i will be your witness

Ok, so before our Catholic wedding ceremony, and before our Hindu ceremony (I promise, we are not really wedding-crazy ;-) )... this happened exactly two years ago. A. and I made a promise - to be a witness to each other's lives.

I realize I haven't shared pictures from that amazing day - March 19th, 2011 - except for a few here. Partly because I wanted to treasure the memory to myself or to just the two of us (and the few people who were there), but partly because it was hard to choose which photos to share here on the blog. Even if I only have a handful of readers, A. had some reservations about posting "people pictures" on cyberspace - especially close-up shots - and I don't blame him. In fact, I also don't post many pictures of myself here either, so this is me going out on a limb. But I also want to look back at this, years later...

So, all that to say that this is the reason the pictures here don't show us directly looking at the camera, or were taken from a little more discreet, not so in-your-face close-up angles. I had to be selective :)

Auburn Twin Oaks Winery, Chagrin Falls, Ohio. A. and I had been to this family-owned winery a few times before and met the owners, who are just lovely people. They are not actually open to the public every day, but on some weekends they have food and wine tasting events. We talked to the owners to reserve this location, and had the whole place to ourselves! It felt like we were in Northeast Ohio's best kept secret.

It was a beautiful, clear day, on the cusp between winter and spring. So fitting.

I think "walking with a purpose" would be a fitting caption for this photo, don't you think?

The interior of the winery was drenched in sunlight. I had to squeeze in a few minutes to take photos of my own. :)

My bouquet of happy yellow flowers. My sister-in-law took care of this, aghast after hearing me say I would just pick up flowers myself from the store (I was trying to keep things as simple as possible). She had it executed perfectly. When asked what kind of flowers I would like, all I said was, "yellow and spring-like". I couldn't have asked for a more beautiful arrangement. Thanks so much, G.!

Photo-op of photo-op. I can take pictures at my own wedding, can't I?

We stood in a room on the top floor, with large windows that give you an almost 360-degree view of the grounds. The room was bathed in afternoon sunlight. We took turns reading verses of Oriah's The Invitation, which is one of my favorites. No matter how many times I've read the poem, reading it aloud on this important day got me all choked up and teary-eyed. We said our vows and exchanged rings, then we were married in front of 8 witnesses (8 including the marriage officiant, that is).

After we exchanged vows, we took a walk outside. My brothers asked A. to carry me for some goofy pictures.

It was a beautiful day - the sun was out, but do not be deceived... it was actually quite cold!

We went back inside to enjoy wine (for them) and cake (for me! Ok... for them too). I had no idea my friends were baking a chocolate cake in my kitchen while I was out that morning getting a haircut - which, in my world, is my version of getting my hair "styled" (I know... clueless.). It didn't occur to me when I got back home, why they were both standing in the kitchen, leaning strategically on the oven door so I couldn't see what was baking inside.

So happy.

(Photos taken by my brother, a dear friend, and me.)

As I look back, I think one of the reasons this day was so special was that the whole ceremony was stripped down to the bare essentials - without any extraneous details that could potentially take away from the essence of what was happening. And yes, this is coming from a detail-oriented person such as myself. Even my mom was amused that I didn't buy anything new to wear. We only bought very simple wedding bands. The place was already beautiful and needed no additional decorations. And everything else (flowers & food) was taken care of by family and friends. 

It wasn't about the details this time.

~

I'll end with one of my favorite quotable movie lines - from the movie Shall We Dance.

Susan Sarandon: "Why is it, do you think, that people get married?"
Richard Jenkins: "Passion."
Susan Sarandon: "No."
Richard Jenkins: "It's interesing, because I would have taken you for a romantic. Why, then?"

Susan Sarandon: "Because we need a witness to our lives...there are a billion people on the planet, I mean, what does any one life really mean? But in a marriage, you're promising to care about everything...the good things, the bad things, the terrible things, the mundane things...all of it, all the time, everyday. You're saying, 'Your life will not go unnoticed, because I will notice it. Your life will not go unwitnessed, because I will be your witness.'"

~

Happy anniversary, A... here's to being each other's witness.

All my love.