Mark and Beth and I met up for the first time at Starbucks. He is a sharp young man, making huge strides in his chosen field. She is equally sharp, as well as being a charming Texas belle. I was stunned when he told me he found me on the Internet, especially considering that he works at a wedding venue. Being new in town, he had completely bypassed the wedding department and found me on his own. So there we were, discussing their wedding, which would take place at a venue where I frequently perform weddings.

Two days after the wedding, I found a warm and encouraging voice mail from Beth’s Mom, expressing her appreciation for the wedding. Mark then sent his enthusiastic email of thanks. Then today I received Beth’s thank you note, which provided a tremendous lift to my spirits, even on a day that had been tremendously uplifting to begin with. The note went like this:

“Craig, I can’t begin to thank you enough for the absolutely beautiful service you did at our wedding! Mark and I were so overwhelmed at your ability to capture exactly what we wanted our promises to each other [to] entail. So many times at wedding ceremonies, the words and the vows get overlooked & everyone just remembers the party. : ) Our wedding ceremony was thoughtful and lovely and we will remember those promises forever because of you.

“We had many people come up to us and say, ‘we felt like we were renewing our own vows!’ Several people said it was the most beautiful ceremony they had ever been to because of your words, inflection, humor, sentiment, and heart. Thank you so much, Craig. We will remember you always!”

All I can say is thank you, Mark and Beth! You were a delight to work with!

On a personal note, my focus professionally is “to create a spectacular moment in time for brides and grooms.” It is especially gratifying to sense inwardly when I have achieved that, by God’s grace, but even more satisfying to receive recognition from spectacular brides and grooms like Beth and Mark.