There I was Saturday evening, sitting in the front pew of a church with tears welling up in my eyes as my oldest daughter said her wedding vows and became a bride.

It was another high point in my roller-coaster life the past year.

In a little over a year, I have given away my last child, turned 50, welcomed two grandchildren into the family and said goodbye to my mother and then my father five months later.

The emotional ride has toyed with and unsettled my psyche, since I tend to keep my feelings hidden and under control. I’ve been thrown into waters of sentiment over and over again, but they are not uncharted. Most humans will face everything I have gone through the last year if they live long enough.

The wedding of John Jones and Amanda Sawyers went off without a hitch, which was an accomplishment since there were many hitches laying around everywhere. It was traditional yet elegant, and for many of us, quite intense.

The intensity was ramped even higher because we decided to do most of the flowers, decorations and food by ourselves. We saved a lot of money, but man, it was a lot of work.

In a hectic three-day period, we transformed the gym at Faith Assembly into a beautiful reception hall with a white, gray and pink motif. The decorating continued right up until the last minute.

People attending the reception were not aware that the fresh flowers adorning the 30 tables had been delivered via FedEx just 48 hours earlier from Sam’s Club.

They didn’t know that the miniature, marinated ham sandwiches, which drew raves from everyone who tasted them, were not prepared by a professional chef. Instead, they were baked by the bride’s mother and her friends, using a recipe from Tastefully Simple.

They had no way of knowing that all the fresh fruit — watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries and blueberries — was hand-dipped and prepared by the groom’s mother and her friends.

They never suspected that the father of the bride, me, almost fell off a 20-foot ladder and killed himself while stringing frilly decorations from one side of the gym to the other.

The do-it-ourselves affair was hectic to say the least, compounded by an extreme lack of organization. I mean, I was told by my wife to deliver some decorations to the church Thursday morning and await further instructions. That was fine, except I got stuck there until 8 p.m. that evening, without a shower or a chance to even brush my teeth.

Then, just an hour before the wedding, I found myself sweating profusely inside my black suite while unloading food and fresh vegetables into the reception hall. But I can’t complain because it was tough on all those involved.

I want to thank all the family members, friends and new acquaintances for all their help with the wedding and cleanup afterward. We couldn’t have done it without them. It was a lot of work, but I think everyone got a great deal of satisfaction from pulling it off successfully.

My daughter said the wedding fulfilled all her hopes and dreams. In the end, that’s all that matters. John and Amanda are perfectly suited for each other. We welcome John to our family.

While they are on their honeymoon, I am responsible for their two large Labrador retrievers. Only eight feet from my home, remodeling is underway on a house that will soon be home to my daughter, granddaughter, son-in-law and new grandson, who will join the family in a few months.

Looks like my roller coaster life will continue.