The Wedding of Paula and Scott, July 29, 2011 --- Arch of Swords

Here it is one week since my son's wedding and I've posted only one photo! Shame on me! Actually, after getting back home on Saturday I was so tired I slept most of Sunday. Then on Monday I popped something in my lower back and couldn't move without assistance for two days. Sitting at the computer was out of the question. Since then my back is getting better, but still uncomfortable.  At least I finally loaded and edited the photos I did take last week.

Most of the photos I took were at the reception, leaving the wedding pictures to Rebeca Peters of Kansas City. She is a fantastic photographer and I can't wait to see all the wedding party and family photos. Since Scott and Paula are still on their honeymoon we have gotten only a sneak peek at Rebecca's work. But I did get some very nice shots of the Wedding Arch of Swords. This military ceremony, steeped in tradition is sure to bring tears, cheers, and a giggle or two. Scott's swordsmen are officers he has worked with during his career.  They also served as ushers for the families and friends attending the wedding.

Here are some of the stills of the ceremony:

This is at the third pair of swords, but at each of the first two the swords were lowered and the command called out "The price of passage is one kiss!" to which Scott and Paula shared a quick kiss.

At the third pair the same command was called out, but one quick kiss wasn't enough. The command "A REAL kiss!" was called out, to which Scott and Paula complied with a kiss more, um, interactive than the one pictured above!

If the swordsmen were supposed to remain stone-faced during this, they certainly didn't at this point!

The tradition of the Arch of Swords is to symbolize safe passage for the couple into their new life together.

But the best part of the ceremony was when the swordsman, in this case Captain Studeman on the left, gently whacked the bride on the behind with his sword and said "Welcome to the Navy, Mrs. Moseman!"  I didn't catch the actual sword-whacking, but love her expression as they passed through.  My brother took a video with his phone and is trying to figure out how to get it into the computer. I'm looking forward to the replays!

I'll have more photos of the reception over the next few days, but will probably put those on one of my other blogs.  I want to get back to making some cards and posting them here.  But, don't worry, I will let you know where to find more photos and stories as I get them posted.

Have a great weekend, everyone! Thanks for stopping by!