All You Need is Love

Things are winding down in California. Most of the people who flew in for the wedding have left already. We’re hitting the road ourselves in another hour or two. Late last night as I crawled into bed, dead tired, I thought about how impossibly crammed the last four days have been. Our wedding trip has been an unqualified success, except for getting stuck in the elevator, the bomb scare at the Long Beach Airport that delayed Bill Mitchell, Nick picking up the wrong carry-on and leaving his carry-on bag in the backseat of a car in Chicago, the searing 100+ temperature at the outdoor rehearsal dinner, Mark forgotting to tell Dave McKee he was going to share something at the wedding after he and Bri read Scripture (Vanessa had told Bri) together but it didn’t matter because Dave is a natural orator, the wedding folders that somehow weren’t handed out so a lot of people didn’t have the words to “In Christ Alone,” the electrical overload that blew out the circuits and nearly caused a fire at the reception, the tux for Dave that was several sizes too large, the written directions to Vanessa’s home that said go south on Highway 99 when they should have said go north, some grouchy neighbor calling the sheriff to say that the reception was too loud, the coat to Mark’s tux that disappeared yesterday, plus his passport which he left but then found, and the marriage license that was signed with my name but given the address of the Greek Orthodox Church in Modesto. And it all truly was a grand success. If there weren’t any little glitches, we would have nothing to talk about ten years from now.

All in all, it’s been amazing how well everything has gone. At this very moment–I mean right now–Marlene showed me a gift bag prepared for everyone staying at the hotel. Somehow I missed seeing it. It has a note from Mark and Vanessa (“Welcome to Our Wedding. We can’t believe that it’s already here.”) plus a wedding schedule, phone numbers, favorite places to eat, including the fantastic In N Out Burger. Somehow I had missed that in all my travels. All weekend long I heard people raving about how good In N Out burgers were. So last night, after everything was over, and the final few still at the hotel were sitting around chatting, at about 9:30 PM, Josh and Leah decided to make a run to In N Out Burger. My niece Lori Albright said, “You need to order your cheeseburger ’Double Animal.’” It’s not even on the menu. It’s sort of a secret code. You say, “Double Animal,” and they add Thousand Island dressing plus pickles. The resulting hamburger was so huge I could barely pick it up. And the fries were almost as good as Parky’s.

The wedding decoration colors were pink and brown, and the theme was “All You Need is Love,” which somehow seems to fit Mark and Vanessa perfectly. After the honeymoon they plan to move to Sacramento where they don’t have an apartment or jobs yet, but no worries, everything will work out one way or another. Mark seemed cool, calm and collected all weekend long, and Vanessa hugged everyone, laughed and chatted and made us all feel very welcome. And her family made us feel right at home.

Late last night, after the In N Out Burger, I got a message on my phone from Alan. He and Andy and Betty and the girls spent the night in San Francisco. They got a call from Mark who said, “We’re at a hotel near the airport.” (They fly out to their honeymoon this morning.) So Mark and Vanessa ate supper last night with Alan and Andy and Betty and girls. Sounds like it was a crazy time with tons of family stories and lots of laughter.

People started scattering as soon as the reception ended. Mark’s friend from Moody, Ryan Kaney, is in State Trooper school in Illinois. He got up early on Saturday in Chicago, flew to San Jose, arrived a couple of hours before the wedding, stood up for Mark as a groomsman, attended the reception, drove back to San Jose, spent the night in the airport, and flew back to Chicago at 5 AM on Sunday. Ryan and Megan Gillespie left after the reception. Andy and Betty left yesterday morning, Alan left right after the Greek ceremony in Modesto, and Tim and Elsa and Christina and Dave McKee (who were at Josh’s wedding in Vermont last year and Mark’s in California this year) left after the dinner yesterday for a few days of vacation near Yosemite National Park (about 90 minutes east of here).

Dale and Sarah Wolery drive back to Los Angeles today along with Brian and Lori Albright. Mark and Ruth Wolery fly back to Nashville this afternoon.

And then there is Tolee Chang. Tolee has been a friend for 18 years. He came to the church in Oak Park the same year as our family. Back then he was a high school student. After graduating from Michigan State University, he moved back to Chicago and served as a youth leader for all three of our sons. My boys and Tolee are tight friends. He spent many hours with them in our home in Oak Park plus he’s been to the cabin in Mississippi so he’s like a member of our family. Tolee celebrated his 35th birthday on Saturday–Mark and Vanessa’s wedding day. But his greatest claim to fame this weekend is this. On Friday he flew from Chicago to San Jose. Because Nick was the best man for John Mark Edwards at his wedding to Rachel Glancy on Friday night in Oak Park, he had to catch the 10:20 PM redeye from Chicago to San Francisco, arriving at 12:30 AM. That meant Nick wouldn’t get to the hotel in Merced until 3:30 AM. Tolee volunteered to pick him up along with Dave and Christina McKee. The plane was delayed and didn’t arrive until 2 AM. Tolee and Dave and Christina didn’t arrive at the San Fran airport until almost 3 AM. So they got back to the motel at 5:30 AM on Saturday. And two hours later Nick got up and joined us for the shooting expedition at the Rooster Ranch. Ah, the strength of youth.

Anyway, last night, sitting around the hotel lobby savoring a wonderful, magical weekend, having attended every event we could attend, with most people already gone, Tolee pointed out that it had been a long time since I had mentioned him on the weblog, and didn’t I think I should give him a shout out? Well, yes, it’s long overdue that I should give Tolee a shout out. He performed a Herculean feat by basically staying up all night to get Nick to the hotel safely.

So our second wedding is all done. It’s in the books, the pictures have been taken, the decorations have been packed, most people are on their way to work this morning, and we’re about to leave ourselves. Mark and Vanessa are starting their honeymoon. Last night Mark Wolery said definitively, “Mark’s gonna be fine.” And he is. I told him during the wedding ceremony that “he who finds a wife finds a good thing” (Proverbs 18:22). He has found a gift from God in Vanessa. Marlene is busily packing our suitcases so our time here in Merced is rapidly coming to a close. We got them married and we’re all still smiling. It’s been fun and now it’s time to leave. Uncle Mark is right. “Mark’s gonna be fine.” He married a wonderful girl and they are off to a good start. What more could you ask for?

All you need is love.