BIG NEWS FROM THE MURFIN FAMILY
Maureen Murfin
Evan Buchanan
Last Thursday evening my youngest daughter, Maureen, called home to inform her mother and I that she and her beloved, Evan Buchanan were going to be married. No surprise there. We have all seen that coming as clearly as a locomotive headlight hurtling down the tracks on a moonless night. When, we asked. “Next week.”
Maureen, as always, had a perfectly well thought out explanation. “Weddings can take over your life and spin out of control. We are ready now and know we don’t have the money for a big production.” They wanted something nicer than a trip to the courthouse in torn jeans. Just family and a few close friends to celebrate with. “We can confine all the stress to one week and concentrate on what is most important-the marriage, not the wedding.” Smart girl.
Needless to say, the family flew into high gear to assemble a wedding. All hands on deck,. First the church, the preacher and the date. Rev. Dan Larsen and the Congregational Unitarian Church in Woodstock this Friday at 4 p.m. Of course this means their anniversary will be on Leap Year Day once every four years. Talk about simplifying!
Off to the Health Department for blood tests and the Court House for the license went Evan and Maureen bright and early the next day. Later Maureen and mom Kathy, attacked the critical issue of the dress. They researched on line and visited a few shops. Eventually, they found two, count them two, lovely white evening gowns-one to use as a wedding dress the second for a party/reception at a later date-deeply discounted and on sale. Total cost-about what I pay for a dress shirt. And Kathy found something nice, too. The next day Evan got a nice black suite off the rack at Kohl’s.
Rings. Maureen will use an antique (circa 1920) gold and diamond wedding ring mysteriously found among my mother’s possessions after she died. It was not hers-she had only a simple band-and we don’t think it was her mother’s either. Miraculously a friend had a brand new, unused man’s wedding band-long story. It was big, but could be re-sized at a jeweler.
Wedding party. Maureen and Evans closest friends, Erin Cline-Glazer and Tara Johnson will stand up. Erin will be Maureen’s Maid of Honor and Tara will be Evan’s Best Woman. Maureen’s sister Heather Pearson will be a bridesmaid and her husband Ken, a groomsman. Their daughter Caitlin will be the ring bearer. My grandson Nicholas Jordon Bailey will be the usher.
Vows. The Bride and Groom were a little taken aback after meeting with Dan Larsen. He told them that they were not only writing their vows, they were going to write and design the whole service. “It’s your day,” he told them. But they plunged right in, selected readings, chose recorded music for the processional and recessional, wrote their vows, and developed a “script” for Dan. Maureen asked me to say something when I “give her away.” She said she always thought it was odd that the father just handed his daughter over to the groom and slunk silently away. I promised to keep it brief and not turn into a blubbering mass.
Dinner. Evan’s parents, Len and Laurie Buchanan, who, after all were just as surprised as we were, graciously offered to sponsor the wedding dinner at the Village Squire in Crystal Lake. Evan worked hard and designed a menu for the dinner.
Flowers. Maureen and I, neither of whom knows a damn thing about flowers, managed to order a bouquet, boutonnières for the gents, and an alter piece for just over a hundred dollars. (Mothers of the bride and groom declined corsages.) While we were there we watched another young bride casually make a floral order that took up an enormous spread sheet and ran into the multiple thousands of dollars. Maureen’s choice looked smarter by the second.
Order of Service Program. I designed and set up a program for the wedding. I only had to change graphics once. I’ll have a few copies printed and insert a half-sheet with the readings. It made me feel useful.
And that’s it. Oh, I am sure there are some loose ends somewhere to snip. But in about four days we put together a wedding. We are now thinking about offering our collective expertise to FEMA, which can’t seem to figure out how to get anything done.
So that’s my excuse for not having posted to the Blog for the last few days.
Look for pictures soon.