Party Planners Plus Planning Your Wedding Day by Day: A Love Story, A Wedding and The Three Musketeers....

Just when you think you have felt every feeling possible when you perform a wedding ceremony, something always happens that makes your heart thump just a little bit.

On July 11, 2013 I was asked to do an elopement for a couple, little did I know just how exciting and extraordinary it would be. Still today I think of this couple that walked into my office, marriage license in hand wanting me to marry them.

Behind them as they walked through the door was a women who introduced herself as Lisa, their daughter. She had a sparkle in her eye... as if to be just as excited as the wedding couple were.

I proceeded to put them in place and they wanted to say their own vows to each other, she had no flowers so I reached over and handed her some silk pink roses to hold. As they turned and faced each other you could see a sparkle in his eyes and the excitement in her smile...she laid the roses on the coffee table and then grasped each others hands so tightly and stood while I began. When it came time for them to read their vows, they both seemed nervous and as they murmured a few quit words to each other before beginning. I leaned over to their daughter Lisa and whispered "they are so sweet" she replied as she was snapping pictures "I know, I just met him yesterday". At that moment I wanted to know more, but knew the ceremony had to continue.

As he began to read the words he wrote on folded paper, I watched as his eyes began to tear up and her lips quivered as a tear slid down her cheek and I began to understand some of what their journey was. A card was unfolded in her hands as she began to read her words. She read with such a soft trembling voice, trying hard to hold back the tears that kept falling down her cheeks. My heart was beating hard and the goose bumps were all over my arms as I listened and watch these two pour their hearts out to each other, like I have never heard before.

Their vows to each other...

Scotty, you are my best friend, my true love, my protector, my brave warrior. I think I fell in love with you the first time we danced, your chin on my head and holding each other so close. But, good things don't always last forever, Unforeseen circumstances took us away from our beautiful dream and I thought I would never see you again. But then, our loving and beautiful daughter brought us together after forty eight long years. My love for you is as strong as ever and this time, I hope God will give us many years together. I will take care of you, honor you, be faithful to you and spend the rest of my life loving you. I LOVE YOU

Marianne, I met you 49 years ago and it was love at first sight. I had never seen a more beautiful woman. Circumstances beyond our control kept us from being together. Then through all the years since, I looked for you, or someone like you, but my search was always in vain. Then, on a day not too long ago, my dream was answered when I heard your sweet voice on the phone again. All of the feelings from the past resurfaced and are with me today. I have found my one true love and want to take no chances of losing it again. I love you Marianne and promise to love and cherish you for the rest of the time I have on this earth and beyond. By saying "I do", I fully commit to you my mind, body and soul forever......

I knew I was watching a love story unfold right in front of me and felt so proud to be officiating this ceremony.

We finished and walked outside by the tree lined fence outside my office to get a few pictures..as we walked their daughter started telling me the story of how she found her father and of how she really did it for her mother to finally bring some happiness back into her life. Turns out it brought even more happiness to her father as well.

I asked Lisa to please send me photos and if possible to write to me about how today came about.

In her own words, this is what I received...again my eyes filled with tears and those same goose bumps appeared as I started reading.....

The Love Story of Darrell Scott and Marianne Swisher

This is a true story as told by their daughter Lisa

Well, where do I start?

I was pretty much raised in Kansas City, MO. Then when I was 18 I married a military man and moved to Washington State, a year later my daughter Ashley was born, this was in 1985. My husband at the time had to go overseas to Korea for about a year, so I decided to go back to K.C. and stay with my mom until he returned home.

One day my mom and I were sitting and talking about her past boyfriends and things like that, she started talking about this guy named Scotty that she use to date, they were only together for about 3 months before he had to go overseas and then on to Vietnam.

I asked what they used to do together and she said dance and hang out in bed on rainy days a lot.

I then asked what he looked like and she said, "he had reddish hair and freckles," and I jokingly said, "Hey, he sounds like he could be my dad!" Since I too had red hair and freckles, but my mom or dad did not! The look on her face when I said that really took me off guard and made me start thinking! I really didn't look like either one of my parents.

I started doing some investigation and found my birth certificate and realized by the date that I was 6 months old when my mom and the dad I thought was my dad got married. I showed her that and then she told me the truth. I wasn't really surprised and I was fine with it! At that time we had no idea if my real dad was still alive or not, she thought he had died in Vietnam. So we decided to look him up and see if he was in the same town she remembered. He was and we found his number.

My mother called him and told him that I would like some pictures of him, for some reason at that time that was all I wanted, I was 25 and young! I really had no desire at that time to meet him. I forgot to mention that he always knew he had a daughter out there somewhere. So he sent us some pictures and my mom and him talked a few times and that was about it then! He was married at the time and my mother was in a relationship. So I was satisfied just to get some pictures and see what he looked like!

For me it was like looking in the mirror!

Then we jump ahead to St. Patrick's Day 2013. I was home alone and something just came over me, I started crying and I didn't really know why! It's like something just hit me over the head and said you have to find and know your real father!

All of a sudden I wanted this so bad!

I called my mom and told her that we needed to find my real dad again! So we both looked up different numbers and found him again! I wanted her to call so she did and got his answering machine, and new instantly that it was him. The message she left was, "This is Marianne and it's about Lisa and it's important, could you please call me back."

Within 5 minutes he called and they talked and she told him I wanted to get to know him and meet him! He was very excited to hear this, that same night he called me and it was unbelievable how natural and easy everything was! It was like we had known each other all along. From then on we texted a few times a day and talked every few! In the meantime my mom and him were doing the same thing and began to fall in love again after 48 long years! The timing was perfect this time, neither were married or with anyone! My dad said he had always loved my mom and that's why none of his other marriages worked out because he was always looking for her! I think it took my mom a little longer to fall back in love, but she sure fell hard and as you know they are now married and act like two teenagers in love! Before you married them my mom and I planned a trip to go see him in Ohio! I live in California and so I flew to K.C. where my mom lives and then we drove to Ohio! When we pulled up to his house he was sitting on the porch and he came to greet us, I said "Hug mom first", they looked into each others eyed and didn't stop for 10 minutes! The love was so real and obvious! Then I went over and we all three hugged and from then on it was like a special bond that will never be broken!

We call ourselves The Three Musketeers! We then spent a week with him and never once turned the t.v. on! That was amazing, we just had so much to talk about! His family says they have never seen him this happy in his life! He is a former Marine who was in Vietnam, he saw and went through a lot there and suffers from PTSD!

With the love of my mother and I, he has never been happier and finally feels like his life is complete! We all feel that way now too, none of us have ever been more happy..... it's like there was always something missing, but now everything is how it should be! The only reason I can think of as to 25 years ago when we first contacted him nothing happened, it just wasn't the right time, but it is exactly how it should be now! I want to thank you for marrying my mother and father.

I wish for Scotty, Marianne and Lisa all the love in the world and thank them for allowing me to be a part of their story...The Three Musketeers!