The "It Wasn't Your Textbook Proposal" Story

It was an ordinary day. My daughter is getting married. She met this guy in her Children's Literature class at Millersville University two years ago. Second semester they shared all their classes together. Just a scheduling quirk. But, Brynn and Dave seemed to really enjoy each others company. Before long Brynn was bringing Dave for supper at our house. Naturally Carol and I needed to quiz Dave to see if he was worthy of our daughter. Made a written test that he had to take. Questions such as: Who is the most important woman in your life? and, What has to be served with every meal? were two of the many questions on the quiz. He passed it with flying colors. Whew! A little over a year later Dave talked to me about his plans for a proposal. At the time they both were living with us since they both had jobs in this area and Dave is from Maryland. He was teaching at Quarryville Elementary School in southern Lancaster county and he told Brynn to stop and they would have dinner. Seems the dinner party was coordinated by his 5th grade class who turned the gym into a restaurant, with pizza, salad, fruit cups and cheesecake for dessert. It was on that evening, April 11th, that Dave proposed to his sweetheart, my daughter. A little over a year later on May 9th they got married. Leading up to the wedding was the planning. Invitations were picked and were neat with a small bow on each one. Not wanting them damaged in the mail, I personally took them to the post office and talked to the postmaster and he assured me they would be hand canceled. NOT!! We found a few were totally smashed while others had track marks on them as if run over by a tractor, so I headed to the PO. "And, how did this happen?" I asked postmaster Dave. "I ran out of time and just ran them through the meter," he told me. A nice letter to the US Postal Service with a complaint lead to a very unhappy employee. Won't speak to me anymore when I go in to mail a letter. Brynn and Dave met with Rev. Peter E. from our church, St. James Episcopal, to plan the wedding and the music. Brynn and Dave had a huge wedding party so they decided to rent an RV to transport everyone. I picked it up a day before the wedding and brought it to our house. Wedding Day arrived!! After getting her hair done, Brynn and a few of the girls got dressed at our house and the rest of the girls arrived shortly after noon. Dave S., one of Dave's friends drove the RV to the church at 1:00 PM for the 2:00 PM service. They stayed at the Chapel which is connected to the church and had a few pre-wedding photos taken. The guys also had arrived at the church and were having photos taken. Showtime!! The bridesmaids walked slowly down the aisle to soft music as Brynn and I waited in the bell tower. She had picked out the traditional "Here Comes the Bride" to enter the church. The organist, John, wasn't in favor because he said everyone will say - here comes the bride, big, fat and wide. Right, John! What a yo-yo. He eventually agreed to Brynn's request. But then, after all the girls had entered, the music was to get louder and head into the "Here ..... the bride." Didn't. The music got louder, but stayed the same piece. Well, I looked at Brynn and shrugged my shoulders, we started down the isle. At least people weren't thinking she was big, fat and wide. We weren't going to let the organist ruin the day. Really beautiful wedding and now our daughter is a Mrs. After photos, the wedding party hopped into the RV and off they went.......to Brewer's Outlet. All were so thirsty they needed a few cases of beer before the reception. Must have been a sight when they arrived at the outlet. Reception was held at Olde Hickory Inn in the Grand Ballroom. One side of the room was a huge wooden bar. About 200 guests packed the place and we celebrated, and celebrated, and... Marie, one of Brynn's friends caught the bouquet and Nate, one of Dave's friends caught the garter. Naturally, Nate had to put the garter on Marie and what a production he made of it. So much that the DJ company that did the wedding, hired Nate to work for them. About the only thing that didn't go well was ..... everyone wanted to dance so bad that they started immediately after the meal and didn't take time to eat the huge wedding cake when it was served. Most was thrown out. Well, it's been almost 12 years now, two granddaughters later, and lots of visits to Maryland. Brynn is teaching as is Dave and he is also coach of the QO football team. About the only thing that didn't survive the wedding was the Olde Hickory Inn.It was recently demolished to make way for a convenience store. Couldn't have been something we did, you think? It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy. PS - Pixs from top are: wedding proposal story as it appeared on the front page of the newspaper, the Bride in our living room before the wedding, Brynn and Dave at St. James Church, Wedding party and the Bride and Groom with their parents Carol and Larry and Joe and Linda. And ....... most important women was "his mother", while "applesauce" must be served with every meal.