and traditions and foundations of faith they are quite familiar with. They are raising good, smart, creative kids. The family business is successful. And for the purpose of this blog, it is duly noted, they have a very healthy marriage, which probably adds to the consternation of the ones who offer copious invitations t

By the time they are pronounced wed, most couples standing at the altar don’t really feel the bliss they have come to expect from the crescendoed moment. Mostly, they feel tired. And their feet are screaming for a “time out” from the shoes that feel like they came over on the Mayflower. Lets be honest, most weddings these days are heavily planned and managed occasions. This I like. The proliferation of wedding professionals entering the market place means the ceremony has mo

As days go, a wedding is one of the most pre-planned events on anyone’s calendar. As well it should, a wedding day has hopes and dreams attached to it that motivate it’s architects to plan and prepare while often reaching for that unattainable goal, “perfection.” But nobody is perfect. And no wedding is either. My favorite wedding coordinators are the ones who multiply their client’s joy while planning a splendid day, breathtaking in its beauty and efficient in its production

A few summers ago I was asked to perform a wedding. They were friends, the ones getting married, and of course my response was "yes." Having spent hours in intentional conversation about relationship, communication, theology and the common relational pitfals, the grand event was finally upon us. The dinner after the rehearsal was a vision of heaven. Food and drink were eclipsed in significance only by the sweet fellowship of family and friends who were as joyful for the fol