Kelan is one of my oldest childhood friends of more than twenty five years. He met his beautiful wife Joleen when we were in high school. She worked at a smoothie store in our hometown and was Miss Teen Washington that year, so it’s safe to say that Kelan spent a lot of money on smoothies that summer. After spending time apart in college, Kelan and Joleen finally rekindled their romance several years later. After becoming engaged, Kelan asked me to officiate his wedding and I was blown away by the amazing opportunity of performing the wedding ceremony of one of my closest childhood buddies. I mean, how many people get an honor like that?
Both Kelan and Joleen come from good Italian stock and both sides of the family really know how to throw a good party. So we all knew that this best day ever wedding was going to be both classy and a heck of a lot of fun. On an afternoon in October, after months of preparation and planning, we gathered at the Fairmont Hotel in downtown Seattle for what we all knew would be an unforgettable day.
Everything was in place. The venue was spectacular. The bridesmaids, groomsmen, ring bearers and flower girls were all dressed and ready. This best day ever couldn’t have gotten better… or could it?
Kelan and all of his groomsmen present were all huge fans of the HBO series The Sopranos. So it came as the best addition to the day’s festivities that Steve Van Zandt who plays Silvio Dante walked into the hotel lobby just as Kelan and Joleen were taking photos with the family. Steve was in town that evening playing with Bruce Springsteen and was dressed and ready for his show. The second he spotted the bride and groom, he quickly left his band-mates and entourage and B-lined it over to Kelan and Joleen to give them a warm greeting and blessing.
As this was all happening I thought to myself, “There could not be a more random yet personalized impacting way for God to send a message to the bride and groom to say, “I’m for this union because I love it and I love you!””
Fifteen minutes later, Kelan and Joleen walked down the aisle to become husband and wife, and the beautiful ceremony was made all the more special because of all the little blessings and confirmations they received along the way that day – including their unexpected best day ever guest Steve Van Zandt. It just serves as a great reminder that as you prepare for your best day ever, always be looking for those signals from heaven that God is always sending you: “I’m for you and I’m for love!”
Oh and one more awesome thing to make all this even cooler. Kelan and Joleen’s beautiful Tuscan-themed wedding was featured on brides.com. You can check out that RIGHT HERE
Best Day Ever Officiant 