#307
Clint 0:01
Hey everybody, welcome to the wedding ceremony podcast. We talk about anything and everything that has to do with wedding ceremonies. This is episode number 307. recorded on Tuesday, March 23 2021. My name is Clint Hufft. And with me is a gentleman that just gave me great news. He has a little something he wants to share with us, the one and only JP Reynolds.
JP 0:24
Hey there.
Clint 0:28
You're you're being coy.
JP Reynolds 0:30
Who, me?
Clint 0:35
JP is an accomplished author. His books are in the Amazon store and in the Kindle store in Amazon. He is a communications expert. thebusinessofconfidence.com is that website, his wedding website is JPRweddings.com. Mine is ReverendClint.com or ClintHufft.com For all of the things that I do. Before we launch into what you're going to share, I want to give kind of like a little acknowledgement. One of our listeners reached out who also went to the wedding MBA conference this last fall, which actually was all online, it was all digital and zoom, and you know, all that kind of stuff. And my session was how to start a podcast. And she reached out to me and said that she took the course, she signed up for the conference and took the course online, because she and her friends are thinking of starting a podcast. And then she was wondering if there was any access to the slides, because normally the conference will share the presenter slides online as part of the package that you buy, but I guess it got lost in the translation there. So for anybody that's curious about that, I put it up on my ClintHufft.com website. If you open the tab that says wedding MBA, then you'll see a couple of files from my presentations that you can download. They’re PDF files, and they're just all the slides from my presentation. So there you go.
JP 2:23
Cool, cool. Cool.
Clint 2:25
All right, JP.
JP Reynolds 2:30
I officiated a wedding on Sunday.
Clint 2:33
Yes.
JP Reynolds 2:35
And just a couple little bits and pieces that I want to share. Okay. So to begin with hindsight, initially I thought it was going to be a micro wedding. Then I talked with the couple and realized, Oh, it was probably going to be an old fashioned 100, 120 person wedding. Which for us would be, in the old days, would say that's a normal size wedding. Yeah. Well, it ended up being a wedding with 250 Plus.
Clint
Holy moly. Oh, my gracious.
JP
Now, let me quickly say everything was outdoors, ceremony, reception. But 250 people, I'm not sure that I saw 250 people in the last year.
Clint 3:40
Exactly.
JP Reynolds 3:41
Yeah, I think it was just visually and viscerally. A bit overwhelming. And I was surprised at kind of my, like gut feeling to seeing everybody and a number of the vendors I have enjoyed working with previously. And everybody again, was saying how they felt rusty with such a big gathering most of the vendors said that they had been doing micro seem to be back as a team with 250 plus people like wow, that's crazy. Wow. And, there's an article I read just last week that talked about the adjustments, so many of us are gonna have to make as we re enter a, quote normal life.
Clint 4:57
Now, just to be clear, we are not In one of the states that has “opened up”, we are in California
JP Reynolds 5:05
Interesting. Thank you for saying that. Because originally, they booked a venue in Los Angeles County. But LA would not allow even outdoors gathering of 250 people, right? So everything migrated down to Orange County, which does allow that kind of size gap.
Clint 5:31
Man Oh man, were you at all nervous just because of having a year of pandemic and all of the rules and all that kind of stuff?
JP Reynolds 5:42
Because I have issues that make me hyper aware and sensitive to all of this, and I've not been vaccinated yet. My appointment is not for another couple of weeks. However, it was a beautiful venue, right? I didn't even know existed. And I was very comfortable with the size of the outdoors. It sounds like I really have phobias. That sounds so pathetic. I'm so embarrassed I said that. But it was size wise, It was very comfortable. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the first thing I wanted to say. So now we've got 250 seats, and we've got the runway and the guy was very sweet. Delightful couple. And the ceremony begins. And we've got the processional. And you've got the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. And then we have children.
Clint 7:03
Oh my,
JP Reynolds 7:04
We have ring bearers and flower girls. And I almost called you from where I was standing in the ceremony.
Clint 7:17
You mean like to FaceTime me to show me?
JP Reynolds 7:19
Okay? Like folks, I just need to talk to point for a moment. Because after a year of lockdown, God love us all. The Lost Children of weddings have reappeared. It's like, you’re back. You're back. Who says we can't go back in time?
Here they were. About six children.
Clint 7:54
Oh, man,
JP Reynolds 7:56
Wandering around, looking around. And God forbid that some grown up would sweep these children up. Nope. Nope. Nope. We got the camera. We got the phones out. We got the pictures. We like the laughing, the giggling and children just milling about and it's like even in the lowest landed children thing just starting to reopen. Was lovely.
