Stan and Adele had agreed to go to South Florida a week before Uncle Stu and Amanda’s wedding to help with the last-minute details. They were bringing their daughters Justine and Suzy along so they could help. When they stepped off the train, they looked around for Stu.

Adele: I don’t see Stu anywhere.

Justine: Maybe he got lost on the way to the station.

Suzy: I bet Amanda isn’t letting him out of her sight.

Stan: They’ve been staying with Granny Gator so she can keep an eye on him.

Adele: Are you sure he was going to meet us? Maybe we should just take the bus.

Then they heard a very agitated voice behind them:

Are you the Stanley Gator family? I need to find the Stanley Gator family. Have you seen the Stanley Gator family? They were supposed to be on this train? I have to find the Stanley Gator family.

Stan turned around to see who was calling him and was very surprised to see a rather large squirrel.

Stan: I’m Stan Gator. What can I do for you?

Squirrel: I’m Stella. I’m the wedding planner for Stuart and Amanda.I’m glad I found you. Things are not going well for the wedding. I’ll explain it on the way to Granny Gertie’s farm.

Suzy: Are they fighting? Are they going to cancel the wedding?

Justine: That’s dumb. Why would they cancel the wedding now?

Stella: They are fine.They are getting married on the beach and then going to the swamp for the reception.

Adele: That sounds lovely. What’s the problem?

Stella: There was some type of miscommunication. The Everglades Inn, where we are having the reception, was supposed to provide the officiant for the wedding. Apparently, no one told him, and he does not want to travel to the beach.

Justine: Maybe you could offer them more money.

Stella: Unfortunately, he is a river otter and is not comfortable with the ocean.

Stan: There must be someone else who could do it.

Stella: I’ve been calling around. No luck so far.

She pulled into the driveway, and everyone got out of the car. Granny, Stu, and Amanda came out to greet them.

Stu: Adele, you and the girls get prettier every time I see you.

Suzy: Hi, Uncle Stu. How are you?

Stu: I’m doing fine. I imagine you’ve heard about the glitch in our wedding planning.

Adele: It’s a shame that you haven’t been able to find a replacement for your officiant.

Amanda: It seemed so romantic to set the date on Valentine’s Day. But now everyone is booked. It’s too late to postpone the wedding. We don’t know what to do.

Stu: The other problem is that a lot of animals are afraid of alligators

Justine: I don’t understand that. We’re nice to other creatures.

Stan: Some alligators see almost anything as a snack. Other animals don’t want to take a chance.

Suzy: And our teeth are kinda scary.

Stu’s son Vinny came around the corner.

Vinny: Hey, Dad. I have an idea. When humans need someone for a wedding, they go online and get certified to do it.

Stu: We are not humans.

Vinny: I know that. But maybe we could get one of those certifications before the wedding.

Amanda: Could we just ask one of the humans who already can marry humans.

Stu: I love you Sweetie, but I am not getting married by a human.

Justine: I’m afraid of humans.

Suzy: Yeah. You can’t tell the difference between the nice ones and the ones who would eat us.

Adele: So we need to find an animal to marry you or one of us needs to be certified.

Cousin Danny, the bird doctor, joined the conversation.

Danny: I know an ibis who could probably do it. I’ll call her.

Amanda: That’s wonderful Danny!

Justine: Why did you get here so early?

Danny: The bachelor party is tomorrow. Amanda didn’t want anyone showing up at the wedding with a hangover.

Justine: Where are you going?

Stu: It’s a secret. They’re not even telling me.

Next Week: The bachelor party

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.