Hi There...
My Mum and Dad got married last weekend. They've been together most of my life and though I am a child of niether, I am priveleged to call them my parents. They are the most laid back, roll with it kind of people who would help you at (and I speak from experience) a moment's notice without question, though with more than a few well placed...and well deserved...barbs and jokes. My Mum is a dyed in the wool hippie. Not the flowers in her hair, running around naked at Woodstock kinda hippie, I mean a true hippie, peaceful and whimsical who insists on seeing the positive through her rose coloured glasses and fully believes in the power of karma. My Dad warped my sense of humour at a young age but in the process taught me how to be a creative, quick thinking...smart ass...and took me on some of my greatest childhood adventures and gave me moments that have become my fondest memories. Like one time when my sister and I were little, the power went out so my dad got us roasting marshmallows on the end of knitting needles over a candle. Speaking of power outages and karma....
The wedding had been planned as a garden party kind of thing, outdoors and sort of casual in a friend's backyard. For the last month arrangements had been made and lots of hard work had been done with this venue in mind and for the first time all month, it was going to rain on the day of the wedding. So the decision was made to move everything indoors, the day before this little shindig was supposed to go down. The powers that be had gathered at Mum's to get last minute details straight and in walks Dad saying not to worry, he had found us a hall. Just like that. So us girls pulled a quick recon of the hall and cased the situation before running out to the pound shop for tablecloths and incidentals as well as a friendly debate on why $3 should be spent on plastic bowls for the salads when it only costs $1.25 for a turkey roasting pan...Our family doesn't stand on formality. We point and laugh at it.
Then it's the Big Day and because of the suddden venue change, we had an even narrower window of time to get into the hall and get it decorated and set up with the food...lots of food...where it needed to be and still give us all time to go home and get ready. Remember when I mentioned power outages and karma? Yeah, walk with me and listen.
Inside of two hours we had worked a wonder. The head table was laid with glass and linen as befit their position above the salt, food tables were scattered with lace and rose petals in anticipation of being laden with the feast, and the arch where the bride and groom would exchange their vows was a floral bower festooned with glowing drangonflies and dancing butterflies. Chairs awaited kith and kin to be seated and bear witness to a ceremony much anticipated and long awaited.
But I digress..
At one point, it was decided that the arch needed something across the top so I was dispatched to drive over to Mum's and grab the lengths of tulle that had been cut off the bottom of her veil. So I take off for my car and as soon as I get outside I'm smacked right in the face with an epic windstorm. I mean I had to just stand there for a moment and watch. It wasn't so much THAT the wind was blowing, it was WHAT the wind was blowing. There was a hurricane of leaves and they made a sound like static as they blew in great drifts across the pavement, branches skittered across the parking lot, trees were bent almost in half by the wind and the sky looked really angry. I got 3/4 of the way to Mum's and BAM tree across the road. Had to turn around and take the loooooong way around grabbbed the tulle, and cut Mum off halfway through her "Please drive carefully sweetie there's trees down everywhere and the wind is blowing hard" speech cause I knew it was going to take me some time to get back to the hall. Sure enough, less than halfway back, I notice that traffic is wicked slow, and out of the five intersections I'd gone through, only two were working. Ummm...
Then my phone went off. It was a text from Babygirl wanting to know if we had power, meaning she figured I was still at the hall because there was no power at home...Oh crap.
So I book it, carefully, back to the hall to discover the place lit up like a christmas tree. This is where the power outage karma thing comes in. Turns out that the ENTIRE town was without power due to this windstorm...except the hall we were in. Why? Because the hall was part of the ice arena which ran on its own power so the ice wouldnt melt. Karma. We had to move everything inside at the last minute, were able to find a place indoors, and ended up being the only place in town with power. This was the universe saying thank you to my parents for being the postitive, selfless people they are.
We finished decorating and laying in the food and it was like a choreographed dance. I got to hang out with some awesome women I haven't seen in a long time as well as made some new friends, the Sisters of the Bride. I can say this now that everything is said and done, but Mum was kinda worried about the decorations. Ok, minorly fixated would be better but only because we wouldn't let her help, nor tell her what they would look like. It was going to be a surprise. Personally I had way too much fun keeping that secret.
All I'm going to say is that putting makeup on by candlelight is frustrating and damn near impossible. Yeah. But at the same time getting ready by the light of candles, totally enhanced the whole wedding day experience and as awkward as I feel in a dress, it's true what they say, every woman is beautiful by candlelight.
Every woman has that one pair of shoes that makes her feel like Cinderella and I wore mine, all silvery and strappy with heels long enough to make look like a new born colt when I walk but oh they made me feel so pretty. I pulled into the parking lot, opened my car door to the voracious wind, put one foot on the ground and thought...
"Yeah, I'm gonna kill myself."
So in came the leg, off came the silvery strappy pretties and on went the sensible black flats.
The hitching went off without a hitch. The Bride was stunning in her classically ecclectic style that is all her own, a dress of flowing chiffon and classic lace. The Groom pulled off both dapper and handsome in a classic three piece suit with a blue tie and vest. Shades of blue echoed through the bridal party, from the soft pixie blue of the sweet little flower girl's dress, to the deep sapphire of the best man's tie, a match to the Groom's.
Unless you were like, twelve or under and bored out of your mind and fidgety, cause well, who could blame you, you're a kid and wedding ceremonies are sooooo boring...there wasn't a dry eye in the house. The ceremony was elegant in its simplicity and one didn't have to hear the vows being exchanged to feel the depth of love between the Bride and Groom; merely watching the Groom stare at his Bride as he promised his hand and heart to her and her brillant smile as she returned that pledge was the stuff that inspired epic poetry. The love just pulsated off the Bride and Groom in waves and no matter where you were in the room, you felt it and the feeling...drew everyone together and we were one family.
While photos of the new-not-new couple were being taken, with unorganized military precsion, the dance of tables and chairs commenced and we gathered again to break bread and raise our glasses to toast-sometimes tongue firmly planted in cheek-the Bride and Groom. So. Much. Yummy. Food.
As Mistress of Ceremonies, I had the honour of calling out the Bride and Groom for their first dance as husband and wife. From the moment the music started, they were they only two people in the room, and watching them glide across the floor, caught up in each other and smiling broadly, was like witnessing true love manifested. And we danced, oh did we dance! While our little part of the world was dark and stormy outside we were inside celebrating light, making sunshine and rainbows.
At one point during the evening, I couldn't find the Bride and Groom...they weren't outside, the head table sat empty and they were nowhere to be seen on the dance floor. I stood in the middle of the hall and did a slow 360, looking through a sea of happy faces for two really happy faces. And there they were....in the kitchen.
"What are you guys doing in the kitchen?" I asked.
"Making coffee" Mum replies casually with a shrug, like she always makes coffee in chiffon and tulle, while Dad wipes the counter in a tie and vest.
The party wound down naturally and early by most wedding standards, what with the whole massive windstorm and power outage situation outside, and everyone did something to help clean up and pack the food and decorations and load them up into vehicles. With smiles of contentment, good nights and wishes of safe journies were said and family went out into the night, carrying with them a little of the love we were fortunate to bear witness to.
It truly was a Wedding to Remember...Simple, elegant, and classic.
