All Dressed in White: Thoughts on a Wedding

Sneak peak: Andrew's left chest and my left hip.

Our wedding outfits have been purchased!  We got Andrew the fanciest white silk shirt he's ever owned. And with the help of amazing friends, I found a dreamy, comfortable dress at an incredible price.

I have to admit, before I agreed to have one, I was a little scared of weddings. The hoopla, excess, and lack of success I've seen result from them left me a little incredulous. Two of the three big weddings I've been to in the last years ended at the year mark, and we are both from divorced families.  But I've known for ages now that I want to be with A forever and ever.  Marriage doesn't scare me one bit.  We've been through many difficult times and we still only love each other more and more. I admire Andrew so much and there is nobody who makes me feel better or more like myself.  I feel ridiculously lucky.

And the wedding?  I never grew up dreaming of the day and I am ignorant about most traditions. This hasn't been a bad thing. I knew from the start we couldn't spend a lot. While we are very happy, we don't have extra money. And even if I did I could think of many other places to spend it. I also don't want to go through motions that have no significance to me, I want something meaningful..

And everything has fallen into place. From our outfits, to our locale, to our invitations, to the people attending...it has been a labor of love and all extremely personal.  People we love have both talent and generous hearts. I am practiced at opening my heart to receiving these gifts.  It sounds strange, but I've witnessed the grace it takes to accept help, it is a common topic in yoga class, and I even read a book on it in graduate school.