Attending an outdoor wedding in Livermore, California Saturday before Easter Sunday, I was moon struck. The beauty of the setting, the couple and that amazing white nearly-full orb rising over Wente Vineyard fed my soul. Jackrabbits gamboled, birds twittered in the golden hour just before sunset. Bride and groom exuded calm, solidity and assuredness that their wedding celebration was exactly as they wanted it to be.
She was Venus rising singularly from some unfathomable depth - so elegantly clothed in white satin with one shoulder bare and coiffed with similar asymmetry with voluptuous curls to one side. On the arm of her brother she flowed along the stairs and courtyard and into the arms of her beloved - the epitome of a gracious and grateful groom. Tears were their first gift to one another as each read aloud her/his vows, wows and gratitude. I, and all the people around me had leaky eyes in resonance with the sweet melancholy of all they promised one another.
My husband and I know this couple through one of the camps where we volunteer. They also have come to be camp counselors at The Painted Turtle in years past. He is a medical student who just completed his exams and is heading for an internship. She is a grade school teacher who will find her skills portable as they set out on the next chapter of their adventure together in a new town for his residency.
During the six years of their courtship, there have been losses. I’m guessing this is why his parents were not in attendance, and why her father was not present to “give her hand in marriage.” They’re a good team and have come through adversity already. Other tragedies were alluded to of which we don’t know the details. This shadowy presence of unspoken grief made the sweetness of their union all the more poignant.
Have you ever been to a wedding where, at the time the cleric asks, "Does anyone here think this union should not take place? If so, speak now or forever hold your peace." How many times could you barely restrain yourself from raising a hand?
I wonder how many of the guests at our wedding nearly forty years ago thought, "Well, this will end within a year." I remember a classic back-handed compliment from my husband's Uncle Harvey. "From the invitation, I thought this would be a real hippy-dippy wedding. And then I knew it would be when I saw the flowers in your hair. Ya look just like the gal in the margarine commercial - you know... 'It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.' So, I was surprised by how meaningful it was and all."
I wonder how many of the guests at our wedding nearly forty years ago thought, "Well, this will end within a year." I remember a classic back-handed compliment from my husband's Uncle Harvey. "From the invitation, I thought this would be a real hippy-dippy wedding. And then I knew it would be when I saw the flowers in your hair. Ya look just like the gal in the margarine commercial - you know... 'It's not nice to fool Mother Nature.' So, I was surprised by how meaningful it was and all."
With the wedding we witnessed Saturday evening, not a soul could deny this is a GOOD match; this couple will thrive.
In addition, it was an evening filled with opportunities for artful photography... Bride and Groom framed by the open barn-like doors, clad in white with the moon rising plate-like in a sky of Maxfield Parish electric blue; the bouquet caught by a precocious and charming nine year old - who, with her younger sister served as flower girl; the garter snapped-up mid-air during an athletic leap of a twenty-something; and, during the ceremony itself, the blending of multi-colored sands in a bottle to symbolize foundation of Earth (neutral shade of sand), the bride’s essence (pure white sand), the groom’s essence (vibrant green sand) and the blending of the two (hers and his poured together) as the top layer of sand.
Both husband and wife in this couple are true winners. We wish them continuing success in their relationship.
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Wesak or Vesak from the second lunar month (Vaisakha) of the Hindu calendar is a celebration of taking-in of spiritual wisdom and receiving energy to carry out our soul’s reason for being here.
Some say it celebrates the birth, enlightenment and eventual transcendence of Gautama Buddha while at the same time it is a way of honoring his sacrifice and that of Christ on behalf of all humanity.
Here are some links to more information about Wesak which, this year, will be celebrated from May 4 (full moon in Taurus) thru May 6.
Meditation, receivership, contemplation about our life’s path and gratitude are all appropriate activities/positions for this holiday.
Enjoy the next full moon! It will be a potent time to affirm our direction and to gather energy to make the most of our efforts.
Hoping your Spring Celebrations were/are joyous. Good Pesach. Happy Easter.
Well Miss Margarine Gal, it sounds like a very meaningful ceremony. Weddings sure have the power to make one ponder, don't they? Best wishes for this new couple and congratulations to you two on making it past the one year mark!
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