Forsythia, toilet paper, and a little wild organ music

It's our 1st wedding anniversary! That is, today marks the anniversary of the famous Horn-Horn wedding in the Seabury Chapel last spring, one of the merrier moments in Play Church class and our seminary careers.

For those unfamiliar with Play Church, the class actually is called "Practicum in Liturgical Celebration," and allows students to practice celebrating at baptisms, weddings, funerals, and Sunday Eucharists. Each year, two students sign up to be bride and groom. Yes, we did. And our friends threw us a surprise wedding shower.

My maid of honor, L, created a lovely wedding veil made of fresh forsythia and an entire roll of toilet paper, which unrolled as I walked down the aisle. The processional music was the first minute of a rowdy Vierne organ piece, which many thought sounded like the opening music from Jaws.

When it came to repeating our vows, though, the ceremony felt absolutely serious, nothing like play at all, and showed once again how the powerful words of our liturgical celebrations mark life's occasions as sanctified by God.