Wedding Story — By Tommy Purser

FOX HILL PLANTATION, HAHIRA, GA — Miss Kaitlyn Michelle Purser and Mr. Matthew Gavin Reed were united in Holy Matrimony Saturday, May 2, 2026, at Fox Hill Plantation wedding venue near Hahira, Ga.
The double-ring ceremony was held in the plantation’s open-air, covered pavilion nestled amidst a forest of moss-covered oak trees. A capacity crowd was on hand to watch as Thomas Howard Purser Sr., the grandfather of the bride, eloquently conducted the marriage ritual as almost two dozen beaming attendants looked on approvingly.
Mr. Purser was handsomely attired in a black tuxedo, black tie, black vest, with matching black shoes and knee-length silky smooth stockings,
His head was adorned with — well — nothing as he had fastidiously shaved away any small stubble that may have remained after his morning dome preparation activities.
He was also closely shaved and his black eyebrows, tinged elegantly by whispers of gray, were neatly trimmed and combed close to his forehead.
He wore a single, gold wedding band, a gift presented to him by his wife, the grandmother of the bride, almost 6 decades ago during the social event of the year in the small, east Georgia town that was the site of the then-young couple’s marriage ceremony.
At the beginning of Saturday’s wedding performance, Mr. Purser stunned the crowd with a surprise, two sentence rendition of the Etta James classic “At Last,” in recognition that there had been rumors circulating that the groom’s aunts had expressed their concerns that their late-20s nephew might never find a suitable bride with whom to spend the remainder of his life.
The crowd beamed approvingly, not only at the appropriateness of Mr. Purser’s selection but also the mellow tones with which he delivered the song.
The bride almost swooned, not only with surprise but also with pride that her favorite living grandfather — in fact, her ONLY living grandfather — could croon in such a swoon-worthy manner.
The bridesmaids noticeably blushed, fanning their heated cheeks lest they swoon with admiration.
Mr. Purser deftly guided the couple through their vows, directing the ringbearer with exquisite timing to prevent any awkward silences from tainting the perfection of his matrimonial expertise.
He neither missed nor mispronounced a word, pausing with great effect at moments when the audience would benefit from a brief moment of reflection on the words eloquently delivered by the master officiant.
Once the bridal couple had completed their vows and left the venue, followed by the parade of attendants, Mr. Purser was surrounded by admiring wedding guests who rushed to effusively commend him on the eloquent manner in which he administered the wedding rites to the couple.
The bride, by the way, looked pretty good herself. She was dressed in white.