John Gunter

Thoughts on Life and Living

My most awkward 20 minutes. . . and culturally rich weddings

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This post is part of my series, “My thoughts on weddings. . . (a series)“.  If you have not read the previous two posts, you can click here now to see them and read about this series.

John Gunter summer 2011
This was Teddy and Carrie’s wedding party from last summer.

One of the joys that has been a result of both being raised in a diverse city like Atlanta and in the profession that I have chosen is I have been blessed by having friends from many, many cultural backgrounds.  In thinking about the weddings I have been in, it’s not merely the amount or location.  It is also a matter of the many TYPES of weddings of which I have participated.

I have emceed at Asian-American weddings, participated in ornate Southern rehearsals dinners, toasted hard liquor at Chinese wedding receptions, and dressed in Filipino traditional clothing at a beautiful wedding in Manila.

John Gunter at wedding in Manilla
This was at Ed Graham’s wedding in Manila, wearing traditional Filipino wedding attire.

My favorite awkward wedding moment was at my friend Marcus Hinton’s ceremony.  You have to understand, Marcus is a beast.  Former state of Georgia football player of the year and four year starter at Clemson.  He graduated and worked with college athletes full-time.  His wedding party consisted of ALL division one football players in skill positions. . . and me.

Everything was quite standard until we literally got to the point of the wedding starting.  The guests were seated and we, the wedding party were uncomfortably waiting in the foyer of the church.  The music started and it was R&B Gospel music with a great beat.  The wedding coordinator then informed us [Read more…]

7 reasons why I love weddings

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(This article is part of a series of posts I am writing this month on weddings.  For an overview of the series, please click here.  My first post in this series was “June is the month of weddings. . . ”.)

John Gunter at Phil Autry's wedding
Some of the wedding party at Phil and Jiexia Autry’s wedding.

So, in honor of weddings and June, here are 7 reasons why I love weddings:

  1. See old friends – Especially with living overseas, weddings are fun in just getting to see old friends.  I love this aspect of weddings.  Seems like weddings are about the only place I see certain friends.  Always fun reconnecting.  
  2. The various facial expressions of the groom – This is a bit of a tricky one.  I will talk of three such facial expressions here.  Some grooms have the look of utter euphoria.  They have waited ALL of their lives for this moment and there she is. . . the most beautiful girl that he have ever seen walking towards him with a sense of glorious finality.  “The race is over and I have won!”  Wonderful to see.  Other grooms have the look of sheer terror.  This is usually not about their pending marriage, but rather the actual wedding ceremony.  They would rather do ANYTHING than stand up in front of that many people in uncomfortable clothes, with the fear that they might mess something up and embarrass the woman that they love with all of their lives.  Funny to see, but [Read more…]

June is the month of weddings. . .

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John Gunter at David Moon's wedding
David Moon’s wedding a few years ago

It seems like June is the month of weddings doesn’t it?  I’m sure someone can give me a good explanation for this, but I don’t really know why this is the case.

It’s the same here in East Asia.  I have the honor of attending two weddings of dear friends in the next few weeks, along with regretfully missing the weddings of Erin Norton and Daniel Schneider in America. 

Naturally, this month has me thinking about weddings.  One of the legacies of both my profession (working with many people) and in still being single is that I have participated in over 20 weddings.  Additionally, I have attended an amount of weddings that would rival the number of Israelites in the Old Testament.  As a result, I feel like I’ve seen and/or done just about everything regarding weddings.

I’ve seen a bride’s veil catch on fire during the lighting of the unity candles section (my sister Betsy).  No one was hurt, but [Read more…]

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