The Broadway Singing Priest

I think this sweet old priest answered the wrong calling! I nicknamed him Fr Sinatra because of his smooth velvet voice and sky blue eyes. As he performed the wedding, he would belt out one song or build another song into a foot-stomping-arm-waving-body-jumping crescendo. His voice would wrap around each wedding guest like a cashmere shawl and still give you goose bumps. As you exited the massive Mission doors, you felt like you had witnessed a civilized rock concert wedding.

In the beginning, the priest would welcome everyone and say:

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to witness the love of two very special people."

Then he would burst into song;

" They have a dream, a song to sing

To help them cope with anything

If you see the wonder of the fairy tale

You can take the future even if you feel

They believe in angels

Something good in everything they see"

(I Have A Dream lyrics by Abba)

After the official business of exchanging vows and rings, Fr Sinatra would continue,

"I would like to thank the bride and groom for all their hard work in preparing for this special day...after all..."

Singing softly at first;

"The dresses, the flowers, the makeup, the props

The guests that lift you when you're down

The headaches, the heartaches, the backaches, the flops

The groomsmen who escort you down

The beginning when your heart beats like a drum

The ending when the kissing part is so fun

There's no business like wedding business

Like no wedding I know."

(There's No Business Like Show Business lyrics by Rogers & Hammerstein) 

 At this point there are many blessings for the couple since everyone knows, new couples need a lot of prayer! Fr Sinatra would usually add,

"I just want to thank you both for asking me to witness your wedding day and remember me on your 50th Wedding Anniversary."

He would start to croon,

"Think of me

Think of me fondly

When we've said goodbye

Remember me every so often

Promise me you'll both try

On that day- that not so distant day

When you are far away and free

If you ever find a moment

Spare a thought for me."

(Think of Me from The Phantom of the Opera lyrics by Andrew Lloyd Weber)

For the grand finale there is a final prayer done by the priest;

"Now we have come to the conclusion of the wedding. May almighty Father bless you all with many happy years together, so that you may enjoy the rewards of a good life. After all..."

 He would then warble,

"Nothing you can make that can't be made

No one you can save that can't be saved

Nothing you can do, but you can learn to be you

It's easy

All you need is love

All you need is love

All you need is love, love

Love is all you need."

(All You Need is Love lyrics by Lynden Hall)

By the second "All you need is love," all the wedding guests arms are locked around each other, swaying to the music in their pews and belting out the chorus. For good luck, we sing three rounds of the chorus and light matches or hold up cigarette lighters as everyone processes out of the church...humming as they go!

Finding McDreamy

Everyone wants to find love...and then hold onto it with a kiss, hug or their fingernails! I don't know how I figured out the magic formula for me; whether it was all those Barbara Cartland books I read as a young girl hiding in my closet while the busyness of chores was in full swing at home; or imprinting the wonderful fantasy of Cinderella in my DNA; or actually listening to my gut instinct when it screamed, "LOSER MAN".

I think if you want to find your own McDreamy, you have to find yourself first. 

Growing up I was in love with love but I still had my dreams of completing college, travelling and having new adventures. I remember walking out my front door at the naive age of 18 while thinking I was the mature 35, telling my mother,

"I will never marry some hometown boy. They are sooo small minded and boring."

She just laughed.

God has a wonderful sense of humor and a way of humbling a person. Four years later, I was absolutely-stars-in-the-sky-in love and married the hometown boy after a brief courtship of eight months!

Finding McDreamy is whittling down what are the really important character traits you need in a mate. Never settle for less. There is a HUGE difference between the man or woman of your dreams to the number two choice. Dream big and don't put time limits on it...love has a way of finding a person when they are out there living their best life!

The Candy Wedding

It was a huge, laughing, chaotic Portuguese wedding. There were ten groomsmen, fourteen bridesmaids, eight junior groomsmen, six junior bridesmaids, eight little ring bearers and eight little flower girls. Only three people showed up at the rehearsal the night before! Yep, it was going to be a Tylenol day.

The first to arrive were the aunts bringing the pew flowers who yelled at their husbands to tie them around the pews with pink ribbon. Have you ever seen burly farmers tie pink ribbon? It's beautiful.

The cousins arrived with all the flower bouquets for the wedding party and yelled at their boyfriends to lift the containers out of the trunks of their cars and pass them out to everyone. Have you ever seen handsome men with six flower bouquets, purses, more pink ribbon and absolute fear etched on their faces? It's beautiful.

The mothers arrive with all the ring bearers and flower girls and since they were doing double duty as bridesmaids, yelled at their husbands to take care of the children and wobbled off in their high heeled shoes. Have you ever seen laid back fathers care about children wearing pristine white clothes? It's funny.

Soon, the children are bored and hungry. They have explored the wishing well, played leap frog on the grass and found six grass hoppers hidden under the bushes. They converge on the fathers and start mewling,

"I'm hungry."

Mothers would whip out the water, juice box and gold fishes in little plastic baggies in  half a breath from their bottomless black purses. Fathers scope out a candy machine. The fathers not only bought their little loved ones King sized Snicker bars, but it was all washed down with cans of Coke.

One Father tried for redemption and said,

"They (meaning the Moms) give them this stuff, right?"

