The Wedding of Melissa Goodell and Janus Abello - 24 June 2012

The part of the ceremony officiated by Vince Hawkins, lead minister of the Columbia Church of Christ.

This past weekend, I traveled to Columbia, Missouri, to attend the wedding of my friends, Melissa Goodell and Janus Abello. Both the ceremony and the reception were held at Columbia College. They chose to have their ceremony on a Sunday, which is a little unusual, but I liked that I could drive down to Columbia after church.

I first met Melissa when she moved to Columbia to be closer to her then-boyfriend, Brandon. Being from Boston, we instantly bonded over our shared love of the Red Sox. One of my earliest memories with her is watching 'Fever Pitch' with Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore and relishing thoughts of Fenway Park. That and helping her learn how to drive a manual-transmission car. And Janus, I can't remember when I met him, but I've known him for a while. He's originally from Anchorage, Alaska, and came to Columbia to study at the University of Missouri. I think it's pretty cool how God brought them both thousands of miles from home to meet each other, took them halfway across the world to Novosibirsk, Russia, for them to fall in love, and then solidify that love into marriage back in Columbia, Missouri.

Here's some of my favorites:

   

Maks, the lead minister of the Novosibirsk Church of Christ, traveled to Columbia to be part of their wedding. He prayed in Russian (left). The vows portion (right) was officiated by the other minister in the Columbia church, Jason Touchatt. Melissa cries as Janus read his vows. I cried, too. They were great. He talked about how parts of Melissa's character initially scared him because they were so amazing.

   

Left: Their first kiss and Janus's first kiss ever. Right: Melissa's best friend raps a 'Melissa' rap. It included tons of teasing. It was great!

This might not look like much, but this was the part of the wedding where Janus encouraged the teens present to abstain from physical intimacy before marriage. He gushed about how incredible his first kiss was and how waiting was worth it. Gushed.

They smooshed the cake! I *hate* it when the bride and groom daintily feed each other the cake. My flash didn't fire (hence the blur) but I still like the photo.

Other moments from the reception:

  
    

That last one is called the 'White Tornado.' You can see Janus laughing in the background. The dancer, Kevin Bamber, spins around using his arms rather than his legs to make himself move, which means his body contorts in lots of strange directions. Yes, girls, he is married. And yes, his dancing is legendary.