Went to a great wedding this past weekend for my cousin Hamo and his wife Tessa. Brought along my great friend Dina. It was a perfectly planned wedding, set outdoors in the lovely rolling fields next to our old family farmhouse, every detail was attended to… except for the one that cannot be controlled.
Yes, Hurricane Irene blasted into town right as things started. The amazing thing is, not only did it not ruin the wedding, it only seemed to make it better.
They decided to have the ceremony right where they planned it anyway. And thanks to the wonderful spirits of everyone there, it didn’t seem at all forced: huddled under umbrellas around the wedding party as rain came down, we laughed and choked up as they exchanged their vows. It seemed the harder it rained, the broader the smiles became and the louder we cheered.
Back at the tent, wet and wild, a mariachi band played, we sipped drinks from the open bar, stocked with local spirits, and even engaged in a little croquet when the rain turned misty between downpours.
The ground beneath the tent slowly flooded, and the dance floor became a muddy mess. Unperturbed, my cousin had us grab some bales of hay that had earlier been used to lay home sawn pine planks across for benches. We cut them open and spread the dense dry grass over the puddles. Pretty soon we were good again, dancing in our saturday best over the spongey hay.
The party continued until well after midnight at which point people started heading to nearby hotels and such. Originally many had planned to stay overnight in tents, but in the end only one couple did that – and stayed dry despite Irene’s howling rain. A few of us, including myself, slept in the farmhouse.
The next morning people came back for a relaxing breakfast of eggs, bacon, flatbreads, croissants, muffins, and coffee. We spent a few hours cleaning up the worst of the mess, and then just enjoyed the freshly washed world.
I found the whole thing super inspiring.
Christa put up some pictures of Scotland. What a beautiful country, fascinating history, and friendly people. I highly recommend a visit.
Also moving forward: I closed on my new house in Henderson – very excited about that. Should be moving in soon. Also managed to get an offer in on another house for my mom. With any luck that will close by the end of September.
And then I can chill for a bit.