Love and weddings
Every sappy part of them.
On Saturday, my niece and her love tied the knot after dating for several years. She was a bundle of energy as she walked down the aisle. We all chuckled as she just couldn't hold still, even while repeating her vows. This is her, in all her glorious bridal attire, still a simple girl who fell in love.
It's what we all want, really, in the end. Just to have someone there to fall into after a hard day's work. Someone who will make us laugh when there isn't anything to laugh about.
It took me back to my own ceremony, back in the dark ages of early 1990. The dresses were puffy-sleeved, with lace-covered chests, and full skirts. My hair was still slightly big, a relic from those Aqua Net days of the '80s, and my veil crisply covered my face.
My daughter, at the wedding on Saturday, asked me if I had a veil that covered my face. I told her yes, I chose to have it that way, but that it was just that – a choice. I wanted that big romantic moment when he lifted my veil for the kiss.
That's what weddings are – a series of memorable moments.
I remember every part of my wedding with George. If you ask him, though, he remembers it only in parts. He was young and new to this country and its wedding traditions.
"Honey, if you could go back and do it all over, what would you do different?" I sometimes ask him.
"Oh babe, you know what I would do. I would have it in my hometown, and we would ride in on a white horse to la iglesia (the church). Then we would go back to the house and have a huge fiesta! There would be turkey, mole, and dancing all night long."
Yep, that's what I would want for a second time too. Anything as long as I get to marry the one I still love. On May 26,, we'll be married 21 years, and he still makes me laugh.
"A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person." -Mignon McLaughlin