Last month (July), the army called my house to inform my fiancee
that he would be activated in the war and could possibly be going
to Iraq. He had been asking me every day for a month before we
actually got married if I would marry him. The call from the army
only sped up the process. We contacted the minister, arranged for
music, photography, bought rings, dresses and a suit. I made 50
wedding favors, cleaned the house and he put a 12-foot metal arch
together to stand under during the ceremony.
Dear Editor,
Last month (July), the army called my house to inform my fiancee that he would be activated in the war and could possibly be going to Iraq. He had been asking me every day for a month before we actually got married if I would marry him. The call from the army only sped up the process. We contacted the minister, arranged for music, photography, bought rings, dresses and a suit. I made 50 wedding favors, cleaned the house and he put a 12-foot metal arch together to stand under during the ceremony.
He also went down to San Benito Florist and ordered a beautiful bouquet of flowers and corsages for the wedding party. Personally, I didn’t want to spend the money on what I considered extra frivolities, but my husband insisted I have real wedding bouquet. We were so busy those three days before the wedding, he’d almost forgot to pick up the flowers.
Running into the florist a bit disarrayed, my husband was asked why he was in such rush to pick up the flowers. After explaining the wedding whirlwind, the florist quietly said to my husband, “Well the least I could do is pay for these flowers.” My husband stood in disbelief. When the florist insisted, tears welled up in my husband’s eyes. “This is a beautiful gift,” my husband said as he gently placed the flowers on the shelf in the refrigerator.
I’m sure it wasn’t just the flowers that touched my husband’s heart that day. I think it had a lot to do with the admiration the man behind the counter conveyed to my husband for his willingness to fight for our freedom in a place where the people won’t appreciate him as much as we do here.
The next day after arriving home from the wedding ceremony, we learned he would be going to Iraq for a year and a half. In fact, he is on his way this very moment. We didn’t get much time to talk about many things before he left, but we did talk about the beautiful gesture and we wanted to make sure you knew. You’ll always be a special part of our wedding. Thank you so much!
Charlie and Kelly Hall, Hollister
