Fruitcake Wedding: The Final Preparations

We were still frantically trying to find someone to perform our ceremony. All of the rent-a-ministers who make their living performing beach ceremonies down the road were booked (we were getting married on a popular weekend).  All of the local judges were booked for the weekend.  All of the pastors and priests were either booked or wouldn't perform our ceremony because we weren't members of their particular church (I'm Episcopalian, Mr. Fruitcake is Methodist, and to date, we haven't found a church home for both of us.).

Enter The Universal Life Church.  It wasn't our first choice.  It wasn't even our LAST choice.  It wasn't on the radar screen.  But with now just over 24 hours to go before our wedding is supposed to take place, with more than 250 guests coming in from all over the country, something had to happen NOW.

And the more we thought about it, the more that this seemed like the perfect solution to our current problem.  Submit a person's information, and ten minutes later, print out a Certificate of Ordination permitting them to marry us in the State of Alabama.  (FYI, not all states recognize officiants ordained online.  Alabama, fortunately for us, does).

Lo and behold...Reverend Beau was born.  Beau, who looks like a stunt double for ZZ Top, was the perfect solution to our somewhat offbeat wedding.  (Props to The Offbeat Bride Tride for so many of the ideas that we used in our wedding, as well as the Bees and members at WeddingBee for the help with our script and for the idea of ULC).

Less than 24 hours to go, and the crisis of the ceremony was finished...but there was still so much to be done.  God bless Susan, Meg, Emily, Justin, Joe, Mom, Alisha, the Gibbs and everyone else who worked nearly around the clock that last 48 hours to get everything together.

This:

(What the main room in the Lodge looked like before we started decorating..)

Gave way to this:

...and suddenly, it was time for the rehearsal dinner.  And bless her heart, Susan stayed behind to finish the last minute decorations with my aunt.

And the next morning was showtime!