The Wedding

May these vows and this marriage be blessed.
May it be sweet milk,
this marriage, like wine and halvah.
May this marriage offer fruit and shade
like the date palm.
May this marriage be full of laughter,
[and] every day a day in paradise.
May this marriage be a sign of compassion,
a seal of happiness here and hereafter.
May this marriage have a fair face and a good name,
an omen as welcome as the moon in a clear blue sky.
I am out of words to describe
how spirit mingles in this marriage.

Rumi
(Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Balkhī; 1207-1273)


A day of love and joy. All of L and G’s detailed planning, together with top work from the professional people they’ve employed (and a bit of help over the past few days from the wedding party) combined to produce a truly wonderful celebration. The only thing that didn’t go to plan was that the weather didn’t clear quickly enough for the ceremony to be held outside - but in the end, even that didn’t matter. 

Everything else - from the ceremony itself, through the wedding breakfast and speeches, to the evening party - was exactly what they had wanted, and it was all fabulous. By this evening I’d received so many compliments from so many of the guests that I couldn’t properly remember who had said what lovely things, and I began to wish that I could take out my phone each time and record them, so that I could pass the praise on to the bride and groom who actually deserve it. 

I’m now beyond whatever lies beyond tired, but I’ve had the absolutely best day, and shared it with the people I love best. I feel very lucky, and very happy.

The Rumi poem at the top of this post was my reading during the ceremony.