Wednesday, August 11, 2010

Weddings, Timing, Love.

This weekend I had the humbling honour of officiating the wedding of two amazing women I know. The experience was surreal, awesome, slightly anxiety provoking...and hot. The timing of the outside ceremony had me standing in direct sun for about half an hour, in a dress and heels (the former was very comfortable, the latter- not so much). I have never been more aware of sweating in my life, and was grateful that I wasn't wearing any makeup as it would have been streaked down my face in sweaty vertical lines. One guest later told me that the beadwork on my dress literally glittered in the sun and that I looked beautiful with said glittery-ness. So, I guess standing in the sun wasn't that bad.

The ceremony was lovely. It was all I could do to not cry. This was the challenging part of marrying two people that I know and love- the added emotional factor in that role for me was profound. Every time I looked at each of them, I would choke up. I'm not saying that if I had cried it would have been a bad thing, just that in combination with the sweatiness, wanting to do a good job (this was, after all, their wedding) and needing to be able to see the pages in front of me...well, it wouldn't have been pretty:)

There were a couple of almost glitches (somehow the pages in my binder got out of order. I still have no idea how that happened. And the best man and I quietly praying that the rings wouldn't fall out of our hands and fall through the wood planks of the patio), but I was told later that no one else was aware of me adjusting/adapting to find the right page in my binder (I am, it seems, cool under pressure sometimes. Who knew), and the rings safely made it onto the correct hands:)

The reception was a fantastic party- the love and support for these newlyweds made for a great vibe and their collective friends and family really made the night wonderful.

There is something to be said about being a part of a wedding while in the process of planning your own. I felt like I was getting a preview to the inner workings/timing/challenges of a wedding. I definitely learned a few things to keep in mind for our wedding.

When I came back from the wonderful wedding weekend, I had dinner with a friend who I have not seen in... way way way too long. She too is in the midst of planning for her upcoming nuptials... on 10/10/10:) It was a blast to catch up with her, but also to swap planning stories and to review what details she was most excited about vs. the ones I was looking forward to (besides, of course, marrying our beloveds). We came to realize, that not only were we going to have the same wedding day, but that our ceremonies were going to take place at the same hour. This revelation made me tear up. We loved realizing that while we wouldn't be at each others weddings, we would be marrying at the same time. A very unique shared moment:)

So now, as we approach the last 2 monthes before the wedding, I have been reinvigorated by this wedding experience. Nothing like a great love fest to get you pumped up for life:)

And it's a good thing too- I just talked to the caretaker at the venue for our wedding. She just warned me of 'the dreaded seating plan'. According to her, this part is really not fun.

We shall see, venue caretaker lady, we shall see.

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