During my sophomore year at Elon, I roomed with one of my great friends, Marella Peele. I met Marella through Young Life leader training and we joined a bible study together, which would later be known as "Garden Club." "Bella" was raised in Bath...a small, river town near Greenville. She is the epitomy of a good 'ol country girl with perfect manners, pristine posture, and a smile that you cannot help but be drawn to.
During our senior year, Marella started dating Troy. Before the attraction began, in my eyes, Troy was just a tall, goofy, kind-hearted identical twin from Hickory. Marella and Troy were leaders on the same Young Life team. For those of you that are unaware of the rules and regulations that go along with being a YL leader, before you can become a leader, you must sign a contract committing to follow a certain number of rules. Leaders in a certain county are divided and assigned to different high schools in the area. One of the agreements made through the contract is, "I will not date someone on my team (someone that leads at the same high school as I do)." As fate would have it, Marella and Troy both became leaders at Williams H.S. in Burlington. The obvious and genuine feelings that they had for one another would not subside and the two lovebirds bent the rules (bent sounds better than broke) and started dating one another. Within a month, we were all sitting in Garden Club when Bella, accompanied by her unmistakeable grin, shocked us all. "I'm in love," she said. The courtship had begun, and the once goofy Troy I had known turned into a godly, courageous, spiritual leader. Troy boy was now a man that I would send any guy to if he wanted to learn some lessons on how to treat a woman.
Troy and Marella soon became engaged and planned their wedding for this past weekend in Little Washington, NC. I was so excited when I got the calls from Marella - 1 telling me about her engagement and 2 - asking me to sing in the wedding. The long-awaited weekend finally arrived and I jumped in my mom's minivan (the "party bus" for the weekend) and headed up to Raleigh to pick up Lauren. Before leaving Charlotte, I raided Brooks' car for some good cds to listen to on the way. One was blank. While at first skeptical, after seeking through some of the selections, I realized...this CD is a goldmine. With the likes of Ben Folds feat Regina Spektor, Ben Lee, Rihanna, and select oldies, the CD kept me busy through a good portion of the drive. There was but one negative aspect to the list of songs. "Come on Over" by Christina Aguliera. Now some of you may be saying, "But I love that song!" That's the problem. I love that song. I also love to replay songs that I love. After a good thirty minutes of singing along...to the same song, mind you...I realized that the original fun idea ended up doing major damage to my vocal cords...and my ego. Cough drops were consumed by the handfull for the next 48 hours.
**Note: Steer clear of Christina, the "Wicked" soundtrack, and anything Lauren France sings if you have a vocal performance in the near future.**
Lane (Izzy's hunky BF) was nice enough to let a bunch of us Elon-ers stay in his apartment in Greenville during the weekend. We all snuggled up together and rekindled our friendships through laughter and YouTube videos.
Things that I loved about the wedding:
1 - Communion. at the rehearsal, Bella and Troy served communion to everyone in attendance. it was so, so special and meaningful.
2 - "First glance." before the wedding started on saturday, their photographer did something that she calls "first glance or first look" or something. it's a chance for the couple to see each other and talk before the wedding. just them and the photographer. she got it all on film. troy immediately started crying. i can't wait to see the pictures.
3 - little washington. i swear the whole town shut down for the wedding. i felt like i was in an old movie with the mom and pop stores, the down-home cooking, and the sweetest country accents.
4 - Marella's attitude. she was calm and collected the entire time. while she and troy were exchanging rings (i had the BEST seats in the house), Bella looked right at me and flashed a huge giddy grin...right at ME! they did an incredible job making everyone at the wedding feel important and special.
5 - The rainbow. The rain started and persisted before and during the ceremony. As soon as it was over, the rain subsided and left us with a cool, refreshing night. As the sun went down, a rainbow appeared. As it faded, the sky turned in to an array of oranges and reds and we watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen. God's presence was undeniable.
At the reception, I felt like I had a grin plastered to my face. I honestly believe that every single wedding guest came up to me and complimented me on my solo of "Come Thou Fount." At least 5 people asked me if I had ever thought of going on American Idol while countless others gave me head nods and pats on the back.
While I appreciated every gesture of kindness, there was one conversation that was undoubtedly most memorable: NOTE: this was within the first 5 minutes of the reception, therefore the lady had not had a sufficient amount of time to abuse the open bar.
Lady: I loved your solo tonight, it was so beautiful.
Me: Thank you so much!
Lady: I have two daughters that are already married but I also have two sons that are unmarried so I need you to come sing at their weddings.
Me: I would love that.
Lady: And I need you to sing at my funeral. That song.
Me: (awkardly) That's horrible...
Lady: No it's not! You did a great job. And are you single?
(she takes my hand and looks at my left finger which is, obviously, bare)
Me: Yes, I'm single
Lady: Okay good. I have a son. He's 6'3". And he's single. But the only problem is...he has a baby. Maybe you can save him.
Me: (VERY awkward laugh) sounds great...
(turn to Lauren to remove myself from conversation)
Not only was I asked to sing at a stranger's funeral, but I was also was deemed worthy of "saving" her son and his child. Interesting to say the least.
The whole weekend was a blast and Marella and Troy are so deeply in love. A type of love I can't wait to find!
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