I was always really into weddings. I loved the dresses, the atmosphere, the food, and all the wonderful people. I loved love—and I still do to this day.

About 10 years ago, I had a problem: my day job just wasn’t cutting it. My family and I were broke and living paycheck to paycheck, so I thought maybe I could start a side hustle related to weddings. I didn’t have any money to invest in materials or items to rent out, but I was a decent writer.

I thought about it for a while, did some research, and eventually came to the conclusion that I should become a wedding officiant. I got ordained online, purchased a book about how to conduct a ceremony, and listed myself as a new officiant on a free website.

Months went by without anyone contacting me. Then, finally, someone called!

They wanted me to conduct a small ceremony. It was only going to be the bride, the groom, and about three other people. I was so excited! The groom told me, “Hey, I just need you to sign the marriage license. We don’t need a ceremony—we just want something very simple.”

Later that evening, after a long day at work, I thumbed through my book one more time and started to feel pretty good about what I needed to do. I even printed out a single sheet of paper with two sentences written at the top that basically said:

“Do you? Yes. Do you? Yes. Good—you’re married! Kiss her!”

Finally, the big day arrived—for everyone, including me!

I entered the address into my GPS and arrived at about 4:15 p.m., only to find the entire street lined with cars. There must have been 15 or 20 of them!

“Are they all here for this wedding? I hope not,” I said out loud, fully knowing that all those cars were, in fact, there for the wedding.

I was not prepared for this.

Nonetheless, I got out of my car looking the part. I wore a black jacket with matching pants and your typical long-sleeved, white button-up shirt—no tie.

I walked up to the door and rang the bell, only to be greeted by none other than the groom himself. He was a dashing older man, about six feet tall, dressed in a way you might not expect. He was wearing more or less golf attire!

We shook hands and introduced ourselves. As I stepped through the doorway, I immediately noticed more than five people—more like 50! There was a cake, a fancy charcuterie board, tons of drinks, and music. It was a very happening, low-key wedding, if you catch my drift.

The groom, Tom, pulled me aside and apologized.

“Hey, so I know I told you there were only going to be a few people here, but word got out, and everyone just kind of showed up.”

At that point, what was I going to say? I couldn’t just leave.

I told him, “Don’t worry this is my first rodeo!”

He reluctantly smiled and nodded before leading me into the backyard.

His backyard was immaculate, with neatly cut green grass and a beautiful garden at the rear of the property. Not only were there a ton of people, but they had also acquired some makeshift seating, a video camera, and what you might call an aisle runner.

By this point, it was about 4:30, and it was time to begin the ceremony.

I was incredibly nervous. My hands were shaking, and the single sheet of paper I was holding was definitely giving away those vibes. One hundred eyes were focused on the groom and me.

I was seriously unprepared.

Before I could even take a breath, the bride walked through the sliding glass door, and everyone turned to look at her. She was a beautiful younger woman wearing a not-so-traditional white wedding dress. She was alone, with no one to walk her down the aisle.

She took Tom’s hand, and they both stood facing me with their backs to the audience.

I completely forgot to welcome everyone to the ceremony. Instead, I immediately started reading my two-sentence wedding script.

“Tom, do you take Pa…tcha…Rabh…orn…”

I tried again.

Then I had to stop because, well, I had forgotten how to pronounce her name.

I looked into her eyes and said, “I’m sorry. How do you pronounce your name again?”

In her Filipino accent, she said, “Patcharabhorn.”

In a slightly high-pitched voice, I asked, “What was that again?”

Tom and his bride answered at the same time: “Patcharabhorn.”

At this point, I was so embarrassed. Swallowing hard, I started again.

“Tom, do you take Patch…Arab…horn to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Tom then looked deep into her eyes with all his love and said, “Yes.”

Instantly, Patcharabhorn began to cry. They were tears of joy and happiness. I started to get emotional as I finally realized what was happening: I was marrying two people. They were going to blend their lives together. Right there in front of me was a powerful moment of love, even with all the mistakes I made. After all this was about them.

I turned to Patcharabhorn and said, “Patcharabhorn, do you take Tom to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

Before I could even finish the sentence, she had already said, “Yes.” as Tom whipped away her tears.

I took a brief pause and continued, “By the power invested in me, I now pronounce you husband and wife. Tom, you may kiss your bride!”

Surprisingly, about 10 people clapped and cheered which was more than I had been expecting.

After they kissed and hugged, they thanked me and told me not to worry about having trouble pronouncing her name. We then went inside to sign the marriage license.

Once everything was filled out, a man pulled me aside and said, “Looks like that was your first wedding.”

I nodded in agreement.

He continued, “It’s not ‘By the power invested in me.’ It’s ‘By the power vested in me.’”

“Oh,” I replied. “Thanks for the tip. I’ll be sure not to make that mistake again!” We both laughed.

Tom walked me out and handed me $100.

I told him, “It was only supposed to be $50 for me to marry you.”

He replied, “I know, but you were expecting something else, and half the family showed up. Take it.”

I took the money and shook his hand.

I left that day a changed man in several ways. I had witnessed love at its finest, right in front of me and I had made an extra $50!

That was the beginning of my career as a wedding officiant.

Even though I made a million mistakes that day, the bride and groom were touched. They were both incredibly emotional and grateful. Since then, I have married more than 500 wonderful couples and yes, I still get emotional and tear up every now and again.

Love is the most powerful force in the universe.

Embrace it every day you get.