The true measure of love resides in those who show up in our lives. This week was proof that my son and his new bride are deeply loved.
Last week, an army of family and friends arrived from five countries and three continents to create their dream wedding.
My dear friend, Peggy, spent weeks advising, organizing and comforting the nervous couple through every detail of planning a tricky wedding. A gaggle of neighbors not only offered to share their boats, but also their tables, chairs and parking spaces.
A ragtag posse of family and friends arrived three mornings in a row to gather and lash together 13 deck boats to form a wedding flotilla. They shlepped a dozen tables and 100 chairs down three levels of stairs to create a floating chapel and wedding reception. And then they showed up again to take everything apart.
My daughter built an extraordinary floral arch with hand-dyed flowers to frame the newlyweds as they took their vows. My son’s talented friends from elementary school set up a sound system and a livestream to all the loved ones who couldn’t make the long trip from Brazil. A friend of the bride, Thais, set up a projection of the livestream on a building in Recife.
My darling nephews channeled their inner 5-year-olds and drew enormous hearts with sidewalk chalk to mark available wedding parking spaces. One of the groomsman baked 16 dozen cookies.
When the kids told me that they had asked the entire bridal party to wear purple, I may have cringed. Purple suits? But they were so right. Their band of delightful creatives arrived in a rainbow of purple joy. Charlie’s “best woman” wore a stunning lavender suit with a peekaboo back. The guys took purple to new heights….mauve, grape, amethyst, magenta. Bolo ties, rainbow ties, boutonnieres.
The officiant wore dusty rose.
My 13-year-old granddaughter gave a lively toast, and my 8-year-old grandson challenged everyone who stayed late to jump into the lake.
There were mornings last week where I looked out my bedroom window in tears at the love I was witnessing along the shore of the little lake I live on. Seeing my girlfriends rise at dawn the day after the wedding to hand wash more than 100 goblets at my kitchen sink was the final heart throb.
This was community, alive and well and kind and creative. Not a word about politics or race or religion or status. Just good people lifting a young couple.
Aww Annie, we love you all so much! 💜
Annie—not only are you an outstanding photographer but you’re also a very talented and caring writer. Keep ‘coming!