In a flurry of activity, Carla and her girls arrived back from the salon a bundle of giggles and hair spray. With their hair and make up perfect, it was go-time. Priorities well in order, they stopped a few minutes for cumin chicken soup (thickened with coconut milk, mind you) coupled with cinnamon raisin toast….

She sat calmly in the three-sided tent, temporarily restricted by the plastic walls while he roamed the grounds of the Clermont Historic Mansion. He greeted guests, welcomed relatives, and excitedly paced the lawn. Her dress swirled around her, the flower girl giving her kisses and the ringbearer showing off his vest and tie while the…

She threw her hands in the air, felt the tulle from her veil fly out behind  her, and squealed: “I’m getting maaarrriiieeedd!!!” A few minutes before, water had been pouring from the sky, thunder viciously snapping at the earth, and lightning knocked down trees in the area. But as the clouds cleared and the sun…

She stood at the foot of the aisle. The sun setting in front of her, the sky glowing behind her. A breeze caught her cathedral-length veil and sent it flying. Oh, and she was crying. Sobbing, really. Her smile could not be contained. Her tears were flowing freely.  She was at her wedding. In her gown….

All morning I saw it. On the counter as her hair was styled, on the desk while she read a letter from her groom, on the bed while she put on her dress, on the seat when she settled into the Rolls Royce.  I’m not sure what I thought it was. A to do list?…

She was fluttering around the room arranging flowers, putting out food, and setting the table.  Its hard work planning a wedding, and all the details had to be finished before guests arrived.  But she wasn’t too busy to remember why she was working so hard. In the middle of one project or another, she’d stop,…