They did not have to get married without me. Woo hoo! Knowing that my layover in Charlotte was tight, I did not check my bag for fear my wedding clothes would not arrive in Melbourne with me. I left Virginia with my wedding make-up done also in case there were delays. My paranoia was a good thing since I had to run from concourse C to concourse E in Charlotte just to find out the crew had a delay which meant a late departure from Charlotte. I ended up getting to the hotel 25 minutes before time to leave for wedding pictures.

The ceremony,  held at Lynne and Dawn’s church and officiated by their pastor, was perfect. Friends and family came from near and far: Lynne’s best friend from California, Dawn’s bestie  since kindergarten, fellow Floridians, the cousins as Cyd and I were referred to, and Dawn’s four sisters. Lynne and Dawn were so happy and looked beautiful. Lynne was wearing the strand of pearls her mom wore on her wedding day in 1945.

Beautiful music started things off. One of Dawn’s four sisters and I had the honor of lighting a candle representing the two families that were being joined by this marriage. Riley, their 16 year old son, walked down the isle between his moms. When it was time to incorporate the wedding rings into the ceremony, Riley came forward with a beautiful silver box and offered the rings. Hugs around when it was over and then it was off to the reception at a beach-side hotel. The food, music, champagne toast … everything was great.

Lynne picked Cyd and me up at our hotel on Saturday so we could have a quiet Woodruff cousins lunch. We had such a wonderful time and made so much noise laughing that the waiter said the drinks were on the house. It was like winning a prize for having a good time.

There was a casual pizza dinner at the hotel Saturday night and then we got organized for our flights home. Cyd and I were on our feet at 4:15 this morning to make our 6:25 flight; we flew together as far as Atlanta. There was rain in Florida and freezing rain in both Virginia and Arkansas, so we thought we might have a hard time getting home, but everything went great.