Wedding Tales by Lynn Lovegreen

Romance writers love weddings, of course. What’s not to like, with a romantic couple, loved ones gathered to see the event, lovely clothes and flowers and all that stuff? I’ve enjoyed all the weddings I’ve attended and the ones I’ve seen in books and movies. I’ve even written a couple weddings for my Gold Rush series. So it was hard to choose a topic for this month’s blog. I’ll share my favorite moments at some real weddings.

At my sister’s wedding reception, they had a jazz combo play standards and some more modern tunes. My grandparents flew up to Alaska from Ohio to attend. They loved music, and watching them sing along with an old tune together made me cherish them and hope for a lifelong love of my own. 

At my wedding, I entered on my father’s arm and looked down the aisle at my husband. His eyes met mine, and his adoring gaze was like something from a fairy tale. I knew without a doubt how much he loved me, and how much I loved him in return. (BTW, we have been married thirty-something years, so it stuck.)

At my daughter’s wedding, as my daughter and son-in-law spoke their vows, it was apparent how perfect they were for each other. That’s what brought the tears of happiness to my eyes. I was enchanted by the whole day’s activities.

I can guess what my mother might have felt at my wedding and her mother at hers, and so on. There’s a reason that weddings have been celebrated in so many cultures and over so many centuries. No matter who is in the wedding party or how humble the gathering, there is something about a wedding that brings out our love for each other. 

Wishing you all happy wedding memories!

Lynn Lovegreen has lived in Alaska for fifty years. After twenty years in the classroom, she retired to make more time for writing. She enjoys her friends and family, reading, and volunteering at her local library. Her young adult historical fiction is set in Alaska, a great place for drama, romance, and independent characters. See her website at www.lynnlovegreen.com. You can also find her on Facebook and Instagram.

Family Weddings-Ain't they fun...

The year that we were married was sort of unusual in our family. We had three weddings in one year.
Luckily we managed to schedule them a few months apart. My cousin Kevin's wedding was a nice, fun, loud Irish wedding. no problems, at least none that we knew of other than a few hangovers the next day.

Then came my family, my brother #4 of 5 got married but for some reason almost half the people invited didn't show. When asked, they said they thought it was a joke. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that he got married on April 1st and the RSVP was due on February 30th?

Then, there was our wedding, I am the only daughter and I think my father called in every favor owed him for the reception. We wanted a small wedding and I asked  him to help pay for it. Within a month he had a florist, caterer, and limo all lined up. The ceremony, performed by a justice of the peace who had done several mixed marriages, was short and simple. My husband is Jewish and I was raised Catholic. I was 29 almost 30 when we got married. I think at that time Dad was so glad I was getting married he didn't care where. The day of the wedding was gorgeous, everything went fine. The party went well. Until...

My uncle, father to the groom from the first wedding earlier that year, fortified by many bottles of beer decided he wanted to dance.  While he was  up there, he thought it would be fun to entertain everyone with a striptease. I was mortified. I grabbed his wife and my father and told them to stop him or I was leaving. Luckily they stopped him.

My father does know how to throw a party and it continued long after we left. It was only when we returned from our honeymoon that we found my brothers had tried one last trick. They called every hotel in the city of Boston looking for us. Everyone but the one we stayed in, thank god.  Family weddings, you gotta love them.