My Wedding Poem for Laura and Alex - read at the reception by me

For

Laura Winterhalter

and

Alexander Vukasinovic

on the Occasion of their Wedding

May 7, 2010

 

I’m thrilled there is a wedding,

At least, Shawn’s off the hook!

He’s always dragged his heels,

And never done things by the book.

When Alex made his debut,

Long hair all askew,

I worried then, he’d never find,

A nice girl such as you.

Once you got that hair tamed,

You really were quite sweet,

And you could be forgiven all,

When you’d massage my feet!

You, with your dirty leppy,

Were really kind of smart,

Will you ever finish college?

You’ve got down the student part!

Testosterone flowed like water,

Our house would groan and shake,

Three sons who loved each other,

Were like a 6 point quake.

At last, girls were discovered,

And things began to change,

My bulky, muscular athletes,

Began to act quite strange.

At times, they minded manners,

And even gave up jeans

It made life almost liveable,

At the last half of their teens.

One day, I had a phone call,

Alex had met a girl,

He didn’t tell me all that much,

But his heart seemed in a whirl.

Laura was a classmate,

In his fire technology class,

She seemed someone special,

She probably helped him pass.

Next, he said she was moving in,

But she would have to pay her rent,

That’s my Alex for you,

He always had a practical bent!

I was overjoyed, of course,

What mother wouldn’t be,

I kept hoping the dummy would marry her,

I wanted this girl in my family!

I would broach the subject with him,

You can’t let her get away,

He kept giving me reassurances,

“Don’t worry, I’ll marry her someday.”

Next, they bought a house,

And went searching for a pet,

And, much to my frustration,

No wedding plan forthcoming yet!

At last, I got the call,

It was a happy day,

But, when I asked the wedding date,

It was a year away!

Now it’s finally done,

And I’m blessed to be a part,

As our two beloved children,

Make this very special start.

We wish you lasting happiness,

And a life of love and joy,

And it would please me greatly,

To have a grandchild, girl and boy!

Carmen Henesy

May 7, 2010

Mother of the Groom

Wedding pictures, of course, will be posted when I get home from Sacramento and I can explain the poem since some of it may seem a bit bizarre!

It was a magnificent day from start to finish.  Weather was pefect.  Scribner Vineyards was a beautiful setting for this outdoor evening wedding, in the midst of miles of growing grapes and lush arbors of white roses.  Laura looked radiant and so beautiful and Alex and his brother, Jeremy, were too handsome for words.  The food was excellent and a good time was had by all.  I managed to read my poem without crying ( Jeremy lost a bet and owes his girlfriend $200! )

What really touched me the most was that Alex chose a different song than the one I had requested  for our mother-son dance.  He had asked the DJ for a song I'd never heard, "Thank You, Mom" by Good Charlotte.  Now, back at the hotel, I'm reading the lyrics and I am really crying!  What a wonderful son I have ( actually, all three are great ).  Jeremy did a superb job of standing by his brother during the the wedding preparations but big brother, Shawn, with the Air Force in Germany, was missed.  Later, in the evening, the DJ did play my dear friend, Sony Holland singing "At Last" and I had a dance with Jeremy while Alex and Laura danced.  It was a perfect end to a joyous day.

Here are the lyrics to "Thank You, Mom" in case you haven't heard it.

GOOD CHARLOTTE LYRICS

"Thank You Mom"

Always, Always and Forever [x2]

I'm sitting here

I'm thinking back to a time when I was young

My memory is clear as day

I'm listening to the dishes clink

You were downstairs

you would sing

songs of praise

And all the times we laughed with you

And all the times that you stayed true to us

Now we'll say, I said I thank you

I'll always thank you

More than you would know

Than I could ever show

And I love you

I'll always love you

There's nothing I won't do

to say these words to you

That you're beautiful forever

Always, Always and forever

you were my mom, you were my dad

The only thing I ever had was you, it's true

And even when the times got hard you were there

To let us know that we'd get through

you showed me how to be a man

You taught me how to understand

the things people do

You showed me how to love my God

You taught me that not everyone

knows the truth

And I thank you

I'll always thank you

More than you would know

Than I could ever show

And I love you

I'll always love you

There's nothing I won't do

to say these words to you

That you will live forever

Forever and ever [x2]

[x2:]

I said I thank you

I'll always thank you

More than you would know

Than I could ever show

And I love you

I'll always love you

There's nothing I won't do

to say these words to you

That you will live forever