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Local couple grateful for last-minute wedding help
Never underestimate the power of love–and a lot of helping hands.When Erin Rogers and Rob Howe decided to move up their wedding date so they could get married before his Marine unit is deployed to Iraq in September, they ran into some logistical problems.
Erin is a senior who will graduate this weekend from Clarke County High School. Rob, who graduated with the class of 2006, is currently assigned to Camp Lejeune, N.C., as a lance corporal in the 2nd Battalion, 9th Marines Weapons Company.
On May 24, they exchanged vows at the Shenandoah Baptist Church near Route 50 and celebrated afterward at the Shenandoah Farms Fire Hall, a milestone they say they couldn’t have reached without the support of some students and teachers at the high school.
That’s because students made the flower bouquets and teachers allowed Erin flexibility in her class schedule so she could attend to the details of pulling the occasion together.
With time of the essence, Erin said, “I couldn’t find anybody to do my flowers.” But she added that her friend and maid-of-honor, Amanda Mainhart, a member of the school’s horticulture class, told her the group has done flowers for weddings. So Erin said she asked her to inquire whether they would do hers.
“We’re glad to have the opportunity to have a little bit of experience; that’s what weddings give us – an opportunity to do fresh flowers,” teacher Beth Novak said. “Not only for them (students) to put the flowers together but also be involved in the planning and to understand what goes into it and how much things cost.”
“I like the fact that the high school I went to, even though I haven’t been there for two years, is still supporting its students,” Rob said.
“The teachers at that school have done a lot,” he added, citing the scheduling leeway. “It sort of helped get the ball rolling on the wedding. They have been extremely understanding when it came to anything that [Erin] needed from them. Her teachers are doing a really good job of looking out for her.”
Even though they were separated by a seven-hour drive and schedules that did not coincide, Rob was granted a 96-hour liberty to come home over Memorial Day weekend for the wedding.
As for their honeymoon, he said that will have to wait a short while until he gets some pre-deployment leave. Then he said he hopes to take Erin somewhere in Florida.
Asked her wish for the future, Erin replied: “Just a long, happy marriage.”
Adding that some people had said she was too young to get married, Erin said, “I think if you’re in love with somebody, you should be with them if you want to be.”
Contact the reporter at rmarlow@timespapers.com
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