It has been four months since I last performed a wedding. It was a chilly day in October, and I remember standing against a rock cliff near the mouth of the Baptism River to try to stay warm.

Today the temperature is -20°. The couple relented this morning and agreed to move the ceremony indoors, and I am grateful. I ran my ski bibs and parka through the wash last night in preparation for the outdoor scenario.

These days, weddings are less common on my calendar, and those have smaller guest lists. So I am grateful for today. Happy to set out on this icy adventure, and feeling the warmth of love in my heart.

An ice dam that had formed elsewhere is melting in spite of the thermometer reading outside.

Weddings and adoptions are two ways families are formed by people choosing each other. They make a public declaration of their love and intentions of forever. Sometimes it happens along a riverbank. Sometimes in a church or ballroom. Sometimes in a county courtroom. Always in the heart.