The wedding was an impressive affair at the First Baptist Church of Leesburg, Florida, at two in the afternoon. My brother and I were honored to be ushers, junior participants in the ceremony. Which is to say we wore black bow ties and white shirts under our jackets and handed out programs, American Flag lapel pins, and managed the guest book until that caused a bottleneck in the foyer, and then dispensed with it until the reception in the gymnasium adjacent to the sanctuary.

The family had gathered from thirteen of these United States. The bride was radiant in an exquisite off-the-shoulder sheath of teal silk. The groom- his last day of active duty expires Monday night at midnight- was resplendent in the mess-dress of an Army Lieutenant Colonel. His son stood tall in the full dress uniform of a Gunnery Sergeant of Marines.

Very impressive. The ceremony itself was elegant and traditional, almost military in its crisp precision. A piper in traditional dress, military tunic, kilt, sporran and thick knee socks interspersed the musical selection with the wail of the bagpipes, and he handled his instrument with the rote of the manual of arms. My cousin’s son walked the bride down the aisle and gave her away, as her sister served as Maid of Honor, while the Gunny stood tall as best man with his little boy beside him on the raised platform by the altar.

From our vantage in the first row, reserved for family, the cousins thoroughly enjoyed the ceremony. The reception was delightful, and the day featured the bottomless blue sky of central Florida, the air warming in the mid-afternoon to a refreshing comfort.

It simply could not have gone better for the Colonel and his bride. What a magnificent start to this chapter of their lives.

Copyright 2016 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com
Twitter: @jayare303