OMG! GET US TO THE CHURCH ON TIME!
Our 35th Wedding Anniversary was one to remember. Wedding anniversaries are memorable milestones in and of themselves, but some are particularly spectacular and stand out. We decided to spend this one in Bermuda.
About a month before, my husband told me he decided to contact the Stella Maris Parish in St. George’s so we could renew our vows in Bermuda. I was thrilled.
I never expected it nor did I think of doing that myself, although Bermuda is our favorite vacation spot and we return annually like the birds and it just so happened we were spending our anniversary there.
We came by ship, which luckily had just docked at St. George’s and didn’t need a tender. I was all dressed in a summer white dress with floral print, like a mine “wedding dress.” Fred was in a jacket and tie.
The timing was too close for comfort. We were due at the church 9 am. The ship had just pulled in at 8 am. We had to wait for clearance to come ashore, a standard procedure. But this time, we were waiting a long time. Usually it took 15 or 20 minutes to announce we could disembark. However, time was of the essence, and the gangway doors didn’t open for the better part of the hour. We found ourselves in a crush of fellow passengers at the gangway exit, anxious to get off. Finally, after sweating the minutes, we were allowed on shore about 8:50am where the warmth of the summer morning sun greeted us.
We didn’t think we could make it by walking from the dock and across the street in our “Sunday Best” clothes and still further up the hill on foot fast enough. We were afraid to keep the priest waiting, so we hailed a taxicab. The kind driver said it was only a five or ten minute walk, but we said, that’s OK, we need to get to the church on time, so he said, hop in.
Father Harry, CR, met us inside Stella Maris Roman Catholic Church (the name means “Star of the Sea,” a tribute to the Blessed Mother Mary of Jesus). He said some prayers with us up at the altar. We had the church all to ourselves. We renewed our vows and later he posed with us for a photo.
After a pleasant stroll through the town, we took a bus to the Swizzle Inn on Blue Hole Hill in Bailey’s Bay for lunch. There was a band playing. I felt like it was our “reception!”
That night we went on a “Moonlight Cruise” and perfect topping to a divine
day!
My girlfriends all swooned when I told them my husband surprised me with renewal of our vows for our 35th Anniversary in an island church in Bermuda. They said it was a wonderful, romantic gesture, like in the movies. And, for a day, I felt like I was in a movie!
