February 11, 2004
THE STORY OF THEIR MARRIAGE
As I wrote on the 5th of August, my good buddy J.J. Grace--who I've known since the fall of 1984--was recently engaged to a beautiful and blessed woman named Erika Rising. Earlier this month, Erika and J.J. sneaked off to the Florida Keys and made it official. The following letter, which was written by Erika at 2:00am just a few days following the wedding, is an amazing tribute to the couple's love and reasons for being together. And with this being Valentine's Day week and all, I figured we could use a nice reminder of what it means to truly be in love. My wish, for both myself and my friends, is that this kind of love and companionship may be found and cherrished by us all. J.J. and Erika... Congrats, and thanks for allowing me to share your story with my friends!
The Story of Our Marriage, by Erika R. Grace
It is not hard to think about why J.J. and I decided to get married in the Keys. J.J. proposed to me in Islamorada, at Mom and Dadís place on July 31, 2003, after he too fell in love with the Keys months earlier. Thank God for the Rising family memories that drew us here for our wedding.
J.J. and I married on Little Palm Island, at approximately 6pm on Sunday, February 1st, 2004. February 1st was not a completely random date ñ true, it was one of a few available dates at Little Palm. Most importantly, we felt that this date was a continuation of the date sequence started on our engagement day on the 31st of July.
The only words we could really use to come close to describing our wonderful marriage experience were the likes of ëWowí and ëAwesomeí.
We arrived at the Little Palm launch dock on Little Torch Key around noon on February 1st, after spending two rainy days in Key West. The forecast for our big day was miserable and we had no reason to think it would change. However, the first miraculous event of the trip ñ actually there are a few ñ was the bright sunshine that broke during our drive north from Key West. There is more to this that I will explain shortly.
Little Palm Island can only be reached by boat. In the days of his presidency, Harry Truman visited the island for the world-renown fishing the Keys has to offer. Little Palm Island today is a transformation of a fishing camp from an earlier time, to a secluded tropical resort. Fittingly, J.J. and I were taken to Little Palm on the ëMiss Margaretí ñ a ten year old 30í-35í wooden replica of a launch boat from the time of Truman. Our bags, wedding dress, champagne and all were loaded on the boat while our attention was diverted to rum drinks and soaking in the scenery. The boat was ride was a mere 15 minutes, taking us a few miles off Little Torch Key and into the Atlantic.
Once we arrived at the island, we were greeted by Dave, the concierge, who took us on a brief tour of the 6 acre resort. At this point, all J.J. and I could do was revel in our happiness about the change in weather to bright blue sunny skies. Dave just made it all better for us by confirming that the storm system was gone for good on the satellite. Therefore, we were not really paying attention to him saying how great our suite was, that was still being prepared.
We had about two hours of sitting on this unbelievably lush pool deck and walking around the island on our own until Dave quietly appeared again. Wedding day jitters?? I donít think so! The best gift J.J. and I gave each other on our wedding day was the same relaxing joy and comfort together we have experienced every day of our relationship ñ now, just taken to a whole new level!
Dave, this professional young guy, kept exclaiming how much we would like our suite. I kept thinking to myself ñ ëHe tells this to everyone.î Then he took us there, and I realized to myself ëUh, no, he does not tell everyone thisí.
We reserved a bungalow ñ one of about 20 something (or less) on the island. Letís just say we have pictures, and they still wonít do the place justice.
The suite, the ëEagles Nestí was one of two on the island over looking the water. It was decorated in ëold tropicalí style (I just made that up), with a wrap around deck, out door hot tub, French doors leading into a living and dining room area, and an unbelievable master bedroom with separate his and her bathrooms on either side. We quickly learned that Mary, the wedding planner on the island who we had been working with for the past month, typically works with other staff to upgrade the accommodations for brides & grooms getting married there, to this magnificent suite, if there is availability. This was only one example of the wonderful experience we had there.
J.J., in his typical thoughtful and romantic fashion had worked his own magic. A dozen roses awaited us on the dining room table, along with a large box mailed to the island before our arrival. Also in typical J.J. style, he feigned ignorance about the contents of the box while insisting I open it. Inside was one of the largest stand-up picture frames I had ever seen. J.J. had secretly gathered and copied black and white versions of loved ones who were no longer with us: his mother Alice Grace, my grandfathers: John Finnegan and Albert Rising, a picture of me sailing with my dog Mika, and a picture of him with his childhood dog Sparky. It has always been our belief that heavenly forces brought us together, and J.J. made sure that they were honored on our wedding day. We both shed some tears.
