Chapter 10
The next morning Destiny, Reagan, Kinley and Juliet got their hair and nails done for the wedding. Destiny was a little nervous, but more so excited than anything else. After leaving the salon, they headed straight to the church to start getting dressed. Once everyone had arrived, Reagan helped Destiny with her makeup, Juliet and Kinley placed the veil in her hair and secured it with bobby pins.
"You look like a princess." Juliet told her daughter once she was completely dressed.
"Thank you mom." Destiny stated. "Where's Trinity?"
"She is outside with your dad and brothers, why?" Juliet asked.
"She needs to come get her basket of flowers. Afterall she is the flower girl. And Ryan needs to be ready to walk with her as he is the ring barer." Destiny answered.
"I'll go get them." Kinley stated.
"Honey, relax. Everything will be just perfect. Now I need to go get your dad as it is almost time for the ceremony to start." Juliet responded as she headed out to find John.
Once all the guests were seated and Bryan with his best man and grooms men were at the alter it was time for the bridal party to get in order. The brides maids and Matron of honor were the first ones to walk out followed by Trinity and Ryan. The double doors closed and John and Destiny took their positions.
"Are you ready?" John asked.
"I am daddy. I love you." Destiny stated.
"I love you too, honey." John responed as Destiny took his arm to walk down the asile to Bryan.
"God of Love, who gives us the longing for, and capability of loving, we give you thanks for Bryan and Destiny, for their open hearts and willing spirits, and for the example of love that they embody here in our presence. Be with them on this joyous occasion of showing their love and making their vows; and be with us, their witnesses, that we may all be changed by what is said and witnessed here." Bryan's brother Andrew stated.
"Friends, we have been invited here today to share with Bryan and Destiny a most important moment in their lives. In the time they have been together their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured. Now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife." The pastor stated.
Everyone took that moment to sit down for the rest of the ceremony.
"We have been invited to hear Bryan and Destiny as they promise to face the future together, accepting whatever may lie ahead. For the world that God has created for them, with its beauty and grace that is all around, with the strength that it offers and the peace that it brings, makes them truly grateful. Bryan and Destiny, nothing is easier than saying words and nothing harder than living them day after day. What you promise today must be renewed and redecided tomorrow. At the end of this ceremony le-gally you will be man and wife, but you still must decide each day that stretches out before you, that you want to be married." The pastor stated. "Real love is something beyond the warmth and glow, the excitement and romance of being deeply in love. It is caring as much about the welfare and happiness of your marriage partner as about your own. But real love is not total absorption in each other; it is looking outward in the same direction -together. Love makes burdens lighter, because you divide them. It make joys more intense because you share them. It makes you stronger so you can reach out and become involved with life in ways you dared not risk alone."
At that time both sets of parents stood up for their part in the ceremony.
"Who brings Destiny to stand beside Bryan?" The pastor asked.
"We do." John and Juliet answered.
"Parents, are you willing, now and always to support and strengthen this marriage by upholding both Bryan and Destiny with your love and concern?" The pastor asked.
"We are." both sets of parents answered.
"Then you, you may be seated." The pastor stated.
A song that Destiny and Bryan had picked out played before it was time for them to say their vows.
"Bryan, will you take Destiny to be your wife? Will you love and respect her? Will you be honest with her always? Will you stand by her through whatever may come? Will you make what-ever adjustments are necessary so that you can genuinely share your life with her?" The pastor asked.
"I will." Bryan answered.
"Destiny, will you take Bryan to be your husband? Will you be honest with him always? Will you stand by him through whatever may come? Will you make whatever adjustments are neces-sary so that you can genuinely share your life with him?" The pastor asked.
"I will." Destiny answered.
At that time the pastor asks for Ryan to come forward with the rings.
"Bryan, what token do you give of the vows you have made?" The pastor asked.
"A ring. Destiny, come health, happiness, and prosperity, I will stand with you; come illness, trouble, or poverty, I will stand with you. Take this ring as a sign of my love and commitment." Bryan stated.
" Destiny, what token do you give of the vows you have made?" The pastor asked.
"A ring. Bryan, come health, happiness, and prosperity, I will stand with you; come illness, trouble, or poverty, I will stand with you. Take this ring as a sign of my love and commitment." Destiny stated.