Clint 8:29
You got the whole magila. You got the whole enchilada. That's crazy.
JP Reynolds 8:33
Oh, now I got this crazy but then I have the stab me in the heart beautiful. So as we've said time and time again. We'll continue to say always an honor to stand before a couple and witness their vows. This was especially poignant the entire wedding because last week as so many corners of our country were rocked again with the shooting of six people in Atlanta and not just six people but the fears and the reality of bias and racism against Asians and Asian Americans. And just the pain of that experience. And then to officiate this wedding, both the bride and the groom and their families are Vietnamese. And so it was this and the vast majority of guests were Asian predominantly. Vietnamese, and so to be celebrating, to be officiating a wedding for an Asian community at the end of a week, whose horror I can't even begin to imagine in terms of how it impacted the people sitting there. Very moving, very poignant experience, because to see joy, to see love, to see family, to seek community. You bow before the sacredness of it, and just the horror of the past week. So, that’s the poignant context. So now it's time for the vows. And the couple have been together for seven years, they have a daughter, and the groom was just very eloquent. Very sweet vows. And then it was time for the bride to gift him with her vows. And in a sweet gesture, she invited their daughter I think, who was four years old, to come up and join her and stand by her as she gave her vows to the father of her child, to her now husband. And the first line. Just, oh, I just get goosebumps even recalling her offering. And the first line was okay, it was: “when I was in high school as an immigrant, I never felt I belonged. I never felt at home. And then I met you.” And there were some gasps in the audience and certainly, like, stabbed me in the heart. stabbed me in the heart beautiful. Um, and it was perhaps, not perhaps, it was one of the most beautiful lines ever heard.
Clint 12:47
There's a reading that talks about You are my home. And the fact that she shared that and the fact that so many people in their guest collection Could I probably identify with that. I'm guessing based on the way you've described it.
JP Reynolds 13:53
Well, yeah, I mean it I have to say, if there had not been a mass shooting, if there had not been in the last year, a rise in the horror of Asian racism and harassment, violence. I'm not sure that I would have gotten goosebumps with the line. Because I actually heard that line of your my home. You're my apartment. You're my condo. So I've heard that sentiment, which should begin, at the end of this week, to begin by saying as an immigrant, I never felt at home. Well, then I met you like, wow, wow. Wow. This should be heard from sea to shining sea. So it was very, very poignant. Though let's just remember it's a wedding I did so, of course, poignancy is pouring it. It doesn't last, because now we have to go back to the last moment that I would share with the ceremony. A couple walks down the aisle, as they're walking down the aisle, Everybody starts to leave. Just leave like, by the time the last bride, groomsmen and bridesmaids were walking down the aisle, I would say it was only a third of the people left in their seats.
Clint 15:48
Oh, my gracious.
JP Reynolds 15:50
So what I loved was normally it's like, waiting to that last couple from the wedding party, down the aisle. And now I will say part of it was it was a nippy, nippy day. It might have been the first Sunday of spring, it was chilly. So I think people wanted to find a heater and find a drink. And warm up. Okay, but visually, it was a bit jarring to see the wedding party processing and everybody leaving their rows by the side. And that is the story of my first wedding on the first Sunday in the year 2021.
Clint 16:51
So I'm guessing, this seems like an obvious question, but they didn't do any spreading of the chairs social distancing, like they was just the old normal. Everybody together one center aisle.
JP Reynolds 17:04
Yeah. The chairs were in regulation formation. However, when people arrived, they were given a quick COVID check.
Clint 17:23
Oh, no kidding. Yeah. You mean like just a temperature type deal?
JP Reynolds 17:31
You know, I don't know what that means. The event planner told me that they were doing COVID checks.
Clint 17:43
I remember the only time that I've ever been a part of that may be going to the gym, which where we live, Now the gyms just opened back up. And then as you walk in, they have like one of those forehead temperature gun type of deals. And so they do that to everybody. And, then there's kind of like a, are you feeling any symptoms? Where else did I have that? I think it's kind of like the standard thing. Now, when I donated blood, or we went for a checkup, I think one of my family members went for a checkup at the hospital. And they have somebody out front before you can go into the building. They'll say, can we take your temperature? And did you feel any symptoms? And, that kind of stuff. So I'm just guessing that there was that protocol, something along those lines? Well, everybody's talking about the big light at the end of the tunnel. You know, it sounds to me that what you just experienced. While it does make me a little nervous. It's also very encouraging. I mean, if it happened 40 miles away from where I live, then it just sounds to me like I don't know. There's so many good signs.
