{"id":4917,"date":"2010-12-05T13:18:31","date_gmt":"2010-12-05T17:18:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.opticality.com\/blog\/?p=4917"},"modified":"2010-12-13T18:55:53","modified_gmt":"2010-12-13T22:55:53","slug":"jess-and-jesse-terry-wedding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/opticality.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/05\/jess-and-jesse-terry-wedding\/","title":{"rendered":"Jess and Jesse Terry Wedding"},"content":{"rendered":"

Yesterday\u2019s post<\/a> ended with: \u201cCongratulations to Jesse and Jess as your new life together begins in a few hours!\u201d<\/p>\n

This is the sequel to that post, sharing some memories from an absolutely gorgeous wedding ceremony that we were honored to be invited to.<\/p>\n

\"WeddingProgram\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Just like the night before, things weren\u2019t exactly hitch-less<\/em> as far as timing is concerned. This time, traffic wasn\u2019t to blame. Someone (I don\u2019t know who, so I\u2019m not just protecting the guilty party) \"Winking accidentally left the video camera in the hotel room. So, even though everyone was gathered, the ceremony was delayed until the camera was retrieved. We were sitting with three friends, so the time passed very quickly.<\/p>\n

The wedding and reception were held at Tomes-Higgins House<\/a> in Greenwich, CT. There was a grand piano in the corner (eventually played beautifully by Justin Coutu), but the majority of the music in the wedding came from an iPod, sitting in a speaker dock, sitting on top of that piano.<\/p>\n

\"JustinCoutu\"<\/a>\"iPodDock\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The first song played was Over the Sun We\u2019ll Fly, written by Jesse Terry<\/a> as his engagement\/proposal song for Jess (Jessica Groom). Here is a YouTube video of him singing it for her (and proposing in front of the audience!) at the Bluebird Caf\u00e9 in Nashville:<\/p>\n

\n
<\/embed><\/object><\/div>\n
Jesse Terry performing Over the Sun We\u2019ll Fly at the Bluebird Cafe<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

After that song, they played Moon River, while the wedding party came down the aisle. The flower girl and ring bearer stole the show (a few times).<\/p>\n

\"RingBearerAndPartialWeddingParty\"<\/a>\"FlowerGirlBeaming\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Officiating was the Reverend Andrew Williams<\/a> (Drew), Senior Pastor at Trinity Church in Greenwich, CT. In these Internet-crazed days, most people associate WWW with World Wide Web. Yesterday, it was Pastor Drew\u2019s: Wisdom, Warmth and Wit<\/strong>. All three were in full bloom and moved Lois and I throughout the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\"PastorAndrewWilliams\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I hesitate to share his first humorous statement, because I know it won\u2019t come across with the warmth<\/strong> that was obvious in context. When Jess and Jesse settled in before him, he said that their entire lives were destined to bring them together on this day. \u201cBoth families prayed for this to happen. Looking at Jess, clearly, Jesse\u2019s family prayed a bit harder.\u201d \"Winking<\/p>\n

\"JessTerry\"<\/a>\"GreetingTheBrideToBe\"<\/a><\/p>\n

There was a spontaneous roar and any worries that this would be a stiff<\/em> ceremony were dispelled immediately.<\/p>\n

The Pastor led us in prayer and song. Jesse\u2019s grandfather read from First Corinthians 13 and his mother read A Prayer of St. Francis.<\/p>\n

\"GrandfatherReadingFirstCorinthians13\"<\/a>\"MotherReadingAPrayerOfStFrancis\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The Pastor gave a number of inspirational talks and blessings. The one that overwhelmingly got to Lois was a message to the couple to go through life learning to dance together (poor paraphrase by me). He spoke about the various stages of learning to dance and the feelings people experience. He related them to his family (wife and kids) in a beautiful way, giving a more practical sense to a theoretical topic. The dance manual? The Bible, of course!<\/p>\n

\"PastorAndrewWilliamsWeddingMessage\"<\/a><\/p>\n

After the ceremony, Lois bolted straight to the Pastor and asked him whether he would be willing to give her a copy of his message so we could post it on the blog. He told her that he would email it to her. If\/when he does, I\u2019ll update the post and include it here.<\/p>\n

Update<\/strong>: The Pastor emailed Lois today! I include the wonderful Dance Instructions in their entirety, unedited, at the bottom of this post!<\/p>\n

I already mentioned the flower girl and ring bearer. The flower girl\u2019s enthusiasm was literally bursting at the seams. When the Pastor asked for the rings, the tiny ring bearer jumped up and announced: \u201cI have them!\u201d. The entire room started giggling.<\/p>\n

The Pastor was not the only one to crack a joke. Right after the ceremony concluded, our friend leaned over and said: \u201cNot every bride is also a groom!\u201d. If you don\u2019t get it, check back to see Jess\u2019 maiden name in the parens above. \"Smile\"<\/p>\n

When the ceremony was over, all of the chairs were removed from the two rooms and tables were rolled in as the food was brought out. It was very nice not to have to run from one location to another to shift from the ceremony to the reception. As the wedding party took photos, the rest of the guests started the other kind of party, celebrating the happy couple\u2019s nuptials.<\/p>\n

\"MerrryAndJennifer\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Jess and Jesse Terry are two of the nicest people you will ever meet. Sharing this joyous occasion with them and their loved ones was truly an honor. We wish them a life full of love and happiness and hope to share some of it with them along the way!<\/p>\n

\"JessAndJesseTerry\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"FirstOfficialKiss\"<\/a>\"Grandfather\"<\/a>\"JesseAndMichaelTerry\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"BestManJoshuaGroom\"<\/a>\"MumAndBrotherGroom\"<\/a>\"JessAndJesseTerryMarjoryLee\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Pastor Drew Williams’ Dance Instructions:<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Dancing Lessons<\/strong> <\/em><\/p>\n

As you stand at the threshold of your marriage, I believe that the Lord would have me give you some dancing lessons.<\/p>\n

Let me explain:<\/p>\n

Your marriage is God\u2019s gift to you both.<\/p>\n

Not happenstance.<\/p>\n

Not the outworking of a random series of events.<\/p>\n

Your marriage is God\u2019s gift to you both.<\/p>\n

God has chosen you and He has chosen you for each other.<\/p>\n

This gift is given in love and is part of God\u2019s plan to enable you both to be all The Lord created you to be.<\/p>\n

His desire for your marriage is that it should be a place where:<\/p>\n