Science and technology have been good for wedding planning. How do I know this? Well, last week our very good friend KD married. A really nice man. With a big, loud family. And the normal complement of madness.
They've worked hard at this relationship. The love has always been there. The logistics, politics, practical considerations and emotions surrounding harmoniously blending families have played into the whole equation. More than once.
The bride? Stunning in a princess like eggplant lace dress. Gorgeous. Her blonde hair was arranged in a soft updo, with pincurls in the back. Sooo pretty.
The ceremony? In a lovely Catholic church with small stained glass windows. The light came through and created an absolutely gorgeous glow in the entire church. Vows, were a nice mix of traditional and modern. Short, with a mass. Serenity and joy and calm infused us all.
The serenity piece was, for me, unexpected. See, Daughter got injured in a soccer game earlier in the day. A knee injury which we suspected, and have since had confirmed, was an ACL tear. Requiring surgery and a pretty gnarly recovery. An elephant of emotion had been sitting on my chest since the injury occurred. The calm of the service, of the church, helped to lighten that fat pachyderm just a little, and for that I was grateful.
Daughter insisted we attend the wedding. She adores the bride, a dear friend and healer as well. She's amazing, and we cherish her in our lives. So, we propped up the girl, iced her leg, filled her with Advil, gave her lunch and several remote controls, and dashed off to the wedding. I honestly felt like a complete fake in spite of the little black dress and makeup. My baby was in pain, physical and emotional, and her parents were on the edge.
So, the peaceful service was a balm. Unexpected. Welcome. Healing.
After the service we dashed back to the house, changed into comfy clothes since we had several hours before the reception, tended to the girl, worried some more, tried to relax, but mostly just fussed about.
Reception was at a local country club. Beautiful setting, mountains as the backdrop, beautiful early evening light illuminating the reception room. The tables, well, they were beautiful. Cream satin chair covers, tasteful muted-color tablecloths. Elegant, tall arrangements of white roses and orchids stood in the center. Their vases were filled with gel...a cool stuff that looks just like clear jello..only little globbies. I'm guessing they're a byproduct of the space program, like Tang and Teflon. The effect was cool...kind of space age substance meets stunning bridal floral...
..and when they turned the lights down later in the evening, those gel vases lit up. Little LEDs shone brightly up through gel, creating a very cool effect.
There was dining. There was dancing. There was denial. There was dread. What can I say? Sometimes the emotions just percolate and self-distribute at will. This was one of those times.
At the end of the evening as things were winding down, the bride came over and insisted we take a bouquet with us. To help cheer our daughter up. To enjoy. She also gathered up a pretty mesh bag full of 'diamonds' from the tabletop, and suggested we help ourselves to the candy bar by the entrance...chocolate is a well-known mood enhancer, after all.
Oh, the light in the vase? Lasted for 3 1/2 DAYS! Now that's some kind of battery in a teeny weeny little LED unit! Miniaturization at work in a most elegant way, no?
So, a weekend that began as one of the shittiest on record ended with a sigh. And a week later we're disposing of the remaining gel, rinsing out the vase and returning it to our bride friend to then return to the florist who stresses.
The Daughter? She's got some hard work to do, but in the end she'll be fine. She's still headed back East for school, due to a coach who understands soccer, injuries, Daughter's commitment to the game and to healing, and to a bigger picture.
Happy sigh. Pachyderm gone.
They've worked hard at this relationship. The love has always been there. The logistics, politics, practical considerations and emotions surrounding harmoniously blending families have played into the whole equation. More than once.
The bride? Stunning in a princess like eggplant lace dress. Gorgeous. Her blonde hair was arranged in a soft updo, with pincurls in the back. Sooo pretty.
The ceremony? In a lovely Catholic church with small stained glass windows. The light came through and created an absolutely gorgeous glow in the entire church. Vows, were a nice mix of traditional and modern. Short, with a mass. Serenity and joy and calm infused us all.
The serenity piece was, for me, unexpected. See, Daughter got injured in a soccer game earlier in the day. A knee injury which we suspected, and have since had confirmed, was an ACL tear. Requiring surgery and a pretty gnarly recovery. An elephant of emotion had been sitting on my chest since the injury occurred. The calm of the service, of the church, helped to lighten that fat pachyderm just a little, and for that I was grateful.
Daughter insisted we attend the wedding. She adores the bride, a dear friend and healer as well. She's amazing, and we cherish her in our lives. So, we propped up the girl, iced her leg, filled her with Advil, gave her lunch and several remote controls, and dashed off to the wedding. I honestly felt like a complete fake in spite of the little black dress and makeup. My baby was in pain, physical and emotional, and her parents were on the edge.
So, the peaceful service was a balm. Unexpected. Welcome. Healing.
After the service we dashed back to the house, changed into comfy clothes since we had several hours before the reception, tended to the girl, worried some more, tried to relax, but mostly just fussed about.
Reception was at a local country club. Beautiful setting, mountains as the backdrop, beautiful early evening light illuminating the reception room. The tables, well, they were beautiful. Cream satin chair covers, tasteful muted-color tablecloths. Elegant, tall arrangements of white roses and orchids stood in the center. Their vases were filled with gel...a cool stuff that looks just like clear jello..only little globbies. I'm guessing they're a byproduct of the space program, like Tang and Teflon. The effect was cool...kind of space age substance meets stunning bridal floral...
..and when they turned the lights down later in the evening, those gel vases lit up. Little LEDs shone brightly up through gel, creating a very cool effect.
There was dining. There was dancing. There was denial. There was dread. What can I say? Sometimes the emotions just percolate and self-distribute at will. This was one of those times.
At the end of the evening as things were winding down, the bride came over and insisted we take a bouquet with us. To help cheer our daughter up. To enjoy. She also gathered up a pretty mesh bag full of 'diamonds' from the tabletop, and suggested we help ourselves to the candy bar by the entrance...chocolate is a well-known mood enhancer, after all.
Oh, the light in the vase? Lasted for 3 1/2 DAYS! Now that's some kind of battery in a teeny weeny little LED unit! Miniaturization at work in a most elegant way, no?
So, a weekend that began as one of the shittiest on record ended with a sigh. And a week later we're disposing of the remaining gel, rinsing out the vase and returning it to our bride friend to then return to the florist who stresses.
The Daughter? She's got some hard work to do, but in the end she'll be fine. She's still headed back East for school, due to a coach who understands soccer, injuries, Daughter's commitment to the game and to healing, and to a bigger picture.
Happy sigh. Pachyderm gone.
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