Leah met me at my apartment on Friday morning (both of us took the day off) and we took my car to Ian’s place. We weren’t there long before we caravanned to Ian’s ward building to prepare for the reception. After setting up the tables and about a dozen chairs, I noticed that the floor of the cultural hall was in need of vacuuming, so I volunteered myself for the task. While I vacuumed, Ian, Sherlin, Isaac, Falisha, and Leah worked on more intricate preparations like setting up the microphone and putting tablecloths on the tables. A lot of the decorations were customized by Sherlin and her friends, like the table banner with handwritten letters or the custom, machine-cut candle holders, making everything feel all the more unique.
Preparations
In the evening, when we were supposed to be practicing at the chapel at Fort Meade, we stood around in the brisk air just outside. Due to a lack of communication and a severe case of absent-mindedness, the caretaker of the chapel key had failed to unlock the building for us. There was a lot of discussion over how long we should wait, but eventually it was decided that we would practice in the hall of the nearby commissary. We got plenty of odd looks as we lined up and practiced our entrances, but it helped us work out a few kinks, so I think it was worth it. After a few times through, we were done. Ian invited us back to his place for pizza, which I took him up on.
Since tradition dictates that the groom should not see his bride before she walks down the aisle, Ian stayed at my apartment, along with Isaac and Henry. I was very tired after all of the setting up we did, so I asked Ian to drive for me. Isaac rode shotgun, which put Leah and me in the backseat. It was a bit strange sitting in the back of my car for the first time, but it was nice to relax.
The following morning, after all of the Larsen men were dressed in our wedding finery, we drove back down to Ian’s ward building for a final bit of preparation. After the fiasco of not being able to get into the chapel on base, Ian planned ahead and got permission from his bishop to have the wedding ceremony there, just in case. He made sure that very few people even knew about the backup plan, but those who did were sworn to secrecy—he didn’t want to stress out Sherlin who had plenty of things on her plate already. Thankfully, the building was unlocked and we were able to proceed as planned.
Time to start!
The ceremony itself was lovely. While the words of the chaplain were nice, I really liked the individual vows that Ian and Sherlin wrote: they both included each other’s kids in their vows, promising their love to them as well. I looked over at the bridesmaids from my spot at the front of the line of groomsmen a few times and saw that all of them were tearing up. Needless to say, it was beautiful to see these two people dedicate themselves to each other.
Since I was in the bridal party, I don't have any pictures of the actual ceremony,
so here's one of the chaplain signing the marriage certificate.
After the wedding, the reception began. Most of the food had been prepared by Sherlin and it was delicious, as always. The cake was great too, despite the center tier (which I made) not being as structurally sound as hoped—still, it held up long enough to be cut, which is what really matters.
So much good food!
Iris gave her maid of honor speech, which was beautifully prepared. Then the groomsmen got up to deliver ours. Ian had decided that he wanted to have us play an improv game for our speech and had given us our instructions a few weeks prior: we would all stand in a line and say a single word each in succession, until we had each said six words (for a total of thirty-six words). When he gave us our assignment (via email), I immediately responded that he was being ridiculous. I had decided that I would just be as silly as possible and say “dinosaur” or “laser” at some point, but one of the more practical groomsmen just wrote a speech for us to use. Even though it defied Ian’s instructions to be spontaneous with our speech, I was happy to have something prepared. Another groomsman suggested that we just write our words on our hands and blatantly read them when we delivered the speech, which we did. Even so, we had to practice it a few times before the reception started, but it all worked out and I think that Ian appreciated the effort we made, even if didn’t follow all of his instructions.
A lovely speech by a lovely lady.
Margot and Bryan sang a song that Sherlin had specifically chosen for the day. They did a wonderful job and sang the song beautifully. Then Sherlin and Ian shared their first dance.
After I posted this picture to Facebook, Ian adopted it as his new profile picture. I guess that means he liked it!
Leah got involved, too. On the way to the ward building, she picked up washable markers to write on the windows of Ian's truck. She got Iris, Falisha, Margot, and Jen (Sherlin’s best friend) to help her with the decorating and I think it was a nice bonding experience for them all. I then worked to keep Ian away from his truck until they left for the evening. I’m sure Ian thought I was being very nice running out to his truck for things a few times, but I was mostly just keeping him inside. As for how the surprise went over, I can’t say. When it was time for the big reveal, I was busy wrangling my several nieces and nephews. Still, I suspect that they enjoyed it.
Sometimes wrangling kids is adorable.
One important activity that happens at every wedding is the bouquet toss. Sherlin was very inclusive and invited all the women in the room to participate, regardless of marital status. Even with the big crowd, Leah caught the bouquet. Does that mean anything? We’ll have to wait and see.
She shoots!
And it's good!
I’m so happy for my brother and new sister-in-law. Marriage is tough and with them each coming from a failed one, it would be easy to swear off marriage entirely. But they knew what they wanted in a spouse and found it in each other. I wish them the best and look forward to many happy times with them and their children.
Congratulations, Ian and Sherlin!
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