Wedding on the Beach

Last Saturday I performed a wedding in a council park overlooking the Redcliffe beach. The day began with rain and fierce winds.

Half an hour before the ceremony began, guests started unfurlling their umbrellas, while looking anxiously at the marriage register table where the tablecloth was playing tug of war with the wind (and just winning).

I hadn't dared to put my marriage register on the table for fear of getting it wet. Instead, I had all my documents in my briefcase ready to whip them out as I needed them.

This is how things stood when the Bride arrived escorted by her two young sons and her father.

Well, somebody up there must have loved us because the sprinkling of rain ceased and even the wind dropped. (Or was it the great feeling of celebration among the guests that remained so high that we forgot the weather)

The genuine feeling of participation by the guests was great. Even better was the blending of sand ceremony involving the Groom, the Bride and the Bride's two sons. There were three containers of coloured sands, and each person took it in turn to pour in a little bit of sand, creating a pattern of  white, black and pink stripes.

While every guests watched with interest, it was wonderful to see how much enjoyment  the two boys derived from the ceremony.

After this joyful wedding, I don't think I'll ever worry about a wedding on the beach - whatever the weather!