The sugar hit in about five minutes and when we had to line up at the front doors of the Mission, we had a complete melt down of screaming, hysterical and sobbing children.

The mothers had the most confused, perplexed looks on their faces and kept apologizing for the behavior of their children. Over and over I could hear,

"I have never seen them like this!"

"Are there grass stains on their clothes?"

"They probably need a nap soon."

"Does Nathan have a bug in his hand?"

"They didn't do this at Mary's wedding."

"I'll give them some gold fishes when we get inside the church."

The fathers did not say one word. They had taken the Code of Silence. They were hoping they would not be asked for an explanation. I think I even saw one hiding behind one of the big stone pillars in the front of the church. Eventually, one of the bridesmaids (Mom) had to drop out of the bridesmaids lineup and herd all the children together down the aisle. At that point, there was not going to be any proper order, just a lot of pulling arms, legs and hair  in some slightly worn white clothes going down the aisle. It's funny and beautiful.

Three Camels, Two Sheep and a Very Tired Donkey

Weddings at Christmas time at the Old Mission can be kind of tricky. The young couple in love who want that Winter Wonderland wedding in a  church need to be aware of the following:

 Purple and pink will be the color scheme in candles, flowers, and cloth.

There will be four colossal candles sitting in the middle of the church that are wrapped in huge green garlands also known as an advent wreath. There will be fire involved with this too!

Extra people will be at the wedding: another couple named Mary and Joseph; their friends the shepherds, who invite their friends, the sheep; and a very tired donkey.

Royalty  will be at the wedding! They always are running late but the three Kings are worth the wait because they bring gifts; just not for the couple.

Extra tourists will "flock" to the church from all over the world. They want to see the Mission all dressed up for Christmas and a wedding would be a bonus!

Lovely  white lights hanging from chandeliers, balconies, statues, arbors, doors, windows, and anything that needs a little extra sparkle.

Wreaths of all shapes, sizes, color and ribbon are hung on doors, walls, statues, windows and places that were never discussed...those volunteer angels get very creative!

A river of red and white poinsettia's flow from the front doors of the church up to the altar area and around the extra guests (Mary, Joseph and extended family). It makes a person want to lay on top of those gentle petals and gaze up at the white stars painted on the blue ceiling of the church. 

Wearing a sleeveless wedding dress might be a problem but if you love having goose bumps all over your body, blue lips and shiver uncontrollably, you will be so happy!

Due to the "free" Christmas decorations inside the church, a couple could really splurge on the honeymoon with the money they saved in flowers.  How does a warm sandy beach in Hawaii wrapped in each other's arms with nothing on but an itsy bitsy bikini sound? Yummy!

All of this is simply magical.

Simply beautiful.

It's a wedding after all.

The Bride was Lit up with Love and Fire!

This wedding was OVER THE TOP! The bride had a $4000 wedding dress, the groom wore a Ralph Lauren custom suit and we had flowers and candles everywhere there was a blank square foot. With the $4000 wedding dress was a vintage cathedral length bridal veil that made all us women swoon over. It was gorgeous. Maybe even prettier than the dress! The bride had cousins, aunts, sisters and friends on wedding dress/bridal veil alert to make sure it did not get dirty, smudged or snagged on anything. It all had to be pristine as she walked down the aisle at the Mission. After navigating the Mission grounds for half an hour due to rocks, paver's, rose bushes, arbors, water fountains, birds and tourists; we carefully placed the bride in a holding pattern to go down the aisle with her entourage of cousins, aunts, sisters and friends holding up the dress and veil. 

Months and months before the wedding the bride discussed with me the romantic ambiance of her wedding and how she just "had to have as many candles that could be crammed (I added this extra word because it became so ridiculous) into the church" because this was her dream since she was a little girl. (You would not believe how many times I hear this in explaining why brides need a particular item if they can't come up with a logical reason.) I toned down the number of candles but there were still a ton and I was doing some heavy duty praying that the guests, bridal party and church would not burn down. 

It's the brides entrance music.

The bride is carefully assisted up the stairs to the grand opening of the Mission. The guests are all standing, the trumpets are blaring sweet music of the Wedding March and the bride's father takes his daughters arm with a trembling affectionate smile. The wedding dress of raw silk falls like rich cream off her shoulders and the veil softly whispers behind her as she walks into the perfumed air of roses and scented candles.

She makes it past 10 pews when a guest arriving late, opens the heavy wooden doors of the Mission and a gust of air blows in...

Whoosh!

The brides vintage bridal veil catches the draft and flame of the pew candle...the bride is on fire!

Due to the fragility of the veil, it burns fast and all of a sudden, the bride is tackled down by her father, groomsmen and wedding guests who try to put out the fire. The bride is now rolling around on the hard cement floor screaming, "GET OFF ME YOU MORONS!"

Needless to say, everyone quickly picked themselves off the bride, who remained laying down on the floor with eyes closed. We thought maybe she was knocked out of breath due to the pile-up but her eyes opened and better yet, the laughter came bubbling out and she just lay there and laughed. The groom had reached her side, kissed her and helped to pick her up. By then, everyone was laughing with relief and joy!

Of course we started over again the brides entrance after we blew out all the candles!