Sitting at his desk, he mused with his workmate about a fabulous girl he’d read about in an article on the Internet. She had biked across Canada visiting the national parks, loved canoeing and climbing mountains. She would be the kind of girl he could really fall for. He couldn’t help thinking “Wow, what an amazing girl….What if?”
Two hours later, his boss interrupted his work and asked him to train a new employee. He looked up to find it was… the amazing girl! Within two days, she moved across the street from him and was at his doorstep with a bottle of wine. It was as if this was a movie; the amazing girl had walked into his life.
Three years and many bottles of wine and canoe trips later, I am with the groom waiting for his bride to arrive. We are at Temple’s Sugar Camp ,which is outside Ottawa, with snow falling on the picturesque landscape. She arrives late because they were, not surprisingly, caught behind a snow plow. We all get ready to begin the ceremony.
The bridemaid walks down the aisle of the wood-framed building with the string quartet playing Gabriel’s Oboe. The bride steps out and is seen accompanied on either side by her father and mother, and followed by her two sisters and brother. When her whole family arrives at the front, there are lots of hugs exchanged among the bride, groom and family. It was really touching to see the whole family present the bride.
Instead of traditional readings in the ceremony, the bride’s best friend and the groom’s brother each paid tribute to the couple. They recounted the couple’s story from their perspective and offered their best wishes for the future. There were many laughs and “Aww” moments in their telling.
The bride and groom had decided to recite their own personal vows to each other. The groom said, “You’ve made my life so much richer, and you’ve opened my eyes to my potential and our potential together.” As he finished, with tears welling up in his eyes, matching hers, he turned to me and said, “I can’t kiss her yet right?” and I said, “No, not yet.” Her vows were equally filled with emotion in promising to always be sincere in loving him as he loved her. It is at times like these that I feel the emotional connection between couples. It is energy so great that it radiates and fills the room with beautiful love – so that we all start crying. I said to the bride when she finished, “You can’t kiss him yet, either.”
I could feel everyone’s anticipation as I started the declaration of marriage. After declaring them husband and wife, I boldly stated, “Now you can kiss!” They kissed with great enthusiasm, and the guests gave them a standing ovation. I watched as they walked down the aisle. It was the amazing girl who had walked into his life. Now they walked in life together.
