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29 February 2008
The luncheon ended without a glitch. When everyone was finished, we all left and went out for the day’s next activity: photos. Our sealing didn’t end quite so glitchlessly. Unlike marriage ceremonies in other churches, exchanging rings is not a formal part of a Mormon temple wedding. We did, however, plan to exchange rings in the sealing room immediately after the ordinance, per the Church’s guidelines. To make sure the rings were ready, Dustin had given them to Matthew B. before arriving at the temple.
At the end of the sealing, we stood at the door of the sealing room and bid goodbye (in a manner of speaking; we were, after all, going to see everyone immediately afterwards at the luncheon) to all who had attended—Dustin’s mother and stepfather, Tania and Randy; Sam and MaryAnn; Scott and Michelle; Rebecca; Matt H.; and Dale. And Matthew B., who, of course, had our rings. So, a moment later, we asked Brother Perkins, the sealer, “What about the rings?” He called everyone back—they were all already down at the end of the hall—and we thought, We don’t really need everyone to watch this; we just want to exchange the rings! But it got the job done, and we were duly married, with the evidence on our left hands to prove it.
After the luncheon, we went out to a traffic island on Broadway to take some large group photos with the temple as the backdrop. We then walked east on West 65th Street and a little north on Central Park West to take photos in Central Park. The long procession of our family and friends was quite a sight. All along the way, we got looks from passersby and even a few comments. Some people offered their congratulations, while others called out, “Don’t do it!” To which we replied, “Too late!”
Dialann 