JP 19:00
It's getting closer to where you live Clint. Yes. Block after block.
Clint 19:04
Oh, man, I think when it finally gets to my house, I'm gonna have snacks.
JP Reynolds 19:12
Fair enough. Yeah. So big takeaway, folks. The Lost Children of weddings have returned. All restrictions have been lifted. They're free to roam.
Clint 19:29
Outside of this podcast. Have you published anything anywhere that talks about the Lost Children of weddings?
JP Reynolds 19:40
We just hold hands and have a zen moment and just reflect on that. Two grown professional men. Hey, dude, bro. Anyway, you right? Take this up the grant research grant MIT, Harvard. No, no.
Clint 20:10
Okay, fair enough. We'll keep it right here nice and tidy and safe.
JP Reynolds 20:16
Right? There you have it.
Clint 20:18
Hey, there you have it. And by the way, everybody if you have anything that you would like us to talk about, or we want to say thank you, because we have something that could happen over the next two episodes. That's very exciting, a very special guest. And if we can arrange it, and I can't tell you anything else about it other than that, and the way you can reach out to us and offer a suggestion for a guest, or even something that you would like us to talk about, then go to our website, weddingceremonypodcast.com, and just click on the “email us” button, and then it'll come right to us. I check it every day. And that also is where you can listen to our episodes if you'd like to. They're arranged chronologically, the most recent one is at the top. We've started putting transcripts of our episodes on that website as well. If you want to make your life really simple, then just subscribe to the podcast. We are in the Apple Store and in Stitcher and any of the apps that you have in your mobile devices that access the Apple store you can find us, just search for wedding ceremony podcast. We’re the only one, it'll pop right up, click on the subscribe button. Every time we post a new episode, it'll automatically come into your world. Remember the JP’S books are in the Amazon store and in the Kindle store in Amazon. He is a communications expert. thebusinessofconfidence.com is that website, his wedding website is JPRweddings.com. Mine is ReverendClint.com or ClintHufft.com For all of the things that I do. Thank you again to the incredible musicians that play our theme music the dacapoplayers.com. That's it for this episode of the wedding ceremony podcast. This is Clint and on behalf of JP We will see you next time.
Clint 0:01
Hey everybody, welcome to the wedding ceremony podcast. We talk about anything and everything that has to do with wedding ceremonies. This is episode number 307. recorded on Tuesday, March 23 2021. My name is Clint Hufft. And with me is a gentleman that just gave me great news. He has a little something he wants to share with us, the one and only JP Reynolds.
JP 0:24
Hey there.
Clint 0:28
You're you're being coy.
JP Reynolds 0:30
Who, me?
Clint 0:35
JP is an accomplished author. His books are in the Amazon store and in the Kindle store in Amazon. He is a communications expert. thebusinessofconfidence.com is that website, his wedding website is JPRweddings.com. Mine is ReverendClint.com or ClintHufft.com For all of the things that I do. Before we launch into what you're going to share, I want to give kind of like a little acknowledgement. One of our listeners reached out who also went to the wedding MBA conference this last fall, which actually was all online, it was all digital and zoom, and you know, all that kind of stuff. And my session was how to start a podcast. And she reached out to me and said that she took the course, she signed up for the conference and took the course online, because she and her friends are thinking of starting a podcast. And then she was wondering if there was any access to the slides, because normally the conference will share the presenter slides online as part of the package that you buy, but I guess it got lost in the translation there. So for anybody that's curious about that, I put it up on my ClintHufft.com website. If you open the tab that says wedding MBA, then you'll see a couple of files from my presentations that you can download. They’re PDF files, and they're just all the slides from my presentation. So there you go.
JP 2:23
Cool, cool. Cool.
Clint 2:25
All right, JP.
JP Reynolds 2:30
I officiated a wedding on Sunday.
Clint 2:33
Yes.
JP Reynolds 2:35
And just a couple little bits and pieces that I want to share. Okay. So to begin with hindsight, initially I thought it was going to be a micro wedding. Then I talked with the couple and realized, Oh, it was probably going to be an old fashioned 100, 120 person wedding. Which for us would be, in the old days, would say that's a normal size wedding. Yeah. Well, it ended up being a wedding with 250 Plus.
Clint
Holy moly. Oh, my gracious.
JP
Now, let me quickly say everything was outdoors, ceremony, reception. But 250 people, I'm not sure that I saw 250 people in the last year.
Clint 3:40
Exactly.
