Marry

May 20, again

Amily got married.

It still rocks my head back and forth a little, internally, when I think of that-- Amy Victoria Jones, now Amy Victoria Glenn! A wife! My high school sweetheart, my first kiss, (my first everything, as far as that goes), one of my oldest friends, and she's married.

She was the most beautiful bride I've ever seen, y'all-- and that's not a disparagement to any other beautiful brides, but I mean, really. She was radiant, angelic, captivating. Her new husband is one unspeakably lucky man. The ceremony took place in a high-ceilinged hall, with a bearded and wild-haired reverend presiding. The ceremony had a distinctly pagan feel (though Amily isn't particularly pagan, except in the sense that she isn't Christian)-- many invocations of angels, wizards, magicians, good spirits. One line from the ceremony stuck with me in particular-- "True love is intention." Nice, huh? And quite appropriate for a marriage.

For the mystically minded (and marriage ceremonies are steeped in superstition), there were lots of interesting peculiarities. They were married in front of a big window, and it rained only on the bride's side during the ceremony, while the sun shone on the groom's side. As soon as the wedding party finished taking photographs down by the lake, huge black stormclouds rolled in from over the trees. An enormous peacock perched on the railing outside the Hall where the marriage took place. I've talked at length about the subjectivity of omens, so I won't go into that again… but it's all good stuff that could be used in a poem, perhaps.

The food was wonderful, which isn't surprising, since the groom is a chef and presumably had a hand in choosing the menu. I got to see my old friend Sarah (who beat me out for "farthest traveled" by coming from Italy). Blah came, and I chattered with her at great length. I even allowed myself to be dragged onto the dance floor (it took the tugging of two beautiful women to make that happen), where I made the usual fool of myself-- but it's not like anyone noticed. I was one of only three single men there, and managed to narrowly avoid catching the garter (I mean, it'd be weird to catch Amily's garter anyway).

Meg drank. We danced. We had a pretty non-stop fun time. It was the best wedding I've ever attended, and I got some pictures of Amily and I that might turn out okay-- if they do, I'll get them scanned and posted here. Y'all should get the chance to see her dress.

Congratulations, Amily. You were beautiful. I love you. I wish you and your new husband well.