Like any wedding, the ceremony forever joining the letters Q and U — actually, two Qs and two Us, for it was a double-wedding — involved meticulous planning and a certain amount of chaos anyway.
Twelve kindergarten students had invitations to consider, the music, proper attire, and most importantly, the cake. It took some time to pull it together.
Like many brides, the Qs involved welcomed the assistance of wedding planners; any of the dozens of guests witnessing the afternoon vows held at the Martha’s Vineyard Public Charter School could tell it never would have happened without Nichole Shank and Mindy Brodsky, who teach kindergarten as well as organize weddings between letters of the alphabet.
Why, even when one of the Qs (Evanna C) could not make the ceremony at the last minute — not a runaway bride, exactly, but the same effect — it was no problem. Nichole and Mindy persuaded five-year-old Violet Southwick to step in.
The lower-case “q” (Violet) and “u” (Riley Ignacio-Cameron) tied the knot alongside “Q” (Abigail Hammarlund) and “U” (Tripp Hopkins) — quite a quintessentially quality quartet — in a ceremony officiated by Nichole.
Maids of honor, groomsmen and ring bearers (also known by some in the group as ring buriers) were Imani Hall, Ella XXX, Cesca XXX. Jasper Berryman-Moore and Daniel XXX.
Live mandolin music was provided by five-year-old James Seccombe.
Following the brief ceremony, the wedding party waltzed wonderously to the strains of What a Wonderful World. They and their close friends and family then enjoyed a triple-tier cake, punch and a few healthy snacks, continuing to party until the close of school.
They received a wedding card from the school librarian with this questionable advice:
“A querulous queen on a quest for quality quartz quoted a quiet quail’s quatrain in quite a quavery voice: ‘Don’t quarrel with each other over quick and queasy questions. Instead sit on a quilt of quadrangles and eat quince jelly on quinoa crackers. Then quaff a quart of quinine to quench your thirst. This will quickly quash the query of your quandary and end your quibble.’ ”
Perhaps more apt was the advice in Robert Fulgham’s ubiquitous essay of the 1980s, All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten: “No matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.”
— Lauren Martin
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