JP Reynolds 3:41
Yeah, I think it was just visually and viscerally. A bit overwhelming. And I was surprised at kind of my, like gut feeling to seeing everybody and a number of the vendors I have enjoyed working with previously. And everybody again, was saying how they felt rusty with such a big gathering most of the vendors said that they had been doing micro seem to be back as a team with 250 plus people like wow, that's crazy. Wow. And, there's an article I read just last week that talked about the adjustments, so many of us are gonna have to make as we re enter a, quote normal life.
Clint 4:57
Now, just to be clear, we are not In one of the states that has “opened up”, we are in California
JP Reynolds 5:05
Interesting. Thank you for saying that. Because originally, they booked a venue in Los Angeles County. But LA would not allow even outdoors gathering of 250 people, right? So everything migrated down to Orange County, which does allow that kind of size gap.
Clint 5:31
Man Oh man, were you at all nervous just because of having a year of pandemic and all of the rules and all that kind of stuff?
JP Reynolds 5:42
Because I have issues that make me hyper aware and sensitive to all of this, and I've not been vaccinated yet. My appointment is not for another couple of weeks. However, it was a beautiful venue, right? I didn't even know existed. And I was very comfortable with the size of the outdoors. It sounds like I really have phobias. That sounds so pathetic. I'm so embarrassed I said that. But it was size wise, It was very comfortable. Yeah. Yeah. So that's the first thing I wanted to say. So now we've got 250 seats, and we've got the runway and the guy was very sweet. Delightful couple. And the ceremony begins. And we've got the processional. And you've got the groomsmen and the bridesmaids. And then we have children.
Clint 7:03
Oh my,
JP Reynolds 7:04
We have ring bearers and flower girls. And I almost called you from where I was standing in the ceremony.
Clint 7:17
You mean like to FaceTime me to show me?
JP Reynolds 7:19
Okay? Like folks, I just need to talk to point for a moment. Because after a year of lockdown, God love us all. The Lost Children of weddings have reappeared. It's like, you’re back. You're back. Who says we can't go back in time?
Here they were. About six children.
Clint 7:54
Oh, man,
JP Reynolds 7:56
Wandering around, looking around. And God forbid that some grown up would sweep these children up. Nope. Nope. Nope. We got the camera. We got the phones out. We got the pictures. We like the laughing, the giggling and children just milling about and it's like even in the lowest landed children thing just starting to reopen. Was lovely.
Clint 8:29
You got the whole magila. You got the whole enchilada. That's crazy.
JP Reynolds 8:33
Oh, now I got this crazy but then I have the stab me in the heart beautiful. So as we've said time and time again. We'll continue to say always an honor to stand before a couple and witness their vows. This was especially poignant the entire wedding because last week as so many corners of our country were rocked again with the shooting of six people in Atlanta and not just six people but the fears and the reality of bias and racism against Asians and Asian Americans. And just the pain of that experience. And then to officiate this wedding, both the bride and the groom and their families are Vietnamese. And so it was this and the vast majority of guests were Asian predominantly. Vietnamese, and so to be celebrating, to be officiating a wedding for an Asian community at the end of a week, whose horror I can't even begin to imagine in terms of how it impacted the people sitting there. Very moving, very poignant experience, because to see joy, to see love, to see family, to seek community. You bow before the sacredness of it, and just the horror of the past week. So, that’s the poignant context. So now it's time for the vows. And the couple have been together for seven years, they have a daughter, and the groom was just very eloquent. Very sweet vows. And then it was time for the bride to gift him with her vows. And in a sweet gesture, she invited their daughter I think, who was four years old, to come up and join her and stand by her as she gave her vows to the father of her child, to her now husband. And the first line. Just, oh, I just get goosebumps even recalling her offering. And the first line was okay, it was: “when I was in high school as an immigrant, I never felt I belonged. I never felt at home. And then I met you.” And there were some gasps in the audience and certainly, like, stabbed me in the heart. stabbed me in the heart beautiful. Um, and it was perhaps, not perhaps, it was one of the most beautiful lines ever heard.
Clint 12:47
There's a reading that talks about You are my home. And the fact that she shared that and the fact that so many people in their guest collection Could I probably identify with that. I'm guessing based on the way you've described it.
