Beach wedding

This weekend, we went to Michigan for a wedding. It was at a cottage on the dunes, with airy rooms, a hammock, and a private beach. We ate and drank, swam, played in the sand, and thoroughly relaxed for three days.The couple invited 15-18 of their closest friends, and it was small and intimate, with a huge sense of comfort that every person there cared deeply about the couple--was in fact the "family" that these two people had cultivated in their lives.

Tim performed the ceremony--his first ever--and it was just about the most meaningful, exquisite ceremony that ever existed.

Weddings usually remind me of my own. Before ours, we attended one or two, and spent the receptions talking about what we wanted out of our own ceremony. After, each ceremony would remind me of our special day.

What I realized this time is that I was able to fully participate in the ceremony (the designated kleenex bearer, Official Witness, and spur-of-the-moment bouquet holder during the ring exchange) without thinking back on ours.

It used to be the definitive moment in our relationship--and I suppose it really always may be--but now we have so many quiet happy moments together, the wedding day no longer overshadows everything. I kind of like that, for of course a relationship is much more than the wedding day. At any rate, it confirms my feeling that every day the decision to wake up and love fully is the right one.