Last weekend, I had the amazing privilege of helping officiate my Dad’s wedding. And I’ll be honest, that first sentence was never a sentence I expected to write, but that is where we are.

You see, when my Mom passed away over 4 years ago, I think we all wondered (and hoped) that Dad might eventually meet someone. He was/is a very young man with many years left in front of him. We certainly thought it could happen. So when he began dating Suzanne (his future wife) about 3 years ago, I believe we all wondered if this would be a good thing.

Now watching a parent (especially one who was married for over 40 years) date someone different brings about very different feelings and emotions for sure. But I think our family did a beautiful job of welcoming Suzanne into our family and allowing her to get to know us.

And after dating for a good 3 years, my Dad and Suzanne finally got to their wedding weekend. And friends, what a beautiful weekend it was!

Friday evening, all of the Whittaker clan gathered with Suzanne’s family for a rehearsal and rehearsal dinner. It was such a wonderful time getting to meet all of Suzanne’s family, including her two sons, who believe it or not, I still hadn’t met yet.

On Saturday, Rachel and I spent some time driving around Enterprise. It’s been quite a while since I’ve just explored my hometown. A lot has changed and yet so much has stayed the same. We were able to get by my grandparent’s old home and stop off to see my mom’s and grandparents’ graves.

Around noon, my side of the family gathered with my Dad for a little time together. My sister-in-law Deanna captured a beautiful picture of the 5 of us Whittakers gathered around our old kitchen table. I love this picture of us sitting down the same way we would when we were kids. And honestly, it’s probably the last time we will gather in this house around this table. Obviously, there were quite a few emotions…

Later that afternoon, we made our way over to Enterprise First United Methodist Church (my childhood church) for the wedding ceremony. Now I was responsible for several parts of the service. I was playing guitar/singing one song and then leading a good portion of the actual ceremony. To say I was a little anxious would be an understatement.

 

I thought the service was absolutely wonderful and involved all of us kids. My brother Will played piano, sang and helped lead the ceremony, my sister Julie read scripture and was one of the bridesmaids, and my older brother Warren was best man (and “eye candy”). It was one of the sweetest ceremonies I’ve ever been to.

After the wedding, we headed down to Southern Broadway for the reception. We got to see so many family friends. People who practically raised me. It was such a meaningful time together celebrating Dad and Suzanne.

Sunday morning, we met up at the Enterprise Country Club for brunch with both sides of the family and one last time together. After brunch, Rachel and I made our way back up to Atlanta.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend celebrating Dad and Suzanne. We are all so happy for them and hope it will be years of blessings for the happy couple!

Check out my brother Will’s perspective of the wedding here…