Island, ho!

If you recall, daughter Meghan will be getting married soon.

Well, not soon … next year.  But she and Eric have fixed on roughly the season of the year, if not the specific date.  So, progress.

Deception Island, in the distance.

Now as to the place of the wedding, the discussion continues.  It won’t be here, in Kansas City.  The pair quickly fell in love with Bellingham, Wash., where they are graduate students.  And for good reason: It’s beautiful there.  They also want to hold the event outside.

So we'd been expecting to hear from Meghan about possible locations in the Northwest.  A nice forest glade, perhaps.  Or a bluff overlooking Bellingham Bay.  Or maybe right beside a salmon run … that’d be my choice. Wedding at noon, catch fish at 3, cook them for the reception at 6, serve quickly. 

So it came as some surprise when Meghan sent a photo of Deception Island, a small, deserted place a bit south and west of Bellingham.

“I’m trying to convince Eric that we could ferry some boats to and from the island …,” she wrote, “and have the wedding ceremony out there.”

That’s Meghan, the dreamer.  But if you remember from an earlier post about their engagement, Meghan doesn’t simply dream.  She reaches her dreams.

So we have to think that this might be the place. 

The island sits to the west of Deception Pass.  The area has an interesting history. A sister island to the east was once used to smuggle illegal Chinese laborers in the late 1880s.  The Seattle grunge band Mudhoney named a song after Deception Pass in 1993.

I’m sure there is other history in between and after.

The island is not very big. Judging from a map, not more than 1,000 feet in length.  Scuba divers like to snorkel around it, apparently.  But you must be careful of the currents and tides.

Meghan allows that she would need to personally visit the island to see if a wedding there is practical.

It's a long shot, but I’m hoping so.

I can see us all now … the wedding party and observers aboard a trail of boats. 

To the island, row!

Being the father of the bride, I’d be in the first one, of course, with the parents.  Like Washington crossing the Delaware, I’d hold my head high, the wind in my face, waves all around, clearing the way, proud of the moment. 

Then would come the bride’s boat. I’d say decorated like a giant swan, although that's maybe over the top. Then Eric and his groomsmen, our escorts, perhaps buzzing alongside on Skidoos.

There are all sorts of reasons this works.  Selfishly, it’d be Above Water, and so all good.  (See the name of the blog, top of this page.)  At least, we’d seek to stay above water; I’m sure we’d wear life jackets.

And as we’d ply our way west from the Pass, we could all sing, “Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat.” You know the tune … from Meghan’s beloved “Guys and Dolls.”

And then there are all those clichés that would magically become useful metaphors.

“Sure, marriage has its ups and downs, but ultimately you don’t want to make too many waves.  Better to test the waters first anyway.  And even if those waters are troubled … well, that really just becomes water under the bridge, right?"

Oh, and the ultimate metaphor of marital tolerance:

“Whatever floats your boat!”

Yep, the island thing makes sense. Seriously, I'm for it.  It's a gorgeous setting.  Perfect for Meghan and Eric.

Sure, the name of the island gives some pause.  “Deception.”  Odd name for a wedding site.  But that’s something for the two of them to work out.

Anyway, it’s a strong union born upon a rock called an island.  And it’s not as if life’s deceptions can be avoided. Best to meet them head on.

Just ask Danish philosopher Kierkegaard. He’d appreciate a Deception Island wedding, I think.

“To cheat oneself out of love,” he wrote, “now that is the most terrible deception ....”

Good luck, Meghan, with your island visit. Let Dad know what you find out. I'm ready to don my sea legs.