"Bryan and Destiny ,we have heard you promise to share your lives in marriage. We recognize and respect the covenant you have made. It is not a minister standing before you that makes your mar-riage real, but the honest and sincerity of what you have said and done here before your friends and relatives in the sight of God." The pastor stated. "Forasmuch as Bryan and Destiny have consented together in holy wedlock, and have witnessed the same before God and this company, by the authority committed unto me as a Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I declare that Bryan and Destiny are now husband and wife, according to the ordinance of God and the law of the State of Florida: in the name of the Father, and the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Whom therefore God hath joined together, let no man put assunder. Bryan, you may now kiss your bride."
Bryan and Destiny shared their first kiss has husband and wife in front of their friends and family.
"Now the ceremony is over and the experience of living day by day as married people is about to begin. Go forth to meet it, gladly, love life so it will love you. May blessings of God be with you." The pastor stated. "I now present to you Mr. and Mrs. Bryan Browning."
Everyone clapped and cheered as the newly weds made their way up the aisle. After pictures at the church were done being taken, Bryan and Destiny rode to their reception in a limo. Upon arriving at the reception hall, Bryan and Destiny were introduced into the room by Bryan's brother Andrew. Everyone clapped and greeted the couple as they made their way to their table. Once they were seated, it was time for the toasts, starting with Bryan's best man and brother, Andrew.
"Bryan's loyalty is a beautiful thing. Today, I just want to say thanks, man – for all the times you've dug me out of holes of my own making, believed in my crazy schemes and defended me even when I've behaved like an idiot. And, of course, for making me your best man when clearly chaos follows me everywhere! I know without a doubt that you show that very same loyalty to Destiny – and that you receive it back ten-fold. Whatever life throws at you guys, you'll approach it as one and that will be your strength. To Bryan and Destiny!" Andrew toasted.
"Here, here." Everyone responded.
"I guess it's my turn." John stated as he got up to the mic." Ladies and gentlemen, family and friends, good evening. First of all let me welcome all the guests and say thank you to all of you for being with us today and making the atmosphere of the wedding party so warm and cozy. We are happy to share this special occassion with family members and relatives from both sides. Especially welcome are those who traveled a long way to come here. To confess, throughout the day I have been looking at my daughter in the wedding gown, so beautiful, solemn and brimming with happiness - like a tender white lilac on a spring morning - and I still couldn't believe my eyes. It seems to me that just an instant ago my future wife and I were standing at this altar and sealing our marriage with a kiss and now the finest outcome of our marriage, our daughter, that cute blue-eyed tot, has grown up and said two simple words "I do" to create her own family. During today's wedding ceremony I recalled a thousand little details about her. Many of us know Destiny as a faithful friend, a niece, a sister, a mommy, and a granddaughter. For me, ladies and gentlemen, she was and is and will be a little girl with funny plaits and surprised blue eyes, as big as a plate. I remember the day when she was born: a bright morning with red tulips blossoming at the flower-beds by the maternity hospital; it was one of the happiest days of my newly-baked father's life. I remember her first school days, when she filled her exercise-books with fancy hieroglyphs instead of letters. Well, when her plaits and surprised glance are gone, at least one thing hasn't changed: her handwriting, which I still can't decode. I recall her drowsing on my lap, while I read her the fairy-tales about charmed princesses. Today she looks like a fairy princess, and I believe she has at last found her prince and they will live happily ever after for true marriage means that you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody - and you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible. I am very happy for Destiny and Bryan, and I am sure they are a perfect match, for they fit each other as two pieces of a puzzle that God must have scattered on the Earth in the ancient times. Dear Destiny and dear Bryan, I won't bore you with lengthy pieces of paternal advice regarding marriage and life together - this world is entirely yours, and it is only you two who will determine its rules. I am sure that you will build a reliable family hearth, a cozy nook where you will feel at your ease and which will give you strength to withstand the storms and challenges of life. On this way, let me only wish you tolerance and love. As one wise man once said, "a successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person". Finally, I will share with you a quotation that guided me through my marriage - not a single day of these 20 years I regret. It is taken from the Bible and says that "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails". Let me propose a toast to the bride and the groom, and let us stand up and clink glasses for love in the family of Destiny and Byan."
"Here, here." Everyone stated.