We sat in the front pew, next to the aisle. The wife's hand tightly clenching my own, tears starting to leak from her eyes.

Mine were wet, too.

We could clearly see the future daughter-in-law's face as she was turned facing our son, their hands also clenching, as the preacher began his brief homily, "Marriage..." and a slight pause.

And the young almost-bride threw a stern look over her almost-groom's shoulder to glare at her almost brother-in-law standing behind him.

Who was, with difficulty, restraining a snicker.

For he and she had, at the same moment, had the same flashback...

"Mawwage...mawwage is what bwings us togewer today... Mawidge, the bwessed awwangement, that dweam wiffim a dweam...

Fortunately, this was just the rehearsal. Hopefully this family preacher's slow cadence will not bring out such responses when the real event arrives.

The rehearsal went well. It pointed out a few steps that hadn't yet been completely planned.

Including how to get the rings from the corgi, the ringbearer, into the hands of the Best Man and Maid of Honor. But that was fairly quickly resolved.

Now if only the corgi cooperates...

These were only a few of the things the five of us hashed over, and over, until the wee, wee hours of this morning.

Have I mentioned recently how well this young lady seems to fit into our family? It's like she's always been there, we've just been waiting so many years for her to show up.

One of her final comments, as they prepared for the 90-some mile drive home in the dark, regarding the Maid of Honor:

"I just know I'm going to turn to her and say, 'Have you the wing?'"