So, over the weekend we had the privilege of attending Karen's wedding to Mr. Benjamin Schipper. It was a really beautiful wedding (of course). The bride was elegant and sophisticated, yet sweet and beautiful. The groom was befitting of such a bride.
We were especially touched by all the speeches at the reception. Everyone talked about prayer. We talked to some professors and esteemed professionals from our industry. Every single person spoke glowingly about Ben. Until that evening, we had only enjoyed limited time with him. So it was encouraging to hear so many third-party, unsolicited endorsements of both his talent and his character. Of course, Karen is such a fine woman, it comes as no surprise that she has a fine husband. But we feel better knowing for sure.
We had been looking forward to meeting Karen's parents. Since they live in Hong Kong, they don't just pop in for coffee over here. It takes an occasion. They were delightful people. We told them how much we love and admire Karen, and how much we enjoy having her around. Her father smiled and nodded. He said, "Everyone is Karen's best friend." We might have taken exception to this, except it was obviously a sincere statement, without embellishment, of an objective fact. Our unscientific survey on the subject certainly bears this out.
The nephews on violin and cello were dapper, handsome, and more than up to the task of Canon in D and Aire on a G String. Everyone cried a little when the bride burst through the doors, looking like a princess, on the arm of her father. It was quite a moment.
One always tends to worry on occasions like this. What will this mean to OUR relationship with Karen? What will this do to the future we've envisioned? How has the universe shifted because of this new development? Kind of sends my mind back to Spencer Tracy in Father of the Bride (sorry, Steve Martin is a nice guy, but no Spencer Tracy).
Thing is, boys meet girls. They fall in love. They get married. Karen is a very talented art director. And she and Elizabeth were the inspiration for the new Gibbons | Peck principle 10- sprinkle the love. But being there, with all these beautiful young men and women, we were encouraged.
Karen Kong Schipper seems to be the sort of woman who keeps making the circle bigger. And Ben is, by all accounts, a fine man and talented artist in his own right. So, it kind of proves the old saying (to paraphrase): we're not losing an art director, we're gaining an illustrator. We look forward to seeing these two grow together.