The magic of our relationship has been built upon the same beliefs of family and religion, and without even speaking to one another, we both knew that the change in weather was not just due to the science of storm systems. The number of breaks in the weather, at coincidental moments that J.J and his family have witnessed since his motherís passing, attest to her heavenly presence in the familyís life up through the present. I have a feeling that Alice Grace ordered up the perfectly timed shooting star seen the night J.J. proposed to me.
Bear with me ñ no detail can be sparedÖ The magic continued...
We spent the last few hours before marriage probably the most relaxed any couple has ever been the day they made their vows to each other.
We dressed, presented ourselves in our wedding ëdudsí less than half and hour before the photographer and wedding planner/ordained minister arrived at the door. Another half hour and several pictures later we were standing on the waterís edge, on the west side of the island, minutes before sunset.
The vows were perfect: heart felt, down to earth and spoke to our feelings for one another. The most significant statements I recall from memory were ëGod knew you needed one anotherí and ëLove each other in honor of your true selvesí.
In another interesting twist of fate, J.J. and I were sharing with Mary, the coordinator/interfaith minister who married us, all of the Marys who were leading us through marriage. J.J. himself would have been Mary Elizabeth if was born a girl (as his mother was convinced he was prior to birth!), my mother Mary Elizabeth, his sisters having the name Mary, his Aunt Mary, the Mary that gave us our marriage license at the Tampa courthouse and now Mary who was marrying us. She was intrigued as well. We did not know the greater extent of these coincidences until we retired back to the suite later that evening and looked at the marriage license only to learn that Maryís full name was Mary Elizabeth. For us, this event just gets added to the list of ësignsí we have experienced during our relationship, like for example, our parents sharing the wedding date of June 14th.
Did I mention the key deer? J.J. and I were told about the small key deer residents on the island shortly after arriving. We were warned not to feed them people food and that flowers on the islandís plants were probably the best for them to eat.
Right after the ceremony, a little female deer made her way down to the beach and then retreated back into the bushes. That was not the last we saw of her that night!
Some background informationÖ I insisted upon bringing my own bouquet to the island. I wanted to select and buy flowers on my own, that were native to the keys. J.J. and I found a florist in Key West the day before and I ended up selecting a few strands of dendrobium orchids ñ flowers that the florist mentioned grew prolifically in the Keys. Looking back, I donít think I could have made a better selection.
We made our way up to the wooden, peaceful waterside deck of the restaurant for a spectacular candlelight dinner. The natural scenery, silence, and soft, background music made for another unreal experience. We were the only ones there for a good hour. About a half hour after sitting down, our little key deer friend appeared right next to us, resting her head on the side of the deck. Letís just say that I could not have had a better time tossing a bouquet, as every orchid blossom and bud, minus one, was fed to our fuzzy friend. J.J. and my love of animals needed to be shared too, so we gave a few blossoms to those at tables surrounding us. There was no possible way that this day could have been made better, I thought.
J.J. proved me wrong again as we got back to a suite lit only by several candles and rose petals sprinkled on and around the bed. And thatís all I will be writing about our wedding night!
Well, no story is complete without a touch of the ëodd surrealíÖ
The weather remained beautiful on the day following our wedding. We enjoyed more great food, sat in the sun, kayaked around the whole island, met some more great people (including, would you believe a couple from Long Island whose son was attending the Stony Brooks School ñ my high school??), and had lunch on the pool deck. All of a sudden, an entourage of men ñ body guards and plain clothed ñ filed into the pool area with an apparent mission. Talk about a change in mood! Come to find out, the people casing the joint were body guards and employees for Benny Hinn, some shady, world renown TV evangelist healer. Yes, we saw him too (the island staff was told not to look at him). The guy apparently rented most of the island for his entire entourage, for a meeting he was having. At that point, J.J. and I remarked how that change in scene made our afternoon departure easier. Even stranger/funnier were the two hulking body guards who stopped me on my way back from the dock, to take their picture in one of the islandís gardens. It was a good thing J.J. was not there, because we both would have started laughing in front of them right then and there. We cracked up afterwards!
That was our wedding! Love, beauty, heavenly presence, tears, laughter and a TV evangelist rolled into one!!
Posted by Mikal at February 11, 2004 5:58 AM
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