Name Change Alert!!

San-Juan-Bautista-Wedding-106I know it is politically incorrect nowadays for a woman to take the name of the man she marries (or whatever!), but I am formally–OK–informally!–announcing that Robert Groeling and I got married on July 4 of this year. I will be changing my name to Meg Groeling, even though Word for Mac puts a red line under it every time.

It was a wonderful–as in “full of wonders”–wedding! First, it is amazing to me that it even happened at all . . . but it did. We held the ceremony in historic San Juan Bautista, in central California. This little gem of a town began in 1797 when Father Fermin de LasuĂ©n, founded Mission San Juan Bautista. Robert has been a State Park docent at San Juan for twenty years, and it seemed like a good place for a small, history-themed wedding. It was perfect.San-Juan-Bautista-Wedding-109

I will not bore anyone with wedding porn. but there were a couple of real highlights. Our band was actually a band! The Band of the California Battalion played their antique brass instruments, sang, and even marched for us. The only two modern songs included were “I Left My Love” (Robert is a serious U.S. Grant fan) and “Those Magnificent Men In Their Flying Machines.” San-Juan-Bautista-Wedding-114The last song was played as two bi-planes flew over the wedding at exactly 12:00 noon, making two rings (aw!) and trailing perfectly coordinated smoke. The crowd cheered them on from below, and one little boy standing a few feet from me exclaimed, “That was the BEST thing ever!” The kid looked about ready to explode with happiness and wonder!

root beer in silver urnThe wedding was a morning one, and only three hours from beginning to end, so we decided early on not to serve any alcohol. That way folks could get back home or on to other destinations to continue to enjoy their Fourth. Robert is a serious root beer aficionado, so we had root beer. Lots of root beer! We even had some bottled especially for the occasion, and gracing our label was–of course–Colonel Elmer Ellsworth! There were at least twenty other kinds of root beer available, so no one was thirsty. We didn’t even hear anyone complain about “no beer!”

So, I am now officially Margaret Susan “Meg” Groeling. Chris and Dan have promised to change it on the author’s page at ECW. Now all I have to do is remember to change the bylines! Huzzah!San-Juan-Bautista-Wedding-110-1



6 Responses to Name Change Alert!!

  1. Congrats! What a neat way to include your love for history in your special day. Beautiful location too! Best wishes for much happiness. Thanks for sharing your good news.

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