Last night my cousin Hans Klein married the lovely Megan Hewett, in a wedding held in the Hewett family's beautiful backyard and officiated by yours truly. The ceremony took in total six and a half minutes: I welcomed everyone and gave a short meditation on love, then we went through the vows, rings were exchanged (with one small hiccup when I forgot to tell Megan to give Hans his ring), and by the power vested in me, I pronounced them husband and wife. Afterward there was a wonderful dinner with five kinds of cake and lots of good time with family and friends. Hans and Megan are off for a two-week honeymoon in Europe before settling down to wedded bliss in Des Moines, Iowa. Congratulations and blessings to them!
On a deeply less life-changing note, frequent readers will note that the dress I am wearing is not the brown linen dress I purchased for the occasion two weeks ago; rather it's the black J. Crew dress I bought in January, with a little lace installed in the front to de-emphasize the ministerial cleavage. And it was a pleasure to be part of such a meaningful and beautiful event, and I'm cheerfully available for all future weddings, baptisms, and other ceremonies of importance.