Decades ago, a 19 year old girl married a 20 year old boy in a wood-paneled community hall somewhere in the Bronx.  She wore a virginal, victorian dress with a blue ribbon bought for the then scandalously high price of $125. He wore a suit, a mustache and a boutonniere.  The hall was filled with both sides of the new family and just two of the couple’s friends.  The boy and girl didn’t know many of the attendees. The boy had a bad cold and was on meds that day. The boy ripped the girl’s expensive gown during the photoshoot (and it was held back together with safety pins). 

The officiant was not the girl’s grandfather who was stricken ill days before. Someone unknown conducted the ceremony. There was a rubber chicken dinner for the guests.  

Afterward, the newlyweds were driven to the train station by their parents. They were traveling to Albany, NY to start their new lives and complete their last year of college. They also hitchhiked to Boston from there for a “not quite honeymoon” which is a story for another day!

In sum, our wedding was not a magical event. Happily, I can report that the boy and girl are now in their fifth decade of marriage.

Every wedding is different. Every wedding is an expression of the hopes, dreams and love of the aspiring couple.  However, there are some almost obligatory staples.  The gathering of friends and family, the professions of love and commitment, the post-wedding speeches and celebrations. And the always badly mistaken, unasked for advice, to “never go to bed angry!”

We’ve been blessed to attend two weddings of our sons. 

A Wedding on the Greens

The first, thirteen years ago, was the marriage of our older son. It was at a lushly landscaped private golf club in Southern California.  The bride was gorgeous in her sexy gown, the groom was equally handsome in his suit. We gathered afterward under a welcoming, shady tent.  The wedding was large with many of our friends and family in attendance.  The weather and lighting that afternoon were simply exquisite. 

From start to finish,  it was a magical event. Happily, I can report, they live happily ever after and since have blessed us with two amazing grandsons. 

A Wedding in the Woods

More recently, there was the wedding of our second son just a few weeks ago.  It was a late afternoon wedding in the woods outside Portland.  It was a  smaller event with fewer family and friends, many coming from far distances. 

The private, wooded property, called Bridal Veil Lakes, had a small lake at its center.  The ceremony was on one side of the lake, the afterparty on the other.  And all around was lush vegetation and tall trees. The bride was gorgeous in her sexy gown, the groom equally handsome in his suit.

The late afternoon light was extraordinary, casting a golden halo over the couple, the lake, the guests and everywhere you looked. 

It was a magical event. It was a fairytale setting.  And like any good fairy tale, we all wish them a happily ever after.

Every wedding tells a story. Every marriage is a bet on the future, an embrace of lives joined in commitment and meaning. And, sometimes a wedding also includes magic!

Here’s to all the lovers, the newlyweds, the old marrieds and the hope-to-be marrieds who still believe in happily ever after. Even if your getaway car is a commuter train to Albany!