Soggy Wedding

I think it is only appropriate that it rained on our wedding day. It was beautiful weather all week (a little bit of rain in the mornings and gorgeous in the evenings) and then Friday came around.  It threatened storms but held off for a while. My mother was giving explicit instructions to everyone around not to tell me about the downpour that was happening while I got my hair and makeup done.

But eventually I walked outside to brush my teeth (in the spirit of a Honduras trip), and all I could do was smile at the drizzle.  My bridesmaids, knowing I can be a bit dramatic and waiting for me to full-on rage, kept delicately asking, "are you okay? How are you doing?"  But honestly I didn't care at all that it was raining.  (To be honest, I wanted the rain to stop only so we could have pictures taken outside with the gorgeous mountains.)

Photos by McKenzie Canaday

All that mattered to me that day, and that entire week, was that on Friday night around 5:30pm I would be married to my best friend.  No amount of rain could dampen my mood because I was the giddiest girl in the entire world.

As we got ready for the grand reveal of my dress, the rain stopped, the sun shone beautifully, and we were able to walk down to the field and barn to take pictures with our entourage.

Photo by McKenzie Canaday

We took photos with our entire family and a lot of friends as guests began to arrive with umbrellas.  I said a silent prayer, hoping the rain would hold off until after the ceremony and I had a feeling we would be okay.

The music started. My dad took my arm. I saw Daniel's smile. We walked down the aisle.

And the heavens opened up.

Our pastor looked over at me as he began the welcome, silently asking, "are we staying here or moving inside?"  I shrugged and said, "we can stay here for now."  Then it down poured.

So we crammed everything inside the barn and tried to dry off as the groomsmen and musicians brought the speakers inside.  I felt as if everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to get emotional about the rain (or maybe I'm just that vain thinking everyone was looking at me).  All I could do was smile.  Still, even as I shivered inside the dark barn, nothing could bring my spirits down.

Everything else went off without a hitch. The rain made things more fun- people laughed and gathered closer to one another, and we chuckled about who had umbrellas and who didn't.  Pastor Gary made jokes about baptism and made some verses up about rain on your wedding day. The whole thing was a blast. I barely remember the ceremony besides the vows and me staring at Daniel through all of the prayers as tears rolled steadily down both my cheeks. (And in case you really want to listen to my voice crack again as I giggle and sob, here's the video.)

Later that night I was commended for "handling everything with such grace."  I couldn't help but think that it was not me with the grace on this day, but God whose grace so overflowed that even the heavens couldn't contain it.  Everything was wonderful. Everything was perfect.  Everything was a little bit soggy (from the rain and the tears).

So I can't help but find the humor in our wedding day as we prepare for our first year of marriage in a city of monsoons.  We started it all off being rained on, and I suspect it won't let up any time soon. But I'm perfectly happy dancing in the rain.