JP Reynolds 13:53
Well, yeah, I mean it I have to say, if there had not been a mass shooting, if there had not been in the last year, a rise in the horror of Asian racism and harassment, violence. I'm not sure that I would have gotten goosebumps with the line. Because I actually heard that line of your my home. You're my apartment. You're my condo. So I've heard that sentiment, which should begin, at the end of this week, to begin by saying as an immigrant, I never felt at home. Well, then I met you like, wow, wow. Wow. This should be heard from sea to shining sea. So it was very, very poignant. Though let's just remember it's a wedding I did so, of course, poignancy is pouring it. It doesn't last, because now we have to go back to the last moment that I would share with the ceremony. A couple walks down the aisle, as they're walking down the aisle, Everybody starts to leave. Just leave like, by the time the last bride, groomsmen and bridesmaids were walking down the aisle, I would say it was only a third of the people left in their seats.
Clint 15:48
Oh, my gracious.
JP Reynolds 15:50
So what I loved was normally it's like, waiting to that last couple from the wedding party, down the aisle. And now I will say part of it was it was a nippy, nippy day. It might have been the first Sunday of spring, it was chilly. So I think people wanted to find a heater and find a drink. And warm up. Okay, but visually, it was a bit jarring to see the wedding party processing and everybody leaving their rows by the side. And that is the story of my first wedding on the first Sunday in the year 2021.
Clint 16:51
So I'm guessing, this seems like an obvious question, but they didn't do any spreading of the chairs social distancing, like they was just the old normal. Everybody together one center aisle.
JP Reynolds 17:04
Yeah. The chairs were in regulation formation. However, when people arrived, they were given a quick COVID check.
Clint 17:23
Oh, no kidding. Yeah. You mean like just a temperature type deal?
JP Reynolds 17:31
You know, I don't know what that means. The event planner told me that they were doing COVID checks.
Clint 17:43
I remember the only time that I've ever been a part of that may be going to the gym, which where we live, Now the gyms just opened back up. And then as you walk in, they have like one of those forehead temperature gun type of deals. And so they do that to everybody. And, then there's kind of like a, are you feeling any symptoms? Where else did I have that? I think it's kind of like the standard thing. Now, when I donated blood, or we went for a checkup, I think one of my family members went for a checkup at the hospital. And they have somebody out front before you can go into the building. They'll say, can we take your temperature? And did you feel any symptoms? And, that kind of stuff. So I'm just guessing that there was that protocol, something along those lines? Well, everybody's talking about the big light at the end of the tunnel. You know, it sounds to me that what you just experienced. While it does make me a little nervous. It's also very encouraging. I mean, if it happened 40 miles away from where I live, then it just sounds to me like I don't know. There's so many good signs.
JP 19:00
It's getting closer to where you live Clint. Yes. Block after block.
Clint 19:04
Oh, man, I think when it finally gets to my house, I'm gonna have snacks.
JP Reynolds 19:12
Fair enough. Yeah. So big takeaway, folks. The Lost Children of weddings have returned. All restrictions have been lifted. They're free to roam.
Clint 19:29
Outside of this podcast. Have you published anything anywhere that talks about the Lost Children of weddings?
JP Reynolds 19:40
We just hold hands and have a zen moment and just reflect on that. Two grown professional men. Hey, dude, bro. Anyway, you right? Take this up the grant research grant MIT, Harvard. No, no.
Clint 20:10
Okay, fair enough. We'll keep it right here nice and tidy and safe.
JP Reynolds 20:16
Right? There you have it.
Clint 20:18
Hey, there you have it. And by the way, everybody if you have anything that you would like us to talk about, or we want to say thank you, because we have something that could happen over the next two episodes. That's very exciting, a very special guest. And if we can arrange it, and I can't tell you anything else about it other than that, and the way you can reach out to us and offer a suggestion for a guest, or even something that you would like us to talk about, then go to our website, weddingceremonypodcast.com, and just click on the “email us” button, and then it'll come right to us. I check it every day. And that also is where you can listen to our episodes if you'd like to. They're arranged chronologically, the most recent one is at the top. We've started putting transcripts of our episodes on that website as well. If you want to make your life really simple, then just subscribe to the podcast. We are in the Apple Store and in Stitcher and any of the apps that you have in your mobile devices that access the Apple store you can find us, just search for wedding ceremony podcast. We’re the only one, it'll pop right up, click on the subscribe button. Every time we post a new episode, it'll automatically come into your world. Remember the JP’S books are in the Amazon store and in the Kindle store in Amazon. He is a communications expert. thebusinessofconfidence.com is that website, his wedding website is JPRweddings.com. Mine is ReverendClint.com or ClintHufft.com For all of the things that I do. Thank you again to the incredible musicians that play our theme music the dacapoplayers.com. That's it for this episode of the wedding ceremony podcast. This is Clint and on behalf of JP We will see you next time.