Friday, July 20, 2007
As promised (:;Marriage
The dim light softly touched the edges of the booklet, making it seem as ithough it were glowing. The church bells on the mass booklet seemed so fitting, as were the flowers which crowned my head in the cover photo of my husband and I. The two ornate letter ‘S’s seemed so perfectly curved and were simply beautiful. I sat by my bedside, pondering upon the events of the day which had flown by so swiftly. Weddings are all about white lace, long gowns, splendid flower arrangements and chiming church bells. All weddings are rather similar, why did mine feel so different?
It was slightly more than twelve hours ago, when I found myself sitting on an elevated chair, waiting in silent reflection as the stylist applied layers of powder on my face. As she painted the colours on my face, as if I were a porcelain doll, I wondered to myself why I was getting married. It was a question to which an answer seemed obvious, and yet, it was not as easy as it sounded. Beneath all the hours spent planning on material matters – the lunch reception, wedding dinner, colour scheme and the bride’s outfits were but a few, my heart always sought to remind me about the man whom I cared about so dearly. Marriage would join me to my husband, the ultimate proof of our love for each other. To me, it could not come later.
As I sat in the elongated Mercedes-Benz, I felt the air-conditioning brush gently across my ear, whispering soothing words to me. It was quite a long way to church, and I found my hands firmly clasped together throughout the ride, praying to God to bless my wedding day and my marriage. I stared at my ring finger momentarily, imagining the ring that would very soon be there. The ring would be unending, as I hoped my marriage to be. Marriage included making sacrifices, was I ready? I did not doubt the amount of commitment I was ready to give and yet, butterflies flew to my stomach at the thought. The silvery organza veil felt rough as it brushed against my skin, and my ivory wedding gown had a long trail that was left strewn messily about the earlier cleaned car mat. The car soon came to a stop, and the door was opened for me. I smiled to myself, as I stood up and came out of the car, with newfound confidence growing within me.
The elegant turquoise and silver ribbons, that were entwined around the grey railings leading up to the main church were a welcoming sight. The colour turquoise was a very special colour to me, and it had always been. If my dreams were a single colour, they would have been turquoise. That distinctive colour was rare to find, and even rarer to find in the specific shade that I wanted. It was therefore not surprising that the colour, turquoise somehow made my wedding feel more special. An hour at the wedding mass flew by so quickly and before I knew it, I found myself strolling back down the aisle in church, with my husband by my side. The notes of the wedding march streamed from the choir loft above, like the music of the angels up above. I smiled upon many jubilant faced, and glanced at many lips mouthing congratulations. I never failed to notice the antique wooden pews which were adorned with white roses and silver ribbon, perfectly what I had imagined as an adult. This day was special to me, it was not merely my imagination turned to reality, but the day when I would bind myself to another.
For months, I had dreamed of an elaborate wedding and a church filled with familiar faces. It touched my heart that night, after the wedding dinner, when I asked my husband if our wedding had been the one he had wished for, and he said all he wished for was a wedding that would make me his wife. There was no way more fitting than this, to start our marriage. Our wedding was merely the start of our marriage. Marriage is an experience filled with equal independence, mutual dependence and a reciprocal obligation. Marriage restores the sight to love, and it is the acknowledgement of the special connection one has with another being. As I cleansed the make-up off my face that night, I realized that our wedding was so special not because of the lovely decoration, scrumptious dinner or even the turquoise ribbons. I realized that our wedding was special for the quiet fact that it was not merely a wedding;
it was a marriage.
Samantha Branson.
Sec 4/3and for the record,i am not obsessed.
sprinkled in glitter.
6:03 PM
