We are planning a small, intimate ceremony, one where our close friends and family can come together to celebrate our commitment, get to know each other in a unique setting, and have an experience that will be fun for all of us to remember in the years to come. We have made some deliberate choices about what we would like to have happen and the location where it is all coming together. Near the ocean is one place where we both have always felt closely connected with God. We both love the outdoors, the sounds of nature, the infinite rhythm of the waves rolling in from distant shores. There is no place I feel more at peace than in an isolated mountain meadow or on a quiet sandy beach with the water playfully dancing around my bare feet.
There is a reason we aren't having an outside pastor perform the ceremony. There is a reason we aren't having it in a church. There is a reason we are having people who love and support us there. In all honesty, I am uncomfortable with the number of people attending, not because of who any of them are, but because, for me, this wedding (the ceremony itself) is an intimate moment right up there with childbirth and making love. If it was up to me, this would be a pledge made just between Steve & I & God, but I do know it is important for to share this moment with others. If I have to have people involved, let it be those whom we love, honor, and cherish as much as we do each other.
In talking to Steve about this, he responded that I really didn't know his best friend Rudy that well and he really didn't know my best friend Kandi that well. That is ok. All of my interactions with Rudy and his family have been positive, as has all of his with Kandi. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rudy has his back and his best interests in mind. That doesn't mean always agreeing (he gave Steve the third degree over this thing with me at first) but that any questions and actions are done in Steve's best interest. I know I could call up Rudy in a heartbeat and ask for help, and if he could do it, he would without question. Steve knows the same thing is true about Kandi. These are people we can call on in times of need and share with in times of joy. They rejoice in our happiness and feel sorrow with our pain. I can't think of anyone I'd rather have there with us.
I get a feeling that at the very moment when I look into Steve's eyes and say the vows that express, however inadequately, the depth of emotion in my heart, all the world will melt away, and it will be just he and I and our Creator, making a commitment to support, honor, respect, trust, and love each other with all that we have and all that we are. In the end, that is what is important and that is what will see us through. Love. Respect. Trust. Honor. Commitment.
