What’s on the iPod: Tupelo Honey by Van Morrison
Over. The weddings are now part of our immediate past, and the house is slowly returning to normal. The second wedding occurred on a beautiful Midsommar day and involved all the pageantry and color befitting Midsommar (or Midsummer, depending on your preference). Appropriate, since our groom (my stepson) had become famous in his school for his incredible performance as Puck in Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
The gorgeous weather brought out the attendees, which included the most incredible Nigerian garb imaginable. A traditional wedding in Washington Memorial Chapel in Valley Forge punctuated by sparkling outfits, stunning headdresses, and exquisite women ushered in a glowing bride who looked as beautiful as a bride can look.
The wedding was lovely and reverent, and the party raucous and fun. Nigerian tradition mixed with Scottish kilts as families from Nigeria, Brazil, and America came together as one family.
It was all preceded by a rehearsal party Friday night in which 80 people got to know each other. There was Brazilian food, Nigerian food, and my sangria — plenty to go around and plenty of fun was had.
Kudos to the groomsmen who were building our patio and deck. They finished at 2:30 on Friday, plenty of time to go home, change, and come back to help us christen their fine work.
But back to the wedding.
The bride and groom were introduced, danced, cut a cake, then left. Not long after, they returned, along with the exquisitely dressed women and men in Igbo dress, sparkling from top to bottom in glorious color and sequins.
As was the bride.
The party apparently went well into the night, but we were toasted. We were home by 11 and in bed by midnight. The next morning, we hosted his brothers and family for breakfast to catch up — something you simply cannot do in a reception setting with music blaring.
The newlyweds (the second set) headed off to Punta Cana and the other newlyweds (the first set) arrived back home after their Bahamas honeymoon. Work for them begins tomorrow, and work for my stepdaughter and her husband, who are sleeping upstairs right now, begins on Wednesday. In Boca Raton. They have a long drive ahead of them.
Work for me starts today, as it does for my husband. The house is beginning to settle back down again, and the vibes from so many people and celebrations are fading into memories and photos. Life will return to normal, but the feeling that our children are happy and with their perfect mates will remain.
Congratulations to our newest married couple. We were honored to be part of such a superb celebration and an excellent love match.
Life goes on with beauty and hope.
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